She arrived off Pointe du Hoc as Army rangers were struggling to gain a foothold on the rocky promontory. "Thompson"’s spotters could not see much at that moment, as Army aerial bombardments had obscured the area with smoke and dust. But when the haze cleared away, the destroyer's main battery opened fire with a vengeance, tongues of flame flashing from her gun muzzles as her salvos screamed shoreward. One by one, her targets of opportunity disappeared as her salvos struck "on target." She then lay-to awaiting remaining enemy guns to reveal themselves with tell-tale flashes.