Yahoo News D-Day 80 Royal Marine Commandos training on South West beaches
Preparations for D-Day 80 have seen Royal Marine Commandos training on South West beaches. The 47 Commando Raiding Group is based at RM Tamar in HMNB Devonport and has been training on the beaches of East Cornwall.
The Unit is getting ready to take part in D-Day 80 Commemoration events in Normandy. Based at RM Tamar in HMNB Devonport, the Royal Marines remain the UK’s specialist in amphibious operations, fully capable of all waterborne operations, training regularly on the rivers and beaches of the Southwest.
As well as operating specialist boats and craft, the Royal Marines train their Landing Craft (LC) crews in-house at 47 RGRM to operate Raiding and Landing Craft. Conducting Surf Drills on Tregantle beach, using their Inflatable Raiding Craft (IRC) for their mobility, versatility and discrete nature when approaching hostile beaches on operations, the crews are taught how to skillfully manoeuvre the raiding craft in arduous conditions.
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The Royal Marines said in a statement: "The LC crews must be able to assess a beach, deploy troops and recover safely back to sea once their mission is complete. Having to quickly analyze and take into consideration several variables such as enemy threat, all types of weather, surf conditions and the individual compositions of the landing areas is vital in the LC delivering successful missions.
"The ability to understand these, steer their craft confidently and safely is a core skill for Royal Marines Landing Craft Operators and one of the key aspects they must master."
“We’ve brought together three levels of instruction for this exercise,” said Major Andy Atkinson from 47 Commando Raiding Group RM.
“At the Marine level the LC3s drive the boats, LC2 corporals are learning to control them and the Sergeants at LC1 level command the boat groups. Most of them will be coming to Normandy where we’re involved with the commemoration events.
"47 Cdo RM is one of the Commandos that landed on D Day and we’re Yomping the same route taken by our WW2 predecessors when they fought their way to Port-en Bessin, 80 years ago. Along with veterans and members of the Royal Marines Association as well as locals from Normandy, we will pay tribute to the achievement to our Commando forebearers.”
He added: “It’s a great honour and a privilege to take our modern-day Landing Craft across the English Channel and land on the D-Day beaches.”
