U.S. paratroopers fix their static lines before a jump before dawn over Normandy on D-Day June 6, 1944, in France. The decision to launch the airborne attack in darkness instead of waiting for first light was probably one of the few Allied missteps on June 6, and there was much to criticize both in the training and equipment given to paratroopers and glider-borne troops of the 82nd and 101st airborne divisions. Improvements were called for after the invasion; the hard-won knowledge would be used to advantage later. (AP Photo/Army Signal Corps)

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Images of D-Day

From air drops to beach landings, see the massive movement of troops and equipment in Operation Overlord.

Convoy of LCI(L)s en route to the Normandy invasion beaches, June 6, 1944.

A convoy of Landing Craft Infantry (LCI) transport ships head toward the Normandy beaches on June 6, 1944. The photograph, taken from the USS Ancon, also shows barrage balloons overhead.

— U.s. Navy - Naval Historical Cen

Troops and crewmen on a landing craft approaching a Normandy beach, June 6, 1944.

Troops and crewmen on a landing craft approaching a Normandy beach on June 6, 1944.

— U.s. Navy - Naval Historical Cen

Coast Guardsmen rescue survivors off Normandy, June 1944.

Coast Guardsmen rescue two survivors after their vessel was hit off Normandy on June 6, 1944.

— U.s. Navy - Naval Historial Cent

PT boats crossing the English Channel, with B-17s overhead, June 6, 1944.

U.S. Navy PT, or motor torpedo, boats cross the English Channel with B-17 airplanes, known as Flying Fortresses, overhead on June 6, 1944.

— U.s. Navy - Naval Historical Cen

U.S. paratroopers fix their static lines ahead of a pre-dawn jump over Normandy on D-Day.

— ARMY SIGNAL CORPS

Forward 14\"/45 guns of USS Nevada (BB-36) fire on positions ashore, during the landings on \"Utah\" Beach, 6 June 1944.

Forward 14"/45 guns of USS Nevada fire on positions ashore during the landings on Utah Beach on D-Day.

— Naval Historical Center

While under attack of heavy machine gun fire from the German coastal defense forces, these American soldiers wade ashore off the ramp of a U.S. Coast Guard landing craft on June 6, 1944, during the Allied landing operations at the Normandy. (AP Photo)

While under heavy machine gun fire from German coastal defense forces, American soldiers wade ashore off the ramp of a U.S. Coast Guard landing craft on June 6, 1944.

— Ap / U.S. ARMY

Members of an American landing unit help their exhausted comrades ashore during the Normandy invasion, on June 6, 1944. The men reached the zone code-named Utah Beach, near Sainte-Mere-Eglise, on a life raft, after their landing craft was hit and sunk by German coastal defenses. (AP Photo)

Members of an American landing unit help their exhausted comrades ashore during the Normandy invasion. The men reached Utah Beach on a life raft after their landing craft was hit and sunk by German coastal defenses.

— U.S. ARMY

Troops move over the Utah Beach seawall, June 1944.

U.S. soldiers of the 8th Infantry Regiment, 4th Infantry Division move over the Utah Beach seawall during the invasion, which was officially code-named "Operation Overlord."

— U.s. Navy - Naval Historical Cen

Sitting in the cover of their foxholes, American soldiers of the Allied Expeditionary Force secure a beachhead during the initial Normandy landing operations in France, June 6, 1944. In the background amphibious tanks and other equipment crowd the beach, while landing craft bring more troops and material ashore. (AP Photo/Weston Hayes)

Sitting in their foxholes, American soldiers secure a beachhead on June 6, 1944. In the background amphibious tanks and other equipment crowd the beach, while landing craft bring more troops and material ashore.

— Weston Hayes / OFFICE OF WAR INFORMATION

Prisoner of war enclosure on Utah Beach, June 6, 1944.

Prisoners of war sit inside a specially constructed enclosure on Utah Beach.

— U.s. Navy - Naval Historical Cen

Army casualties on \"Omaha\" Beach, June 6, 1944.

Army wounded are given cigarettes and food on Omaha Beach. The U.S. 1st Infantry Division suffered 2,500 casualties on the first day of the invasion.

— U.s. Navy - Naval Historical Cen

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