This is CBSI on the World. I'm John Batchel with James Holland, the historian, writing most recently of

Normandy, again, but from the point of view of one regiment, the Sherwood Rangers yeomanry,

organized as a National Guard-like unit, but now, because it is a veteran of the North African campaign

and is equipped with Sherman tanks, American-built Sherman tanks, it is part of the front line

landing on the British Gold Beach, June 6, 1944, and also part of the genius that we're going to get to shore,

not by having the landing craft run up on the beach and lower the ramp and flow out.

No, we're going to swim to shore with our tanks prepared to float 7,000 yards to the beach and

then start firing immediately. James, it always struck me as an unusual idea, and what you

evidence in this is that B&C Squadron recognized right away that the swell makes it impossible. Did everybody recognize that,

all the other tanks who were supposed to swim to shore? Did they also run as close as they could?

Yeah, and that's not really the choice of the tank so much. That's more the decision of the

naval personnel.

I mean I should just say for your for American listeners that a squadron, a tank squadron in the British Army is the same as a tank company in a, you know, in an armored battalion, armoured regiment in the US Army.

So obviously, you know, when they're thinking about this invasion, you know,

what everyone's imagining is it's summer, the seas are calm, there's no wind, it's like a

mill pond, and it's all going to be fine.

So at that point, 7,000 yards in a swimming tank, a duplex drive tank.

So what you do is you have this, you have a Sherman tank which weighs 30 tons.

Everything about that suggests that it shouldn't be able to swim, but you have this canvas,

this waterproof canvas surround, and it floats, and it's got a propeller on the drive,

rather than, which is directed to the propeller rather than the wheels, the drive that tracks,

and it can sort of effectively swim kind of walking pace to the shore. And seven thousand yards, when they're kind of planning it,

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