U.S. Navy Seabees at Normandy
In Stephen Ambrose’s book, D-Day: June 6, 1944, he notes that demolition teams of Seabees and Army engineers were assigned the tasks of blowing gaps in beach fortifications to allow for landing craft. It is that supreme effort under shellfire that has been a hallmark of the U.S. Navy Seabees. Armies may move on their stomachs, but without continued supplies at the right moment that movement grinds to a halt. On D-Day, and right after, the Seabees provided steel or pre-cast pontoon segmented piers to create causeways, piers, and loading docks to facilitate successful landings. Eleven pontoon barges each (Rhino ferries – 30 boxes long and 6 boxes wide with a huge outboard motor) were launched on the first day at Omaha and Utah beaches and delivered loads that landing ships (LST’s) couldn’t accomplish. “Phoenixes,” 200-foot long” concrete (pontoon) barges were later brought in and sunk to form breakwaters along with sunken cargo ships to rapidly form harbors while faced with mines, underwater obstacles, hostile aircraft, battery and machinegun fire. What were the chances for a similar outcome without the Navy Seabee’s “magic boxes?”