Cardigan Bay sailed from Cyprus to help support the international effort to build the pier, which will reportedly cost $320m and is set to be completed early next month.
In photos released by US Central Command, special construction vessels can be seen assembling the pontoon and a large vehicle is pictured moving and assembling shipment containers.
The 550-metre causeway will enable more aid to be brought into Gaza, including as many as two million meals a day.
So far, aid has had to be parachuted into Gaza, with a number of air drops being undertaken by an international coalition.
The plan was to land the attacking force from a number of ships called LSTs (Landing Ship, Tank).
The Royal Navy was to bombard the shore ahead of the landing, to simulate the shelling of the German defences on Utah beach before the troops went in.
Live ammunition was to be used to harden the soldiers to the sights and sounds of battle.
But the exercise was a catastrophe from the start.
Prior to the landing, American forces were not informed that the Royal Navy had changed its radio frequency, causing delays.
The commanding officer of the US forces, Rear Admiral Don P Moon, postponed the landing by an hour, but several of the LSTs did not receive the message and went in at the original time.
This led to hundreds of troops being landed on the beach at the same time the bombardment went in.
At least 300 US soldiers and sailors are believed to have been killed in this friendly fire incident.
An aerial view of Slapton Sands taken on 21 October 1942 (Picture: National Archives and Records Administration)
That was not the end of the ordeal for the Americans.
A follow-up convoy of LSTs carrying combat engineers was then meant to have gone in, being protected by two Royal Navy destroyers, HMS Azalea and HMS Scimitar.
But HMS Scimitar was not on station, having earlier collided with one of the American landing craft, forcing her to remain in Plymouth for repairs.
HMS Saladin was dispatched in her place, but the delay meant she arrived too late, leaving just Azalea to protect the eight-boat flotilla.
In the meantime, nine German E-boats had spotted the convoy and launched an attack.
Over the next three hours, two American ships were sunk and a third was hit, but managed to make it to shore.
A fourth LST was damaged by friendly fire as one of the other ships shot at an E-boat, but hit its American neighbour instead.
Lieutenant Eugene E Eckstam, a medical officer on board the first LST to be sunk, recalled in his memoir: “The screams and cries of those many Army troops in there still haunt me.
“Gas cans and ammunition exploding and the enormous fire blazing only a few yards away are sights forever etched in my memory.”
Some died in the attack, while others – without the necessary training in how to leave a sinking ship – drowned or succumbed to hypothermia in the freezing British waters.
Final dress rehearsal for US troops before D-Day (Picture: US Library of Congress)
One US Army veteran who survived Slapton Sands and went on to land at Omaha Beach has been sharing his experience on TikTok.
Former Staff Sergeant Jake Larson, who is known as ‘Papa Jake’, explained how things did not go as planned.
“I happened to be in the first [Landing Ship, Tank] to the left that headed from Plymouth to Slapton Sands,” he said.
Watch: Bootprints mark US troops killed during secret D-Day rehearsal
“The British were preparing us with live fire.
“Well, before the British got to us, two German E-boats came in, they sent out two torpedoes.
“They sunk the two ships to my right and they shot up our armed guard on top of us and shot out our air so we were breathing the fumes from this raw diesel.
“Four hundred of us were laying on the floor vomiting and breathing through our wet handkerchiefs.”
US Army WWII veteran Jake Larson speaks to Major General Jeff Broadwater during last year’s D-Day commemorations (Picture: US Department of Defense)
When the few who survived reached the shore, Mr Larson said they found themselves defenceless against the German torpedo boats.
They were only carrying their M1 Garand rifles, which in the veteran’s opinion was “like a pea shooter” against the German E-boats.
To keep up the morale of the troops and not give Germany any sort of advantage before D-Day, the failed operation was kept a secret.
Mr Larson explained: “When we got out of that landing ship, a full bird colonel came up and swore us to secrecy that we wouldn’t say a word.
Children watch as Exercise Tiger takes place at Slapton Sands (Picture: National Archives and Records Administration)
“We couldn’t talk about this even to our commanding officers when we got back under penalty of court-martial.
“Over 40 years this was a secret. My family didn’t even know about it.”
With the invasion of Normandy a success and a turning point in the fight against Nazi Germany, what happened at Slapton Sands was washed away by time.
US infantrymen disembark at Slapton Sands, Devon, in April 1944 to prepare for D-Day (Picture: National Archives and Records Administration)
In the 1980s, a man called Ken Small discovered a Sherman tank that had been lying on the seabed about three-quarters of a mile away from Slapton Sands since 1944.
His son Dean spoke to Forces News about what happened during Exercise Tiger.
He said: “You had hundreds and hundreds of very young [men] – most of them 17, 18, some lied and were actually 16.
“And there they were in Lyme Bay, not really knowing what was going on. They knew they were practising, but they didn’t know what for.
Watch: The story of the Slapton Sands Sherman Tank
“It was 2 o’clock in the morning approximately and then all of a sudden they come under attack from German E-boats.
“I’ve spoken to veterans and some of them said they thought it was just part of the re-enactment, that they were just making it more real.”
The exact number of casualties is unknown, but is thought to be 749 killed and around 200 wounded, plus the two LSTs that were sunk and the two more that were damaged.
Dean Small’s father Ken recovered the Sherman tank from the seabed, and to honour all those who died during Exercise Tiger he turned it into a memorial which is still visited today.
Watch: US Marines’ new CH-53K filmed carrying F-35 during refuelling
The newest helicopter for the US Marines has been pictured transporting an F-35 while carrying out air-to-air refuelling.
US Marines flew a CH-53K King Stallion heavy-lift helicopter with the airframe of an F-35C Lightning jet below it.
The King Stallion is the US Department of Defense’s most powerful helicopter and it carried the inoperable aircraft from the F-35 Integrated Test Force at Patuxent River (Pax ITF) to a navy unit located at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst.
The F-35 was without its mission and propulsion systems or outer wings and was transported to the Prototype, Manufacturing and Test (PMT) department of the Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division (NAWCAD) Lakehurst for use in future emergency recovery systems testing.
Austal Australia has launched the future ADV Cape Solander, the seventh Evolved Cape-class patrol boat that the company is building for the Royal Australian Navy (RAN).
Like its earlier sisters, the vessel has an aluminium hull, a length of 58 metres, and accommodations for 32 crewmembers and other personnel. Armament will include two pintle-mounted 12.7mm machine guns.
Austal said the Evolved Cape-class vessels will be built with a number of enhancements over the baseline Cape-class patrol boats, improving operational capability and crew capacity compared to the vessels already operated by the RAN and the Australian Border Force.
The boat will also come equipped with Austal’s proprietary motion control system, which consists of roll fins and trim flaps that are automatically-driven to provide improved stability under a range of speed settings.
Delivery of the future Cape Solander is scheduled for later this year.
The navy will use the Evolved Capes in constabulary operations, primarily to the North of Australia, enforcing Australian sovereign immigration and fisheries laws. They will be maintained at the Regional Maintenance Centre North East in Cairns.
NORFOLK (April 25, 2024) The Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS George Washington (CVN 73) departs Naval Station Norfolk, April 25, 2024, for a deployment to the U.S. Southern Command area of operations as part of Southern Seas 2024. (U.S. Navy photo by MC3 Maxwell Orlosky)
The Nimitz-class aircraft carrier, USS George Washington (CVN-73), with embarked Carrier Strike Group (CSG) 10, and a partial air wing from Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 7 departed Naval Station Norfolk (VA) on 25 April 2024. The CSG is heading for the US Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) area of operations as part of the exercise Southern Seas 2024.
Following Southern Seas, USS George Washington will relieve USS Ronald Reagan (CVN-76) as the forward-deployed naval forces (FDNF) aircraft carrier during a historic carrier swap at NAS North Island (CA) this summer. The carrier will sail down the coast of the US, through the Caribbean Sea and enter the Pacific by rounding Cape Horn at the southern tip of South America.
This will mark the second time George Washington has served as the FDNF aircraft carrier, arriving in Japan in 2008 as the first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier to be forward deployed to Japan before being relieved by Ronald Reagan in 2015. Following the transfer, the USS Ronald Reagan will head to Washington state for an overhaul before its permanent homeport assignment.
Prior to this week’s planned departure, George Washington completed its midlife nuclear refueling and complex overhaul at HII’s Newport News Shipbuilding in Virginia. The normally four-year-long maintenance period stretched to just short of six years due to a number of factors, including supply chain issues and workforce problems that were exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Washington began the RCOH period on 4 August 2017, and was redelivered to the US Navy on 25 May 2023.
It has not been reported yet which squadrons will be/are embarked with CVW-7 during this trip.
DZIRHAN MAHADZIR APRIL 24, 2024 2:58 PM – UPDATED: APRIL 25, 2024 7:21 AM
French aircraft carrier FS Charles De Gaulle (R91) departed its home port of Toulon for an operational deployment to the Mediterranean called Akila, which will see the French Carrier Strike Group (CSG) for the first time under NATO control for two-weeks. In a press briefing on Apr. 11 to announce the deployment, Rear Adm. Jacques Mallard, Commander of the French CSG, stated that the names of French Navy warships and submarines in the group would not be announced as part of an ongoing experiment by the French Navy to obscure the identity of its warships. Mallard stated this is quite effective and “leads to a certain confusion among our competitors,” though he also stated that the Navy would release the classes of ships involved. The French CSG commander also said they could not disclose the specific names of the partner nations’ ships and aircraft involved, until the respective countries publicly released the information themselves.
During the briefing, Mallard released a slide showing Charles De Gaulle would carry an embarked airwing of 18 Rafale M fighters, two E-2C Hawkeye Airborne Early Warning and Control (AWEC) and two Dauphin helicopters, while a land-based Atlantique 2 maritime patrol aircraft will support the French CSG. French Navy ships in the CSG are a Horizon-class air defense frigate, a FREMM-class multipurpose frigate, an attack submarine and fleet oiler BRF Jacques Chevallier (A725). The French Navy has since disclosed that the Horizon-class frigate is FS Chevalier Paul (D621).
The slide also showed that surface ships, land-based aircraft and a submarine integrating with the French CSG will come from Greece, Italy, Portugal, Spain and the United States, though so far only the Portuguese Navy has publicly disclosed its participation. with the frigate NRP Bartolomeu Dias (F333). Italian Navy frigate ITS Carabiniere (F593), however, was seen departing with the CSG from Toulon.
Mallard also provided a rough time frame of the deployment, stating that the CSG would operate for a short fortnight under NATO command, then would be under the direction of the French Commander-in-Chief, Mediterranean, for a period to execute national taskings and then participate in the Italian exercise Mare Aperto 24.1, co-organized by France. Mare Aperto would be the last activity before concluding the deployment, the French CSG commander stated, though he also said this could change with a possible option to enter the Red Sea in support of operations there. He also stated that there were no plans currently for the CSG to deploy to the Indo-Pacific.
NATO Assistant Secretary General for Public Diplomacy Marie-Doha Besancenot stated that the French CSG will be under the command of STRIKFORNATO (Naval Striking and Support Forces NATO Maritime Staff) from Apr. 26–May 10. In a release on Apr. 18, NATO’s Joint Force Command Naples stated that the French CSG will participate in NATO’s annual Neptune Strike exercise held in the Mediterranean. The exercise demonstrates the alliance’s ability to integrate joint high-end maritime strike capabilities of allied aircraft carriers and expeditionary strike groups to support the defense of the NATO alliance, according to the release.
On Tuesday, the French Navy announcedCharles De Gaulle and Chevalier Paul carried out successful firings of Aster surface-to-air missiles a few hours after departure for deployment. A French Ministry of Armed Forces release stated that Chevalier Paul, as the CSG air defense commander, neutralized an air threat at long range using an Aster 30 missile, while Charles De Gaulle fired an Aster 15 missile hitting its target as well. The targets were remotely piloted vehicles that simulated an antiship missile and a reconnaissance drone. Earlier on Apr. 18, the French Navy carried out a synchronized dual firing of the Naval Cruise Missile (MdCN) by frigate FS Aquitaine (D650) and a Suffren-class nuclear-powered attack submarine (SSN). The frigate was located off the coast of Brittany in northwest France, while the submarine was in the Bay of Biscay between the west coast of France and northern coast of Spain. A single missile was fired each by the frigate and submarine at a target located at the Direction générale de l’armement (DGA) missile test center in Landes, southwest France. Both missiles simultaneously hit the target. The French Navy stated in a news release that the firing was carried out in a manner resembling operational conditions. “The French Navy thus demonstrates its ability to synchronize strikes against land in depth, from different units, and on a single target,” said the release.
The French CSG is not the only French Navy task group on deployment. The French Navy Jeanne D’Arc deployment has been ongoing since Feb. 19 . The Jeanne D’Arc task group consisting of amphibious assault ship FS Tonnerre (L9014) and frigate FS Guépratte (F714) is a combined training and operational mission carrying embarked French Navy cadets along with a French Army battlegroup. The task force wrapped up a three-day exercise with the Brazilian Navy and Brazilian Marine Corps with a joint amphibious landing on the Brazilian island of Marambaia, according to a Brazilian Navy release. Brazil Navy helicopter carrier Atlantico (A140) and frigate Liberal (F-43) took part in the drills and conducted at-sea drills with the two French ships prior to the amphibious landing.
In other developments, the Royal Netherlands Navy frigate HNLMS Tromp (F803) completed its deployment in the Red Sea on Tuesday and is now heading to the Indo-Pacific, with its first stop being in India, according to a Netherlands Ministry of Defence release. Tromp is expected to participate in the U.S. Navy-led Rim of the Pacific 2024 exercise held in summer around Hawaii. The MOD release stated that Tromp will return home in September via the Caribbean and the Atlantic Ocean. Multipurpose support ship HNLMS Karel Doorman (A833) is now on its way to the Red Sea to replace Tromp, with a Netherlands MOD release stating there was a need for logistic support ships and medical capability in the region and the deployment would address this as KarelDoorman has an embarked medical team and a Cougar helicopter for the medical requirement.
RFA Cardigan Bay will play an important role in helping aid reach the people of Gaza (Picture: Royal Navy)
A Royal Fleet Auxiliary vessel will provide accommodation to hundreds of American soldiers and sailors in the eastern Mediterranean who are helping to deliver aid to Gaza.
The US military has started the construction of a temporary pier off the coast of Gaza to facilitate the delivery of vital humanitarian aid.
RFA Cardigan Bay is sailing from Cyprus to help support the international effort to build the pier which is set to be completed early next month.
The pier will initially support the delivery of approximately 90 truckloads of international aid, with plans to increase capacity to 150 truckloads once fully operational.
“It is critical we establish more routes for vital humanitarian aid to reach the people of Gaza and the UK continues to take a leading role in the delivery of support in coordination with the US and our international allies and partners,” Defence Secretary Grant Shapps said.
“The crew of RFA Cardigan Bay are central to the UK’s contribution to the multinational plan to greatly expand the flow of aid into Gaza.
“This will complement the priority of getting more aid in via land routes and Ashdod port in Israel, by enabling tens of thousands of tonnes to be delivered directly from the sea onto the beach.”
The use of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary ship means American forces can support the aid effort without having to put US boots on the ground.
RFA Cardigan Bay is a large landing ship dock that is designed to quickly offload troops and their equipment either using landing craft or from her large flight deck.
Cardigan Bay’s sister ship RFA Lyme Bay delivered the UK’s first maritime shipment of aid for Gaza in January.
The 87 tonnes of life-saving aid supplies, which included thermal blankets, shelter packs and medical supplies, were delivered to Gaza via Cyprus.
Due to its proximity to Gaza and its hosting of both British sovereign and US bases, the aid delivered via the US-built pier will also transit through Cyprus.
For several weeks, specialist British military planning teams have been helping to work out the safest and most effective maritime route.
They have been embedded with the US operational HQ in Tampa, Florida, and in Cyprus.
RFA Lyme Bay has delivered nearly 90 tonnes of UK humanitarian aid to civilians in Gaza (Picture: MOD)
The US construction project involves the assembly of an approximately 1,800-foot causeway, known as a Trident Pier, along with a roll-on, roll-off discharge facility situated about three miles off Gaza’s coast.
“The effort to deliver humanitarian assistance from the sea is fully supported by the Israeli Defense Force with whom we have been and will continue to work very closely from fixing the JLOTS [Joint Logistics Over-the-Shore capability] pier to the shore to providing force protection,” said a senior US defence official.
Once fully operational the pier is expected to be able to deliver enough supplies to feed the 2.3 million population of Gaza.
Meanwhile, the RAF has completed its ninth air drop of 11 tonnes of essential aid to Gaza.
