By Christopher Miskimon
The Empire Javelin carried five companies of the 1st Battalion, 116th Infantry Regiment across the English Channel over the night of June 5-6, 1944, en route to their appointment with destiny at Omaha Beach on D-Day. The ship was constructed in the United States and transferred to the United Kingdom, where it soon had a place in the Royal Navy. The landings proved difficult and perilous. One third of the ship’s landing craft were destroyed in the first wave alone and many of the soldiers they carried ashore died that morning. The ship itself sank in December 1944, victim to a U-boat torpedo or a mine.
This interesting book looks at the history of the ship, including its post-D-day service. It also goes into depth on the soldiers of the 116th who travelled aboard the Empire Javelin and went ashore at Omaha Beach. The author uses first-hand accounts and new photographs to tell the story. Less glamorous than frontline warships, Empire Javelin nevertheless performed vital service toward victory in Europe.
Empire Javelin, D-Day Assault Ship: The British Vessel That Landed the US 116th Infantry on Omaha Beach (Philip Kay-Bujak, Pen and Sword Maritime, South Yorkshire UK, 2024, 223 pp., photographs, notes, bibliography, index, $36.95, HC)
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