Operation Titanic
Encyclopedia
Operation Titanic was the codename for an operation carried out on 5-6 June 1944 by the Royal Air Force
and the Special Air Service
in support of the Normandy landings during the Second World War
. The objective of the operation was to drop 500 dummy parachutist
s, in areas away from the landing beaches, to persuade the Germans that the invasion was spread over a greater area and thus entice troops away from the actual invasion zone. The episode was depicted in the 1962 film The Longest Day
.
Titanic was one of four Royal Air Force deception operations carried out at the time, the others being Operation Glimmer
by No. 218 Squadron
, Operation Taxable
by No. 617 Squadron
and Operation Airborne Cigar by No. 101
and No. 214
squadrons.
had a number of deception
plans in connection with the planned invasion of Europe. Operation Fortitude
was the deception operation for the Normandy landings or Operation Overlord
. It was divided into Fortitude North, a threat to invade Norway
, and Fortitude South, designed to induce the Germans
to believe that the main invasion of France
would occur in the Pas de Calais rather than Normandy
.
The Royal Air Force
as part of Fortitude had their own deception missions. Starting on 5 June there were four operations. Two of them entailed the dropping of Window over the English Channel
to simulate the approach of a large fleet. These were Glimmer
by No. 218 Squadron
and Taxable
by No. 617 Squadron
. The third was intended to jam the German radar
, Airborne Cigar by No. 101
and No. 214
squadrons. The final operation was Titanic.
. The special duties squadrons No. 138
and No. 161
flying Handley Page Halifax
s and Lockheed Hudson
s. They were joined by two other squadrons No. 90 and No. 149
flying Short Stirling
s. The Special Air Service provided 12 men commanded by Captain
Harry Fowles and Lieutenant
Noel Poole. The Special Air Service were tasked to engage the Germans on landing, but to ensure some of them escaped to spread the word that hundreds of parachutists were landing in the area.
The mission was in four parts Titanic I-IV and called for dropping dummy parachutists which contained rifle fire simulators, Window and an explosive charge. The explosives were designed to destroy the dummy and the only evidence left would suggest that the parachutist had burnt his parachute.
Titanic I was the simulated drop of an airborne division north of the Seine river. The drop zone
s were near Yvetot
, Yerville
, Doudeville
in the Seine-Maritime
region and Fauville
in the Eure
region. On these four drop zones 200 dummies and two Special Air Service teams were parachuted in.
Titanic II was the dropping of 50 dummy parachutists east of the Dives River
to draw German reserves onto that side of the river but this mission was cancelled just before 6 June.
Titanic III was the dropping of 50 dummy parachutists in the Calvados
region near Maltot and the woods to the north of Baron-sur-Odon
to draw German reserves away to the west of Caen
.
Titanic IV was the dropping of 200 dummies near Marigny
in the Manche
and as with Titanic I was supposed to simulate the dropping of an airborne division. Two Special Air Service teams were also dropped here near Saint-Lô
. This group commanded by Lieutenant Poole landed at 00:20 on 6 June 1944, 10 minutes ahead of schedule. The Special Air Service teams carried recordings and amplifiers and played sound of rifle and Mortar
fire together with shouted commands. The recordings lasted for 30 minutes after which the Special Air Service teams withdrew from the area.
.
At 02:00 on 6 June 1944, the Germans reported the landing of parachutists east of Caen and in the Coutances
, Valognes
and Saint-Lô
areas and hearing ships engines out at sea. The 7th Army was placed on full invasion alert, but General Hans Speidel
decreased the level of alert when it was reported only dummy parachutists had been found. However, Generalfeldmarshall Gerd von Rundstedt
ordered over ½ of the 12th SS Panzerdivision Hitlerjugend to deal with a parachute landing on the coast near Lisieux
which were found to be dummies from Titanic III. The dummies and Special Air Service teams of Titanic IV diverted a Kampfgruppe
from the 915th Grenadier Regiment, which was the only reserve element of the 352nd Infantry Division
away from the Omaha
and Gold
beaches and the 101st Airborne Division
s drop zones. The regiment spent the morning of 6 June searching the woods for the parachutists, believing an airborne division had landed in the area.Enigma
intercepts from the area of Titanic I, revealed that the German commander was reporting a major landing up the coast from Le Havre
(well to the north of the landing beaches) and that he had been cut off by them.
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
and the Special Air Service
Special Air Service
Special Air Service or SAS is a corps of the British Army constituted on 31 May 1950. They are part of the United Kingdom Special Forces and have served as a model for the special forces of many other countries all over the world...
in support of the Normandy landings during the Second World War
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. The objective of the operation was to drop 500 dummy parachutist
Paradummy
The Paradummy is a device first used in World War II that, used with other artificial paratrooper units, is meant to cause an invasion by air to appear larger than it actually is. Paradummies can also be used to lure enemy troops into staged ambushes....
s, in areas away from the landing beaches, to persuade the Germans that the invasion was spread over a greater area and thus entice troops away from the actual invasion zone. The episode was depicted in the 1962 film The Longest Day
The Longest Day (film)
The Longest Day is a 1962 war film based on the 1959 history book The Longest Day by Cornelius Ryan, about "D-Day", the Normandy landings on 6 June 1944, during World War II....
.
Titanic was one of four Royal Air Force deception operations carried out at the time, the others being Operation Glimmer
Operation Glimmer
Operation Glimmer was the codename for one of the deception operations used by the Allied forces during World War II in connection with the Normandy landings . In conjunction with Operation Taxable, this was conducted by aircraft of the Royal Air Force and small ships of the Royal Navy to trick the...
by No. 218 Squadron
No. 218 Squadron RAF
No. 218 Squadron RAF was a squadron of the Royal Air Force. It was also known as No 218 Squadron after the Governor of the Gold Coast and people of the Gold Coast officially adopted the squadron.-World War I:...
, Operation Taxable
Operation Taxable
Operation Taxable was the codename for one of the deception operations used by the Allied forces during World War II in connection with the Normandy landings...
by No. 617 Squadron
No. 617 Squadron RAF
No. 617 Squadron is a Royal Air Force aircraft squadron based at RAF Lossiemouth in Scotland. It currently operates the Tornado GR4 in the ground attack and reconnaissance role...
and Operation Airborne Cigar by No. 101
No. 101 Squadron RAF
No. 101 Squadron of the Royal Air Force operates the Vickers VC10 C1K, K3 and K4 from RAF Brize Norton, Oxfordshire. Since 10 Squadron disbanded in 2005, the squadron is the only operator of the VC10.-Formation and early years:...
and No. 214
No. 214 Squadron RAF
-History:No 214 Squadron was formed from No. 14 Squadron Royal Naval Air Service , itself formerly No. 7A Squadron RNAS only taking on the new number in 9 December 1917. With the creation of the RAF from the Royal Flying Corps and the RNAS on 1 April 1918 it received the number 214. It was later...
squadrons.
Background
The AlliesAllies
In everyday English usage, allies are people, groups, or nations that have joined together in an association for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out between them...
had a number of deception
Deception
Deception, beguilement, deceit, bluff, mystification, bad faith, and subterfuge are acts to propagate beliefs that are not true, or not the whole truth . Deception can involve dissimulation, propaganda, and sleight of hand. It can employ distraction, camouflage or concealment...
plans in connection with the planned invasion of Europe. Operation Fortitude
Operation Fortitude
Operation Fortitude was the codename for a World War II military deception employed by the Allied nations as part of an overall deception strategy during the build up to the 1944 Normandy Landings...
was the deception operation for the Normandy landings or Operation Overlord
Operation Overlord
Operation Overlord was the code name for the Battle of Normandy, the operation that launched the invasion of German-occupied western Europe during World War II by Allied forces. The operation commenced on 6 June 1944 with the Normandy landings...
. It was divided into Fortitude North, a threat to invade Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
, and Fortitude South, designed to induce the Germans
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
to believe that the main invasion of France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
would occur in the Pas de Calais rather than Normandy
Normandy
Normandy is a geographical region corresponding to the former Duchy of Normandy. It is in France.The continental territory covers 30,627 km² and forms the preponderant part of Normandy and roughly 5% of the territory of France. It is divided for administrative purposes into two régions:...
.
The Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
as part of Fortitude had their own deception missions. Starting on 5 June there were four operations. Two of them entailed the dropping of Window over the English Channel
English Channel
The English Channel , often referred to simply as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates southern England from northern France, and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic. It is about long and varies in width from at its widest to in the Strait of Dover...
to simulate the approach of a large fleet. These were Glimmer
Operation Glimmer
Operation Glimmer was the codename for one of the deception operations used by the Allied forces during World War II in connection with the Normandy landings . In conjunction with Operation Taxable, this was conducted by aircraft of the Royal Air Force and small ships of the Royal Navy to trick the...
by No. 218 Squadron
No. 218 Squadron RAF
No. 218 Squadron RAF was a squadron of the Royal Air Force. It was also known as No 218 Squadron after the Governor of the Gold Coast and people of the Gold Coast officially adopted the squadron.-World War I:...
and Taxable
Operation Taxable
Operation Taxable was the codename for one of the deception operations used by the Allied forces during World War II in connection with the Normandy landings...
by No. 617 Squadron
No. 617 Squadron RAF
No. 617 Squadron is a Royal Air Force aircraft squadron based at RAF Lossiemouth in Scotland. It currently operates the Tornado GR4 in the ground attack and reconnaissance role...
. The third was intended to jam the German radar
Radar jamming and deception
Radar jamming and deception is the intentional emission of radio frequency signals to interfere with the operation of a radar by saturating its receiver with noise or false information...
, Airborne Cigar by No. 101
No. 101 Squadron RAF
No. 101 Squadron of the Royal Air Force operates the Vickers VC10 C1K, K3 and K4 from RAF Brize Norton, Oxfordshire. Since 10 Squadron disbanded in 2005, the squadron is the only operator of the VC10.-Formation and early years:...
and No. 214
No. 214 Squadron RAF
-History:No 214 Squadron was formed from No. 14 Squadron Royal Naval Air Service , itself formerly No. 7A Squadron RNAS only taking on the new number in 9 December 1917. With the creation of the RAF from the Royal Flying Corps and the RNAS on 1 April 1918 it received the number 214. It was later...
squadrons. The final operation was Titanic.
Mission
Operation Titanic was carried out by the Royal Air Force and the Special Air Service. The Royal Air Force provided four squadrons from No. 3 Group RAFNo. 3 Group RAF
Number 3 Group of the Royal Air Force was an RAF group first active in 1918, again in 1923-26, part of RAF Bomber Command from 1936 to 1967, and part of RAF Strike Command from 2000 until it disbanded on 1 April 2006.-The 1930s and World War II:...
. The special duties squadrons No. 138
No. 138 Squadron RAF
No. 138 Squadron RAF was a squadron of the Royal Air Force that served in a variety of roles during its career, last disbanded in 1962. It was the first 'V-bomber' squadron of the RAF, flying the Vickers Valiant between 1955 and 1962....
and No. 161
No. 161 Squadron RAF
No. 161 Squadron was a highly secretive unit of the Royal Air Force tasked with missions of the Special Operations Executive during the Second World War. Their primary role was to drop and collect secret agents and equipment into and from Nazi-occupied Europe...
flying Handley Page Halifax
Handley Page Halifax
The Handley Page Halifax was one of the British front-line, four-engined heavy bombers of the Royal Air Force during the Second World War. A contemporary of the famous Avro Lancaster, the Halifax remained in service until the end of the war, performing a variety of duties in addition to bombing...
s and Lockheed Hudson
Lockheed Hudson
The Lockheed Hudson was an American-built light bomber and coastal reconnaissance aircraft built initially for the Royal Air Force shortly before the outbreak of the Second World War and primarily operated by the RAF thereafter...
s. They were joined by two other squadrons No. 90 and No. 149
No. 149 Squadron RAF
No. 149 Squadron RAF was a Royal Air Force Squadron between 1918 and 1956. Formed 1918 in the Royal Flying Corps as a night-bomber unit, it remained in that role for the rest of its existence which spanned three periods between 1918 and 1956.-World War I:...
flying Short Stirling
Short Stirling
The Short Stirling was the first four-engined British heavy bomber of the Second World War. The Stirling was designed and built by Short Brothers to an Air Ministry specification from 1936, and entered service in 1941...
s. The Special Air Service provided 12 men commanded by Captain
Captain (British Army and Royal Marines)
Captain is a junior officer rank of the British Army and Royal Marines. It ranks above Lieutenant and below Major and has a NATO ranking code of OF-2. The rank is equivalent to a Lieutenant in the Royal Navy and to a Flight Lieutenant in the Royal Air Force...
Harry Fowles and Lieutenant
Lieutenant
A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...
Noel Poole. The Special Air Service were tasked to engage the Germans on landing, but to ensure some of them escaped to spread the word that hundreds of parachutists were landing in the area.
The mission was in four parts Titanic I-IV and called for dropping dummy parachutists which contained rifle fire simulators, Window and an explosive charge. The explosives were designed to destroy the dummy and the only evidence left would suggest that the parachutist had burnt his parachute.
Titanic I was the simulated drop of an airborne division north of the Seine river. The drop zone
Drop zone
A drop zone is a place where parachutists or parachuted supplies land. It can be an area targeted for landing by paratroopers, or a base from which recreational parachutists and skydivers take off in aircraft and land under parachutes...
s were near Yvetot
Yvetot
Yvetot is a commune in the Seine-Maritime department in the Haute-Normandie region in northern France.-History:The name is of Scandinavian origin . The town is most likely of Scandinavian origin too. There is also a locality in Bromölla municipality in southern Sweden bearing the same name...
, Yerville
Yerville
Yerville is a commune in the Seine-Maritime department in the Haute-Normandie region in northern France.-Geography:A small farming and light industrial town situated in the Pays de Caux, some northwest of Rouen at the junction of the D929 with the D142 road...
, Doudeville
Doudeville
Doudeville is a commune in the Seine-Maritime department in the Haute-Normandie region in northern France.-Geography:Called the flax capital, the town is situated at the centre of the Pays de Caux, the chalk plateau in High Normandy and one widely known for its fields of blue-flowered flax.*...
in the Seine-Maritime
Seine-Maritime
Seine-Maritime is a French department in the Haute-Normandie region in northern France. It is situated on the northern coast of France, at the mouth of the Seine, and includes the cities of Rouen and Le Havre...
region and Fauville
Fauville
Fauville is a commune in the Eure department in the Haute-Normandie region in northern France.-Population:...
in the Eure
Eure
Eure is a department in the north of France named after the river Eure.- History :Eure is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on 4 March 1790...
region. On these four drop zones 200 dummies and two Special Air Service teams were parachuted in.
Dives River
The Dives is a 105 km long river in the Pays d'Auge, Normandie, France. It flows into the English Channel in Cabourg.The source of the Dives is near Exmes, in the Orne department...
to draw German reserves onto that side of the river but this mission was cancelled just before 6 June.
Titanic III was the dropping of 50 dummy parachutists in the Calvados
Calvados
The French department of Calvados is part of the region of Basse-Normandie in Normandy. It takes its name from a cluster of rocks off the English Channel coast...
region near Maltot and the woods to the north of Baron-sur-Odon
Baron-sur-Odon
Baron-sur-Odon is a commune in the Calvados department in the Basse-Normandie region in northwestern France.-Population:-References:*...
to draw German reserves away to the west of Caen
Caen
Caen is a commune in northwestern France. It is the prefecture of the Calvados department and the capital of the Basse-Normandie region. It is located inland from the English Channel....
.
Titanic IV was the dropping of 200 dummies near Marigny
Marigny, Manche
Marigny is a commune in the Manche department in Normandy in north-western France.-Heraldry:-See also:*Communes of the Manche department...
in the Manche
Manche
Manche is a French department in Normandy named after La Manche , which is the French name for the English Channel.- History :Manche is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on March 4, 1790...
and as with Titanic I was supposed to simulate the dropping of an airborne division. Two Special Air Service teams were also dropped here near Saint-Lô
Saint-Lô
Saint-Lô is a commune in north-western France, the capital of the Manche department in Normandy.-History:Originally called Briovère , the town is built on and around ramparts. Originally it was a Gaul fortified settlement...
. This group commanded by Lieutenant Poole landed at 00:20 on 6 June 1944, 10 minutes ahead of schedule. The Special Air Service teams carried recordings and amplifiers and played sound of rifle and Mortar
Mortar (weapon)
A mortar is an indirect fire weapon that fires explosive projectiles known as bombs at low velocities, short ranges, and high-arcing ballistic trajectories. It is typically muzzle-loading and has a barrel length less than 15 times its caliber....
fire together with shouted commands. The recordings lasted for 30 minutes after which the Special Air Service teams withdrew from the area.
Aftermath
The mission went according to plan. The only aircraft lost were two Shorts Stirlings and their crews from No. 149 Squadron taking part in Titanic III. Eight men from the Special Air Service failed to return, they were all either killed in action or executed by the Germans in Bergen-Belsen concentration campBergen-Belsen concentration camp
Bergen-Belsen was a Nazi concentration camp in Lower Saxony in northwestern Germany, southwest of the town of Bergen near Celle...
.
At 02:00 on 6 June 1944, the Germans reported the landing of parachutists east of Caen and in the Coutances
Coutances
Coutances is a commune in the Manche department in Normandy in north-western France.-History:Capital of the Unelli, a Gaulish tribe, the town took the name of Constantia in 298 during the reign of Roman emperor Constantius Chlorus...
, Valognes
Valognes
Valognes is a commune in the Manche department in Normandy in north-western France.It lies on the Merderet river, southeast of Cherbourg.-History:...
and Saint-Lô
Saint-Lô
Saint-Lô is a commune in north-western France, the capital of the Manche department in Normandy.-History:Originally called Briovère , the town is built on and around ramparts. Originally it was a Gaul fortified settlement...
areas and hearing ships engines out at sea. The 7th Army was placed on full invasion alert, but General Hans Speidel
Hans Speidel
Hans Speidel: Born in Metzingen, was a German general during World War II and the first German NATO Commander during the Cold War.- 1914–1945 :...
decreased the level of alert when it was reported only dummy parachutists had been found. However, Generalfeldmarshall Gerd von Rundstedt
Gerd von Rundstedt
Karl Rudolf Gerd von Rundstedt was a Generalfeldmarschall of the German Army during World War II. He held some of the highest field commands in all phases of the war....
ordered over ½ of the 12th SS Panzerdivision Hitlerjugend to deal with a parachute landing on the coast near Lisieux
Lisieux
Lisieux is a commune in the Calvados department in the Basse-Normandie region in northwestern France.Lisieux is the capital of the Pays d'Auge area, which is characterised by valleys and hedged farmland...
which were found to be dummies from Titanic III. The dummies and Special Air Service teams of Titanic IV diverted a Kampfgruppe
Kampfgruppe
In military history and military slang, the German term Kampfgruppe can refer to a combat formation of any kind, but most usually to that employed by the German Wehrmacht and its allies during World War II and, to a lesser extent, in World War I...
from the 915th Grenadier Regiment, which was the only reserve element of the 352nd Infantry Division
German 352nd Infantry Division
The 352nd Infantry Division was a formation of the German Wehrmacht during World War II. A western front unit, the 352nd became notable for its tenacious defense of Omaha Beach on D-Day, 6 June 1944.-Formation and strengths:...
away from the Omaha
Omaha Beach
Omaha Beach is the code name for one of the five sectors of the Allied invasion of German-occupied France in the Normandy landings on 6 June 1944, during World War II...
and Gold
Gold Beach
Gold Beach was the code name of one of the D-Day landing beaches that Allied forces used to invade German-occupied France on 6 June 1944, during World War II....
beaches and the 101st Airborne Division
101st Airborne Division
The 101st Airborne Division—the "Screaming Eagles"—is a U.S. Army modular light infantry division trained for air assault operations. During World War II, it was renowned for its role in Operation Overlord, the D-Day landings on 6 June 1944, in Normandy, France, Operation Market Garden, the...
s drop zones. The regiment spent the morning of 6 June searching the woods for the parachutists, believing an airborne division had landed in the area.Enigma
Enigma machine
An Enigma machine is any of a family of related electro-mechanical rotor cipher machines used for the encryption and decryption of secret messages. Enigma was invented by German engineer Arthur Scherbius at the end of World War I...
intercepts from the area of Titanic I, revealed that the German commander was reporting a major landing up the coast from Le Havre
Le Havre
Le Havre is a city in the Seine-Maritime department of the Haute-Normandie region in France. It is situated in north-western France, on the right bank of the mouth of the river Seine on the English Channel. Le Havre is the most populous commune in the Haute-Normandie region, although the total...
(well to the north of the landing beaches) and that he had been cut off by them.