page_title: Tanks in the British Army
section_title: D-Day
hierarchical_section_title: Tanks in the British Army / Secondary Campaigns / D-Day
caption_attribution_description: Valentine DD tank with screen lowered, 79th Armoured Division School, Gosport, 14 January 1944.
context_section_description: Immediately before and during the war, the British produced an enormous array of prototype tanks and modified tanks for a variety of specialist tasks (see Hobart's Funnies). For example, the Churchill AVRE mounted a 290 mm (11.4") direct-fire mortar which was used for destroying buildings and clearing obstacles. Responsibility for the buildup of vehicles and the training of crews to use them was given to armoured warfare expert Percy Hobart after whom the collection was named.
  Many of the ideas had already been tried, tested or were in experimental development both by Britain and other nations. For example, the Scorpion flail tank (a modified Matilda tank) had already been used during the North African campaign to clear paths through German minefields. Soviet T-34 tanks had been modified with mine-rollers. Close-support tanks, bridgelayers, and fascine carriers had been developed elsewhere also. However, the Funnies were the largest and most elaborate collection of engineering vehicles available.
  By early 1944, Hobart could demonstrate to Eisenhower and Montgomery a brigade each of swimming DD tanks, Crab mine clearers, and AVRE (Engineer) tanks along with a regiment of Crocodile flamethrowing tanks.
  Montgomery considered that the U.S. forces should use them, and offered them a half-share of all the vehicles available, but take-up was minimal. Eisenhower was in favour of the amphibious tanks but left the decision on the others to Lieutenant General Omar Bradley, then commanding the U.S. First Army, who delegated it to his staff officers.
  The British at Normandy were re-equipped with some of the newer British and American tanks and a few days after D-Day, the Armoured Reconnaissance regiment of the 7th Armoured Division landed at Le Hamel on Gold Beach with Cromwell tanks and began going into action almost immediately in the fighting around Villers-Bocage. The tanks were used in the advance through the Bocage with the 22nd Armoured Brigade. They were involved in action against the 2nd Panzer Division, with the tanks leading the way out of the bridgehead.
caption: Valentine DD tank with screen lowered and gun pointing towards the rear of the vehicle.
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