Firing on Fortress Europe

Downloadable audio file

HMS Belfast at D-Day

On 6 June 1944, HMS Belfast supported troops in action on the beaches of Normandy in the campaign to liberate Europe from Nazi Germany.

This audiobook recounts this extraordinary story, focusing on the dramatic events of 6 June but setting the context of the ship's history in the Arctic Convoy Service and Battle of North Cape. It describes the build-up to D-Day as seen and experienced by Belfast's people, and explains her role in the longer Battle for Normandy.

Using first-hand accounts from IWM's rich collection of oral testimonies, diaries, and memoirs, HMS Belfast at D-Day brings to life her leading role in the largest invasion operation in history.

"Firing On Fortress Europe presents first-hand, personal accounts of members of HMS Belfast's crew alongside her log books to bring to life the role the ship played in the invasion in 1944."-- The Irish News

"A number of first-hand, personal accounts of members of HMS Belfast - the Royal Navy warship from which one of the first shots of D-Day was fired - have also been revealed in a new book, Firing On Fortress Europe, published by the museum. It presents the accounts from the ship's crew alongside her log books to bring to life the role the ship played in the invasion in 1944. Accounts, images, journals and recorded interviews reveal stories from King George VI visiting before HMS Belfast left British waters, to narrowly avoiding explosions, rescuing and treating the wounded and going ashore to clear the beaches."-- The Daily Mail

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