No. of Recommendations: 5
Both Mulberries were destroyed by storms. The first never made it to Omaha Beach. The second was in operation at Gold Beach for several months before a storm wrecked it. Nope. Both made it, one to Gold, one to Omaha, and both were in use by D Day+1. The one at Omaha was destroyed in a storm a few days later, the one at Gold lasted weeks, months, giving the Allies enough time to take some of the natural ports along the French coastline (Marseille and Toulon.)
Two Mulberry harbours were built for D-Day. Mulberry A was constructed off Omaha Beach to supply
US forces. Mulberry B was built off Gold Beach at Arromanches to supply British and Canadian troops.
Mulberry A was destroyed in a storm a few days after it was built. Mulberry B was operational for
10 months after the landings.
ice.org.uk - Mulberry harbours.
The idea for floating harbours came from several people. Winston Churchill had suggested them
as early as 1917.
Military chiefs became interested in the concept after a disastrous British attack on the
German-controlled port of Dieppe, France in 1942.
The failed raid showed that the Allies needed a way to get supplies across beaches in the early
stages of an invasion.
