1 May 1944. Panzer Lehr Division begins
its move from Hungary to France.
2 May 1944. Codenames for various events connected
with D-Day appear as answers in Daily Telegraph crosswords
commencing on this date - it proves to be an innocent coincidence.
3 May 1944. Today sees the start of Exercise Fabius,
a full-scale D-Day rehearsal on the South Coast. Tanks loaded
into landing craft at Gosport, Portsmouth and Southampton
before setting sail and heading eastwards, up the English
Channel. Littlehampton, in Sussex, doubled for Normandy
and the tanks, fully equipped with deep wading equipment
and live ammunition came ashore beneath an umbrella of barrage
balloons to deter enemy air attacks.
In the event this massive exercise passed off undetected
and provided a lot of useful experience for the troops involved.
5 May 1944. B and C Squadrons, 4th/7th
Dragoon Guards take delivery of their Sherman DD tanks.
Most vehicles featured on this website
are part of the Tank
Museum collection, many are on public display from time
to time. Please enquire
for details
Visit
the Tank Museum Website
