And here we are, the last day of the Ian Allan D-Day 75 tour, which, according to plan was supposed to have us return to Caen Carpiquet airport to watch the departure of the Daks for Schonhagen, near Berlin, then drive back to Paris in the afternoon. The problem with this was manifold however. Firstly, access at Carpiquet was going to be non-existent; there was no guarantee we'd get to see the aircraft take off, let alone get on to the airfield, as there was nothing put in place for us to get access today (!). This led to some within the group specifically requesting we not return to Carpiquet, because no one wanted to stand around in the rain on the airfield perimeter or in the crowded terminal in the vain hope of seeing a DC-3 take off, which was heeded. Next, it was raining and overcast and we learned later that the Daks didn't leave when they were scheduled to, so we dodged that one altogether. On the hoof, the tour leader sought other plans. Some of us wanted to remain in Lisieux tovisit the basilique and the military cemetery at St Desir just outside of town, as it has Commonwealth and German graves in it, but instead, we were going to go to La Memorial du Caen, which we were supposed to visit on the first day of the tour in the region, but for Trump's state visit.
Anyway, on a grey and wet day we drove back to Caen and the interpretation centre and memorial gardens. it was an inspired choice as it rambles through the cause of WW2, its impact and the subsequent Cold War, supported by some interesting artefacts. Fascinating stuff. The exterior is stark, with obligatory peace sculptures.
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In the foyer is this full scale reproduction of a Typhoon in the markings of Typhoon IB JP656 of 184 Sqn, which was hit by flak as it was attacking a railway convoy near Mezidon, a few ks south east of Caen. It certainly looks great, particularly with its load of rockets, and makes a change to seeing plastic Spitfires everywhere.
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This is a German parachute non-contact magnetic mine, classed as Luftmine A (LMA) of 500kg. There was also a larger 1,000kg variant. Note that the triggering mechanism is missing that fits into the circular hole on its side.
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The holiest of holies; an Enigma code machine. The cover over the three rotors had been lifted and the plug board has been exposed.
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This simple display has artefacts associated with U boats, including a four rotor Enigma, introduced quite arbitrarily in February 1942, which threw British codebreaking efforts back nine months on its discovery. The globe is celestial and displays the stars laid out in their constellations and was carried aboard an unnamed U boat, although I suspect it was relatively common. The wooden model is of a Type VIIC U boat and was hand carved by a crew member, perhaps to while the time away during lengthy patrols.
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Whilst on my Europe trip I saw some truly random Nazi associated artefacts, including this Hitler money box.
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...Aaand for a bit of American humour, Kilroy was clearly 'ere in this little china representation of a pregnant (very) young girl.
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A grave marker for a fallen Kamerade. These would have been a common sight around Europe following the end of the war. It's quite beautiful in its morbidity.
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In the Cold war section there are lots of unexpected items on display, such as these pieces of the Lockheed U-2 that was flown by Maj Rudolf Anderson Jr and shot down over Cuba on 27 October 1962. Anderson, the first recipient of the Air Force Cross in the USAF, was killed. These items were donated by the Havana Revolution Museum - truly surprising to see these fragments.
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A US B28FI parachute laydown thermonuclear bomb casing, as carried aboard Strategic Air Command B-47s and B-52s. The warhead was between 70 Kt and 1.45 megatons, depending on the Mod state.
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What looks like a MiG-21bis perched opposite the B28 bomb.
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The DDR's revenge; a Trabant next to a segment of the Berlin Wall.
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What isn't immediately obvious is that the entire memorial structure is situated on top of a German blockhouse that was used as the the command post of Generalmajor Wilhelm Richter, commander of the 716th German infantry division, which guarded the coastal sector from Omaha Beach to the mouth of the Orne River. In 1943, the German commander decided to base his general headquarters in this former quarry, which had also been used as a firing range by the French Army. Inside the refurbished tunnels are a few relevant displays on German efforts to counter the Allied invasion.
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The bunker exterior and its access lift shaft and stairwell. That's the memorial building up top.
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So, that was that. After visiting the memorial, it was goodbye to lovely Normandy and off to Paris and the end of the tour.
In summary I had mixed feelings about the tour in general; it had not turned out as planned for various reasons and the fact my name had been left off the list for the Dakota flights certainly did not endear me to the organisation side, not to mention the cancellations and changes in schedule, which in some cases should have been predicted. As for the locations on the tour, in retrospect, there were too many museums and interpretation centres and too few actual locations, which is why we were in Normandy in the first place. Yes, I got to three invasion beaches, one of them on the 75th anniversay day itself, but two of those were done on my own initiative. The visit to Ranville cemetery was also ad hoc and a couple of others expressed their disappointment at not going to the likes of Coleville, the big US cemetery near Omaha Beach. I also pushed to go to the Longues-sur-Mer battery very nearby Arromanches, the only gun battery remains where the guns are still in situ, except of course the one damaged by the French cruiser
Georges Leygues, but the schedule and road closures put paid to that. Not something any of us had any control over. I also felt the tour guide, as nice as he was, seemed a little too in the dark about what was happening with regards to local events and their subsequent impact on the tour schedule, and this was to re-occur as we went to Berlin for the Berlin Airlift segment, as we shall see later in the thread. I found myself relying more on my own sources of information on local areas and making my own way.
Still, part of the objective of joining this tour was to go to Normandy and see these places, Pegasus Bridge, the invasion beaches, and I thoroughly enjoyed being there, which was of greater importance to me than reading about them in a museum. The next part of the tour I was looking forward to, as I was returning to Berlin, one of my favourite cities, where I was to catch up with friends I hadn't seen in years. To end though, it was back to Paris for a free day before returning to see an old flame.