The GMC CCKW

I am sure many of you are aware that Google is going to host over 10 million Life Magazine photographs on their site. Most of these pictures have never been seen. Access is stated to be free.

I must commend Life for doing this and furthering history.

The main search page is here:

http://images.google.com/hosted/life

I went to the 40's section and typed in normandy in the upper right search box.

Some great pics as below.

Bill

http://images.google.com/hosted/life/f? ... a5646007c5

http://images.google.com/hosted/life/f? ... 39f5119f79

http://images.google.com/hosted/life/f? ... 4df32fcb1c

http://images.google.com/hosted/life/f? ... 3b991f5702

I have never seen a picture of an empty "Rhino Ferry" before.

http://images.google.com/hosted/life/f? ... 73ba0e4cf9

Is this a Road Grader on the left?

The beach scenes are of Cherbourg. The long building in the background is the rail/ferry terminal, from where the Titanic sailed, so many years earlier. It's now a museum.

Cherbourg surrendered on 29th June 1944 but it was some months before the port was free of mines and booby traps. It's therefore probable that the trucks, some stripped of their troop seats, are part of the Red Ball Express, note the Cab Overs. The DUKW's are their ship to shore ferry service, awaiting the next delivery.

The Troop scenes are from bloody Omaha.

The Rhino picture neatly shows an "outboard motor" used to propel and steer the ferry. One of these has survived and is presently on show in the D-Day Museum in Southsea Portsmouth UK.

After the war thousands of Lend Lease vehicles were loaded onto these same flat ferries and motored out to the SE of the Isle of Wight, Hampshire UK, then ceremoniously pushed over the edge into St Catherines Deep, to be lost forever. The war was over.

Great "Heads Up" on the photos. I had read it in the newspaper and somehow didn't make the connection.

Bill is correct, That is a (What else?) CATERPILLAR No 12 motor grader next to the CCKW. Lots of other interesting engineer equipment as well.

My late father made seveal amphibious combat landings. Some easy some rough. One driving a Cat 12 Grader out of a half swamped LCM. The water was up to the grader cab floor when the ramp went down. The sailor on the helm was screaming at him to "get that *&&%%%^### thing off his boat!

Thanks for the reminder.

Cat Man

Thanks Bill