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This Centaur is on display at Hermanville-sur-Mer at a road junction. There is an NTL Totem nearby that reads as follows:
| HERMANVILLE : THE BRITISH ON SWORD BEACH |
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Operation Overlord unfolded in the heart of “Sword” as elsewhere. In the course of the night, the coastal defences were bombed by the airforce, and the naval artillery took over at daybreak. Then, under German fire, the landing craft came aground. The special tanks opened the way, followed by assault waves of 3rd Infantry Division under Major-General RENNIE.
The tanks attacked the concrete strongpoints then penetrated inland; the first battalion of the South Lancashires liberated the village of Hermanville at 10 a.m., whilst the Suffolk Regiment was freeing Colleville. The British advance was unable to reach Caen on the 6th as planned. The long ordeal of that city began the same day, at 11.30 a.m..
THE SACRIFICE OF THE BATTLESHIP “COURBET”
The Allies needed calm water to land men and equipment: the “Gooseberries” (codename) were old vessels that had been ballasted to form a breakwater. Among 6 merchant ships and 3 warships sacrificed off Hermanville, the veteran battleship “Courbet” would not enjoy the glory of the “Georges-Leygues” and the “Montcalm”, which fought conspicuously before the Longues battery, but scuttled itself, with its flag flying, on the morning of 7 June, in three fathoms of water about 1 ½ miles offshore. |
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Unique ID: |
765
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Serial Number: |
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Registration: |
“T185075” painted on nose and rear hull.
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Name: |
“SEAWOLF” painted on front plate.
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Other Identification: |
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This Centaur is surrounded by a low chain fence. It was previously a dozer tank but was restored at Duxford, UK, using the turret from a Cavalier tank recovered from a range (source: tankbarrell via ANDG).
A Churchill AVRE used to be on display at this location but is now at Duxford. There were plaques commemorating the Churchill and they are, rather confusingly, still displayed on a small brick monument behind the Centaur. One states “CHURCHILL AVRE REFURBISHED SEPTEMBER 1998 BY 6 HEADQUARTERS SQUADRON 22 ENGINEER REGIMENT”. The second states “AT 0730 HRS ON 6TH JUNE 1944, 70 SPECIALLY REDESIGNED CHURCHILL TANKS EQUIPPED WITH FASCINES, FLAILS, BANGALORE TORPEDOES AND BRIDGES LANDED FROM 10 LANDING CRAFT AND CLEARED THE BEACH OBSTACLES INTO A 200M WIDE SAFE LANE IN ORDER THAT THE ADVANCING TROOPS COULD LAND SAFELY ON THE BEACH. THIS CHURCHILL AVRE MK III NOW STANDS AS A MEMORIAL TO ALL THOSE WHO SERVED AND DIED ON THESE SHORES”.
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