It’s D-Day and the Allies are about to invade Nazi-occupied France. For the landings to succeed, American soldiers on Omaha Beach will have to break through some formidable coastal defences – Hitler’s Atlantic Wall. Sherman tanks will come in very handy – and the Allies have come up with a novel solution for getting them to the beach. These tanks will swim. Everyone from Winston Churchill down thought swimming tanks were a great idea… but were they?
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Further Reading
The Second World War. Vol II. W Churchill.
Normandy 44 by James Holland
Overlord by Max Hastings
Beyond the Beachhead by Joseph Balkoski
The Maritime Archaeology of Duplex Drive Tanks in the United Kingdom by Thomas Cousins, Thomas Harrison and Dave Parham. Bournemouth University, UK
The Design of Everyday Things by Don Norman
Clay Christensen’s Milkshake Marketing by Carmen Nobel (Harvard Business School)
Don’t Solve the Wrong Problem by Prashant Verma
What is Workplace Innovation? By The European Workplace Innovation Network
Interview with D-Day veterans – D-Day I Was There. BBC News.
Published on October 13, 2025 22:01