The Royal Engineers prepare for D-Day
5th January 1944: The sea front at a British resort town falls victim to the destructive power of a new secret weapon
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Following the disaster at Dieppe in 1942, the British had become very wary of making an opposed amphibious landing.
They were now developing a range of new specialised tanks for use in the invasion of France. Correctly known as AVREs - Armoured Vehicle, Royal Engineers - they became more popularly recognised as 'Hobart's Funnies' in tribute to the man responsible for developing them, General Sir Percy Hobart.
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As the name suggests the Royal Engineers operated the various tanks, although the drivers were men from the Royal Tank Regiment. Each was designed to deal with a particular problem such bridging a tank ditch, or destroying mines with flails and they included the Duplex Drive - DD - swimming tanks used by both British and American forces on D-Day.
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