Thanks guys, Cor! A guardsman and a ranger fighting in unison?! What chance has a poor Donald Duck got??!! lol
Gents, For some reason folks only remember Omaha when they think of DD's and forget that they were remarkably successful on the other 4 out of 5 D-Day beaches... despite the unfortunate challenge that the sea conditions were about 2x to 6x their expected operating wave height...
But, yes, good catch, darn it!!... There is
no way that any DD Sherman should be able to open fire while it's still at sea... Please could you work up a couple of lines of code for our AP and HE.BSFs... essentially you just need to add a check (i) whether the firing unit is a DD_tank, and (ii) if it's driving over water, to then trigger a nullification of any attempts to fire, either voluntarily or in reaction... I'm on shift for the next week/weekends, and the coding is a bit beyond my 'L' plates... But I promise to add it if you forward it... Thanks for the spot!!
But... another thought... you said a DD tank had 'taken out' two units with one shot each?... That doesn't sound like the relatively weak firepower of a DD tank to me?...
Are you 100% sure that you weren't attacked by a broadside from a Royal Navy S-class fleet destroyer...??? If that hit you, you'd know about it... Ask any of the guys playing the Ouistreham Tourney...
A Little Bit of History...
The DD Sherman was used to equip eight tank battalions of American, British, and Canadian forces for the D-Day landings. They were carried in Tank landing craft (LCT)s. These could normally carry nine Shermans, but could fit fewer of the bulkier DDs.[3] British and Canadian LCTs carried five tanks, the Americans carried four as their LCTs were shorter at about 120 feet (37 m). The DDs would typically be launched around two miles from the shore, swim to the beaches and overpower the German defences. The tank's record was a mixture of success and failure, although they are mainly remembered for their disastrous performance on Omaha Beach.
Sword Beach
On the British Sword Beach, at the eastern end of the invasion area, the
DD tanks worked well, as the sea was reasonably calm. The DD tanks from 'A' and 'B' Squadrons of 13th/18th Royal Hussars were launched 2.5 miles (4 km) from shore. Five could not be launched as an LCT's leading tank tore its screen – they were later landed directly on shore – one tank sank after being struck by an LCT.
Gold Beach
On Gold Beach, the sea was rougher. The tanks of the Sherwood Rangers Yeomanry were launched late, about 700 yd (640 m) from the shore.
Eight tanks were lost on the way in and by the time the remainder landed, Sherman Crab (mine flail) tanks had already destroyed the German artillery and machine-gun positions that would have been their objective. Sea conditions meant the tanks of ‘B’ and ‘C’ Squadrons, from the 4th/7th Royal Dragoon Guards were landed in the shallows. They then drove onto the beach with their screens up so they would not get swamped in the breakers. German anti-tank guns caused heavy losses in some sectors of the beach but the assault was successful.[3]
Juno Beach
On the Canadian Juno Beach, The Fort Garry Horse and the 1st Hussars were equipped with DDs, but only those of the 1st Hussars could be launched. They were assigned to the 7th Canadian Brigade, at the western end of the beach. Some of the tanks were launched at 4,000 yd (3,658 m) and some at 800 yards (700 m);
twenty-one out of twenty-nine tanks reached the beach. The 8th Canadian Brigade, at the eastern end of the beach, was forced to land without DD tanks because of rougher seas. They suffered heavy initial casualties, but were still able to make good progress.
Utah Beach
On Utah Beach, the DDs were operated by the 70th Tank Battalion. Armoured support was reduced by four DDs when their LCT was lost to German artillery fire.[3] The remaining tanks were launched 15 minutes late 1,000 yards (914 m) from the beach.
Twenty-seven out of twenty eight reached the beach but confusion caused by the massive smoke screen meant they landed around 2,000 yards (1,829 m) from their aiming point and saw little German opposition.
Omaha Beach
At Omaha Beach almost all of the tanks launched offshore were lost, contributing to the high casualty rate and sluggish advance from that beach. One hundred and twelve tanks were assigned to the first wave at Omaha Beach, with 56 tanks in each of the 741st and 743rd Tank Battalions. Each of these battalions had 32 DD and 24 other Shermans (including many Sherman bulldozers for clearing obstacles). Starting at about 0540, the 741st Tank Battalion put
29 DDs into the sea, but 27 of these sank, the remaining two made the long swim to the beach. Some of the crews of the sinking tanks managed to radio back and warn following units not to launch as far out. The remaining vehicles of the 741st Tank Battalion and all tanks of the 743rd Tank Battalion, (except for the four aboard one LCT that was hit by artillery fire just off the beach), were landed directly on the beach, starting at about 0640.
DD Tanks were designed to operate in waves up to 1 foot (0.3 m) high; however, on D-Day the waves were up to 6 ft (1.8 m) high. These were much worse conditions than the tanks had been tested in and hence they were swamped. Also, the tanks of 741st Tank Battalion were launched too far out,[14] about 3 mi (4.8 km) offshore. Considering the inherent difficulty in steering a 35 ton modified tank, it is a tribute to the crews that they got as far as they did. The crews were equipped with DSEA emergency breathing apparatus capable of lasting 5 minutes, the tanks were also equipped with inflatable rafts.[15] Some sources claim that these life-saving measures were ineffective;[16] this was contradicted by the testimony of survivors.[15] Most of the crews were rescued, mainly by the landing craft carrying the 16th Regimental Combat Team),[17] although five crewmen are known to have died during the sinkings.[15]
Until very recently it was believed that most of the DD Shermans of the 741st Tank Battalion were sunk almost immediately. Some stayed afloat for a matter of minutes; according to the crews one tank swam for 15 minutes, another: "We weren’t in the ocean 10 minutes when we had a problem".[15] Tanks at the other four beaches suffered no such problems. New research[by whom?] suggests that the Omaha tanks were aiming for a church steeple on the visible horizon behind the cliffs.[citation needed] In order to maintain their line of sight it is believed that the tanks had to turn progressively away from the shore to combat the waves pushing them down the beach, putting their sides virtually parallel with the shoreline. This meant that the canvas flotation devices were easily swamped. If they had kept going directly forward with the front of the tank headed straight for the beach, they may have reached it.[citation needed]
Others believe that the error was due to the commanders aboard the ships from which the tanks were launched.[who?] They simply gave the order to launch too early, possibly to avoid getting too close to the battle themselves.[citation needed] The possibility of disembarking the tanks directly onto the beach if the sea was too rough had been discussed and agreed upon by Colonel Skaggs and Colonel Upham, (commanding officers of the 741st and 743rd battalions), before the tanks left Portland, England.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DD_tank
) my own coding skills lie somewhere between you and your (rather smart!) dog... Probably, lol...
