Descending on D-Day: Divers Work to Document Shipwrecks of Normandy
More than 70 years after D-Day, remnants of the battle remain scattered across the seafloor in the English Channel. The shipwrecks of Normandy are rife with history, and wreck diver Catherine Connors is on a mission to bring their secrets to the surface.
Although Normandy was rebuilt, “you can see the old mark of the war,” Connors said. And underwater, the wreckage-covered seabed hasn’t changed much, except an increase in barnacles.
Along with a team of divers, Connors is embarking on a mission to photograph the Normandy seabed so anyone — especially veterans’ families — can freely connect to its history. Over the course of the next few years, the team will use photos, videos and blogs to document the protected war graves.
You can’t just turn up with a boat and dive when you fancy,” Connors said. Disturbing the site or penetrating the wrecks is against French law, and the team strictly adheres to that. Some ships were 30 or 40-years-old when commissioned for the war; adding 70 years under water makes penetration too dangerous.
“I get excited [seeing] the small things someone probably held in their hands,” Connors says. She encountered her favorite finds, including an old-fashioned petrol lighter, while her camera was broken; she didn’t relish surfacing without a photo.
Death was very busy on D-Day; an accurate count of soldiers shot down by enemy fire or drowned by their heavy packs doesn’t exist.
“I’m free to dive these waters today because of those who lost their lives there.”
To help Connors fund her underwater research, go to GoFundMe.com.
More than 70 years after D-Day, remnants of the battle remain scattered across the seafloor in the English Channel. The shipwrecks of Normandy are rife with history, and wreck diver Catherine Connors is on a mission to bring their secrets to the surface.
Although Normandy was rebuilt, “you can see the old mark of the war,” Connors said. And underwater, the wreckage-covered seabed hasn’t changed much, except an increase in barnacles.
Along with a team of divers, Connors is embarking on a mission to photograph the Normandy seabed so anyone — especially veterans’ families — can freely connect to its history. Over the course of the next few years, the team will use photos, videos and blogs to document the protected war graves.
You can’t just turn up with a boat and dive when you fancy,” Connors said. Disturbing the site or penetrating the wrecks is against French law, and the team strictly adheres to that. Some ships were 30 or 40-years-old when commissioned for the war; adding 70 years under water makes penetration too dangerous.
“I get excited [seeing] the small things someone probably held in their hands,” Connors says. She encountered her favorite finds, including an old-fashioned petrol lighter, while her camera was broken; she didn’t relish surfacing without a photo.
Death was very busy on D-Day; an accurate count of soldiers shot down by enemy fire or drowned by their heavy packs doesn’t exist.
“I’m free to dive these waters today because of those who lost their lives there.”
To help Connors fund her underwater research, go to GoFundMe.com.
