Empire Javelin, D-Day Assault Ship

Drawing heavily on firsthand accounts, the author details both the actions of the Empire Javelin herself and of the landing craft launched from her.

Empire Javelin an American-built LSI (Landing Ship, Infantry) in Royal Navy service, played an important role on D-Day. She carried A Company 116th RCT (the famous ‘Bedford’ Boys’) across the Channel and her landing craft put them ashore on Dog Green sector as part of the initial assault or ‘suicide wave’, onto Omaha beach. In telling her story, Philip Kay-Bujak does justice to the contribution of the Royal Navy at Omaha Beach, which has been underappreciated in the past (when directing Saving Private Ryan, Stephen Spielberg notoriously said there was no British involvement).

Drawing heavily on first-hand accounts, the author covers the actions of the ship herself and of the landing craft launched from her in great detail. One third of her landing craft were lost in the first wave alone. He also reveals Empire Javelin’s earlier life, from design and construction, through launch and training. Similarly, he relates her service after that fateful day in June 1944, when she continued to ferry troops across the Channel for several months. The events surrounding her sinking in December 1944, either by U-boat or a mine, while laden with troops, are also fully examined. The author’s skilful narrative is supported by archive photos, the whole forming a fitting testament to the contribution of Empire Javelin and ships like her, which, though less glamorous than battleships and destroyers, played a vital role in Operation Overlord and the liberation of Europe.