Description:
A battleship of the Royal Navy is depicted in action during the Second
World War.
Medium:
Oil on canvas (1984)
Display: Artist’s collection
Historical
note:
NAVAL
GUNFIRE SUPPORT
Naval Gunfire
Support was critical to the success of the many allied amphibious landings
of the Second World War, from the invasion of Sicily to the herald of
occupied Europe’s liberation with OPERATION OVERLORD, the D-Day
landings at Normandy on 6th June, 1944. The big and little guns of allied
warships often intervened in the events ashore, both as preparatory
bombardments and to engage selected targets. In many cases, it was naval
gunfire that made the difference between success and failure, life and
death, for allied units fighting on the beaches and inland in the desperate
hours during which a vulnerable hold on the narrow beachfront meant
everything.