The 79th Armoured Division, the most unusual armoured formation in the British Army of the Second World War.
Under Major General Sir Percy Hobart, the 79th became the home of "Hobart's Funnies": specialised armour built to break through Hitler's Atlantic Wall. They included the Sherman Crab mine-clearing flail, Duplex Drive swimming Shermans, Churchill AVREs with their 290 mm Petard mortar, Churchill Crocodile flamethrowers, bridge-layers, fascine carriers and the Bobbin carpet-layer for soft sand.
On D-Day the Funnies led the way ashore at Gold, Juno and Sword, clearing mines, bridging obstacles and blasting bunkers so the infantry could get off the beaches. The division never fought as a single formation. Its squadrons were attached wherever they were needed, from Normandy to the Channel ports, Walcheren and the Rhine crossing, and by 1945 it was one of the largest divisions in the British Army.
The 79th Armoured Division, the most unusual armoured formation in the British Army of the Second World War.
Under Major General Sir Percy Hobart, the 79th became the home of "Hobart's Funnies": specialised armour built to break through Hitler's Atlantic Wall. They included the Sherman Crab mine-clearing flail, Duplex Drive swimming Shermans, Churchill AVREs with their 290 mm Petard mortar, Churchill Crocodile flamethrowers, bridge-layers, fascine carriers and the Bobbin carpet-layer for soft sand.
On D-Day the Funnies led the way ashore at Gold, Juno and Sword, clearing mines, bridging obstacles and blasting bunkers so the infantry could get off the beaches. The division never fought as a single formation. Its squadrons were attached wherever they were needed, from Normandy to the Channel ports, Walcheren and the Rhine crossing, and by 1945 it was one of the largest divisions in the British Army.
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