USS Arikara (ATF-98) - Operation Overlord

Operation Overlord

On the afternoon of 5 June, the tug stood out of Weymouth, England, on her way to the sector of the Normandy coast code-named by Allied planners as "Omaha Beach". After the first waves of assault troops stormed ashore, the tug began her primary assignment, clearing wrecks from the beach area reserved for the erection of the artificial harbors. Soon, however, German fire began to take such a heavy toll of landing craft that Arikara had to abandon salvage operations in favor of the even more urgent work of rescue and repair. Her work enabled the less heavily damaged landing craft to remain in action, thus maintaining the flow of troops and supplies during the critical phase of the assault on "Omaha" Beach.

That phase past, the tug resumed salvage and towing work on the 7th. In all, she spent almost a month supporting the consolidation of the Normandy invasion. Though she came under air attacks and fire from shore batteries, her only major damage came from the explosion of a nearby mine while she was towing the disabled French destroyer La Surprise back to England for repairs. Her main engine room rapidly took on water which rose to within six inches of her main electric motor before her crew managed to check the leaks. Arikara completed her mission successfully, and, after 24 hours of feverish activity, her crew had her repaired and back in action off Normandy.