June 06, 2007
D-Day Facts
1.1 million Canadians served in WWII, including 106,000 in the Royal Canadian Navy and 200,000 in the Royal Canadian Air Force
14,000 Canadians landed on D-Day
450 jumped by parachute or landed by glider
10,000 sailors of the RCN were involved
During the first six days of the Normandy campaign, 1,017 Canadians died.
By the end of the Normandy campaign, about 5,020 Canadians had been killed. About 5,400 Canadians are buried in Normandy.
In the two and a half months of the Normandy campaign, Allied casualities (killed, wounded and captured) totalled 210,000.
Canadian casualties totalled more than 18,000, including more than 5,000 dead. German casualties were 450,000.
Posted by victoria at 03:57 PM
D-Day June 6. 1944
Launch Video Player - Juno Beach >>
D-Day: Canada's role
Robin Rowland, CBC News Online | June 5, 2003
The sun was just coming up over the Normandy coast at about 5 a.m. on June 6, 1944 – D-Day.
The Allied navies – Canadian, British, American – had brought a huge invasion fleet from England to France in total darkness. For men on the ships, first light showed the black shapes of other nearby vessels. For the Germans on shore, the dawn revealed a vast armada poised to invade occupied France.
The military planners had given Canada a major role on D-Day: to take one of the five designated beaches where Allied forces were to land to begin the liberation of Europe from Nazi Germany. The Americans had Utah and Omaha beaches in the west, then came the British at Gold, then the Canadians at Juno Beach and finally the British at Sword on the east.
The greatest seaborne invasion in history was aimed at 80 kilometres of mostly flat, sandy beach along the Normandy coast, west of the Seine River, east of the jutting Cotentin Peninsula. Canada's objective was right in the middle.
There were about 155,000 soldiers, 5,000 ships and landing craft, 50,000 vehicles and 11,000 planes set for the coming battle. For Canada, 14,000 soldiers were to land on the beaches; another 450 were to drop behind enemy lines by parachute or glider. The Royal Canadian Navy supplied ships and about 10,000 sailors. Lancaster bombers and Spitfire fighters from the Royal Canadian Air Force supported the invasion.
The Canadians who landed on Juno Beach were part of Britain's Second Army, under the command of British Lt. General Miles Dempsey, who had served in North Africa and Italy with the overall British commander, Bernard Montgomery. The Canadian assault forces were the Third Canadian Infantry Division, commanded by Major General R. F. Keller and the Second Canadian Armoured Brigade, with Brigadier R.A. Wyman in charge.
The units were from across the country; from east to west, from the North Nova Scotia Highlanders, to the Canadian Scottish from Victoria.
The bombardment of the beaches began at 6 a.m. Within an hour the lead landing craft were away from the ships.
Two hours later, the German defences at Juno Beach had been shattered and Canada had established the beachhead.
Posted by victoria at 03:51 PM
November 11, 2004
Remembrance Day
Remembrance Day is observed on November 11 to recall the end of World War I on that date in 1918. Remembrance Day is purposefully dedicated to remembering the thousands of men and women who sacrificed their lives fighting for freedom and democracy during World War I, World War II, the Korean War and during all peacekeeping missions. We at the Sea Hunters were proud to dive off Juno Beach this past summer while filming a documentary about D-Day and Canada’s great effort there that day. Today we are proud to present a small portion of that documentary to you.
In Flanders Fields
Posted by victoria at 10:27 PM | Comments (0)
September 16, 2004
Fresh Video on the Map
With the Sea Hunters back home they have been able to put together two pieces of video from their dives off Juno Beach. Watch and listen as Mike Fletcher describe diving the HMS Lawford and a Sherman Tank.
Posted by victoria at 10:24 AM | Comments (0)
September 14, 2004
Back in Port
The Sea Hunters team has arrived home safely and has begun post production on "Operation Overlord, The Search of Juno Beach". Stay tuned this month because Dive Coordinator, Mike Fletcher, will be featured in a piece on Discovery Channel's Daily Planet, check your local listings for times. Also check back for the times of our Live Chat about the team’s experiences diving Juno Beach and the entire season.
Posted by victoria at 08:40 AM | Comments (0)
September 09, 2004
Dive Back on Track
Posted by victoria at 11:24 AM | Comments (0)
September 07, 2004
Sherman Tank
Posted by victoria at 09:05 AM | Comments (0)
September 06, 2004
Action Items for Next Dive
Warren Flecther calls in to report on plans to dive tanks tomorrow. Listen to what he had to say.
Posted by victoria at 10:59 PM | Comments (0)
Dive Conditions
Posted by victoria at 02:34 PM | Comments (0)
September 05, 2004
HMS Lawford Revisited- Part 2
Posted by victoria at 06:29 PM | Comments (0)
September 04, 2004
HMS Lawford Revisited
Posted by victoria at 01:13 PM | Comments (0)
September 03, 2004
Day One Overview
Listen to Jim Delgado's live recap of the first day of dives off Juno Beach.
Posted by victoria at 11:10 PM | Comments (0)
First Look at Historical Remains
Posted by victoria at 10:05 PM | Comments (0)
September 02, 2004
Safe Arrival
The Sea Hunters arrived late but safely in Paris on August 31st. Due to a security breach at the Halifax International Airport the team was delayed 3 hours and some of their equipment did not arrive at all.
Producer Susan MacDonald stayed on in Paris with the side scan operators while the equipment cleared customs. The remaining Sea Hunters went ahead to Ouistreham; they had a cursory dive while waiting for Susan to arrive with the gear.
Today we are happy to report the entire team and equipment has assembled in Ouistreham. We will post results from the side scan as they become available. Good Luck Team.
Posted by victoria at 08:31 AM | Comments (0)
August 30, 2004
The Sea Hunters Prepare to Depart for Juno Beach
Tonight the Sea Hunters leave on their final expedition of the season. The team will be head to Juno Beach, France, to dive the remains of the invasion of D-Day. We at Shipwreck Central will keep you up to date on their progress so be sure to check back.
Target Juno Beach
Under the cover of darkness, the Allied armada sailed into position. On the morning of June 6th, 1944 dawn would reveal to the Germans the force that would take back occupied France. It was to be the greatest seaborne invasion in history. The Americans were assigned two beaches, Utah and Omaha; the British had beaches Gold and Sword. There would be one left for the Canadians, Juno. Their task would not be an easy one but with the eyes of the world upon them the Canadian Troops would triumph on Juno Beach that day changing the course of the war, an accomplishment that would be honoured on that beach and at home to this day.
Posted by victoria at 11:37 AM | Comments (0)
