D-DAY 80th | NORMANDY 2024 – Part 4 – June 6th – Normandy Victory Museum & Carentan

After a long morning on Utah Beach and Sainte Marie du Mont, it was time to head to the next destination! I had wanted to go back to the Normandy Victory Museum (also called the Normandy Tank Museum, I was told) as I remembered from the 2019 75th Anniversary it had a huge vehicle gathering. I had also heard that the German tanks were there and that there was going to be some sort of tank demonstration. Right away once we arrived, we saw that the place was PACKED. Lots of people, and a crazy number of vehicles. Here are two Jeeps and a GMC CCKW truck.

There were a lot of large vehicles, including this very patriotic 101st Airborne GMC CCKW, a M3 Halftrack, and another GMC CCKW. These were just hanging out in the back of the parking lot!

Right away I was greeted with a trio of Jeeps. Note the shovel cover on the closest Jeep! They do exist on other Jeeps, even if they are fantasy items! I’ve always liked the look.

And an impressive lineup of what I believe are German Wehrmacht BMW R71 or R75 motorcycles with sidecars!

A Hotchkiss M201 (which is basically a French-built Willys MB Jeep) sitting in front of a Dodge WC-62.

Loved the little pinup sticker, in a 1940s style (though I believe modern created) on the windshield.

One of the big ‘stars’ at the vehicle gathering out front is the M4A2 Sheman Tank ‘Fury’ used in the movie ‘Fury.’ I remembered seeing this back at the Camp Geronimo outside of Sainte-Mère-Église five years ago during the 75th. The tank is owned by The Tank Museum based in Bovington Camp, England. It was brought out to France for the 80th Anniversary.

It gathered quite the crowd taking photos and going up to touch it. I had to wait a bit just to get a shot like this.

And, what seems to be the theme so far, we have another Dodge WC-57 and a quad of Willys MB/Hotchkiss Jeeps!

Oh, but we’re not done with the Jeeps. Here’s FIVE more Willys MB/Hotchkiss Jeeps! All manners of variations between them all there from the wheels to OD Green shade to the markings.

And another two Jeeps, a Willys MB and possibly (the closest one) a Ford GPW!

Did I mention Jeeps? We’re just getting started! Two more here, another Ford GPW in front and a Willys MB behind it. The front Jeep, ‘Lucille’, carries a 3-star General identifier.

A M4A3 Sherman tank (built in 1943) on top of a dirt mound with some gnarly looking hedgerow clearing teeth! I believe this tank lives at the Normandy Victory Museum.

Right behind the previous Sherman was another! A M4A2 Sherman “Arcis-sur-Aube”.

Walking around the various vendor booths outside, I spotted this interesting and very armored/loaded 1944 SAS British Hotchkiss Jeep. A twin Vickers in front and a single in the back.

Vehicles were coming and going the whole time we were there. This Hotchkiss was heading out against the backdrop of the Fury and M4A2 Sherman tanks.

It was quite the vehicle depot as when two would leave, three more would show up. I feel like within a few hours, most of the vehicles had changed out with different ones. I can’t imagine how many military vehicles came and went over the week of the D-Day festivities.

In what appeared to be a ‘vehicle square’ surrounded by various vendors, there was a nice lineup of two WC-10s, a Free French Citroen C4, and an early Dodge VC-1.

I love the early paint job on this WC-10, with the red, white, and blue star on the hood.

And the great pinup gal! This WC-10 is named ‘Lucy Lou’.

A closer look at the Free French Citroen C4. Very nicely patinaed! There were two Jeeps behind the Citroen.

This Jeep was… interesting. The engine is unlike anything I’ve ever seen before with a crazy mix of old and modern parts.

But these two Jeeps, both appearing to be Willys MBs, were much more military spec.

The Jeep on the right (see previous photo) was sporting this nice and complete well-used engine.

And a look at the early Dodge VC-1 1/2 Ton 4×4 Command car. First time I’ve seen one of these!

And even more large Dodge vehicles! Right to Left: Dodge WC 7, WC-57, and a WC 9 Ambulance!

And three more Jeeps! A radio Jeep with a German helmet on the front grille in the foreground here.

And more Jeeps! So many Jeeps!

And on the other side of those Jeeps, more! Both appear to be Hotchkiss Jeeps with the left one sporting a modernized canvas winter enclosure kit.

And directly across from all those Jeeps were seven more Jeeps and a Dodge WC-51! There were SO many vehicles there.

The two front Jeeps showcased quite the difference in OD Green shades. The forward Jeep, loaded with all sorts of things, has 82nd Airborne 505th markings and is named ‘Let’s go!’

A 2nd Armored ‘Hell on Wheels!’ Willys MB Jeep.

This 1st Army, 237th Engineers marked Jeep had very interesting UK/Army Air Force style white higher visibility highlights for UK driving! Love the white fender strips and the interesting white on the grille.

Let’s get to the main thing I’m sure most of you are most interested in seeing… the big German tanks! When we arrived they were working on the incredible Panzerkampfwagen Tiger Ausf. B (Tiger II) tank trying to fix an issue. I found out pretty quickly that it would be taking part in the tank demo, if they could get the issues fixed!

The tank (and one of the mechanics you can see up on top) were from the Musée des blindés de Saumur (Saumur Armored Museum) located in Saumur, France which is about 3 and a half hours away from the Normandy Victory Museum!

The most amazing fact about this tank is that it is the ONLY functional working Tiger II tank in the world! So naturally, I was beyond excited to hear this thing start up and roll down the field! Weighing in at a whopping 70 tons, (154,324 pounds, or 617,284 bananas) this was a fierce tank is actually a bunch of different Tiger IIs that were put together post-war by the French to have a functional one to test. That being said, a good portion of the tank (including g the turret) are actual WW2 combat veterans. During a battle in August of 1944, it broke down outside Ouinville en Vexin. When the American soldiers showed up, the surprised Germans abandoned the Tiger II allowing it to fall into Allied hands.

As we were waiting to see if the Tiger would be fixed, that large group of German Wehrmacht BMW R71/ R75 motorcycles with sidecars pulled up for a photo op with the Tiger in the background.

As their photographer (and many other people) were snapping pics, everyone’s attention soon turned behind them as the Tiger II roared to life and began to back up! It seemed like it was ready to go for the tank demo in a short time!

As I scoped out where the tank demo would be, this Ford GPA amphibious Jeep pulled into the area. Always love seeing these!

At this point, I hadn’t seen the other German tanks that were there from the Musée des blindés de Saumur. So I walked over to where a large crowd had gathered, and there they were! First, this really nice-looking Panzer IV. Built in February of 1944, they don’t know the operational history. But, this was THE main tank for the German Army during the Battle of Normandy. And yes, it runs as well!

Another running tank, this much smaller Panzer II Luchs! It is one of only two that exist in the world.

Heading back over to the tank arena, they were doing another test drive of the Tiger II. She was coughing a lot, but she sounded like your classic tank with the squeaking tracks! You could just feel the earth rumble as it moved.

What I wouldn’t give to have this tank at the Planes of Fame Air Museum Wings, Tracks, and Wheels event going up against the M4 Sherman tank there! Such a cool looking tank.

After they got the Tiger II in position, suddenly the M4A2 Sherman ‘Fury’ popped out from behind the Tiger II!

I had no idea it would be participating in the tank demo, so naturally, I was excited to see it driving around!

And then after ‘Fury’, the M4A2 “Arcis-sur-Aube” joined the other two!

What a line-up of heavy metal awaiting the start of the demo! At the time, we thought this was a great spot to watch from thinking the tanks would be doing circles in the area directly in front of us.

Suddenly, the nimble Panzer II Luchs sped into the arena! At this point, people started to crowd any spot they could find.

Such a neat-looking tank as well, it’s like a cross between a smaller ‘rabbit’ (Sd Kfz 2 halftrack motorcycle) and the Tiger II.

And then this amazing beast, which I hadn’t seen in the lineup, popped into the arena! A M10 ‘Wolverine’ tank destroyer!

After a bit of waiting, the tank demo began with the Panzer II going up first. The tanks would fire up and drive forward in front of a stage where an announcer talked about the tank (in French). I attempted to shoot all the tanks at a slower shutter speed to get a sense of motion.

After the quick info about the tanks, they would drive off down the now-closed road that enters the museum where they would disappear for a bit, then return coming back from the road, down a dirt ramp and back into the tank arena field. Unfortunately, that would then conclude their driving and they would park. I was hoping for some circles. At the time I didn’t know it, but there was a much better spot to go has I continued to walk down towards the road that enters the museum. You can’t see it, but the area where I was standing was packed with people 2-3 people deep. So I didn’t want to give up my spot to hunt for a better spot, especially when the tanks just start up, roll out to the stage, go out to the road, turn around, and then roll back in to park.

But, from my vantage point, as the tanks were returning to park, I was able to really drop that shutter speed to get some nice motion.

And here’s the M10 Wolverine coming back from the run.

Then it was time for the Tiger II. At this point, I was contemplating moving my spot, but I just didn’t want to risk missing the Tiger’s run. She coughed and sputtered a lot, but it was so great to see the only functional driving Tiger II in action.

Naturally, everyone was taking photos and videos as the Tiger II rolled along.

I can only imagine the sounds the American soldiers heard when several of these would be rolling along behind a hedgerow.

Even though it was a short run, I’m glad I was there to finally see the Tiger II in action!

Next up was the M4A2 “Arcis-sur-Aube” for its run. Not many things can make a Sherman look like a small tank, but the Tiger II, having just gone, actually did!

As the Sherman returned to park, and I realized that there wouldn’t be any more driving of the tanks after Fury went next, I decided just after this shot to risk it and go further down away from the parking area and more towards the road they were going down.

So I quickly grabbed a few shots of the M4A2 ‘Fury’ as she fired up and pulled out, and while she was in front of the stage, I decided to leave my spot (which immediately filled up) and risk going towards the main road…

And that proved to be a wise idea, as not only was the vantage point, background, and angle better to capture the tanks in action, there was literally no one out there. I was kicking myself for not gambling much sooner!

But, I was able to grab some great stuff of Fury, really conveying the sense of motion and speed this M4A2 was traveling! And that was it, the demo was over pretty quickly.

As I went back over towards the museum, a nice security guy told me (probably because I was one of the few people with a really high end camera) to stand in a spot as the tanks would be rolling back to their parking by the museum. He was right, and it was a lot more up close and personal as they rolled past! Especially the Tiger II. Not too many places in this world you can get this close!

They parked the Tiger II next to the Panzer IV, and for a split second, I was able to get a shot of both of them together.

And then they backed the Panzer II in to the next spot. I would have liked to get a shot of all three, but as soon as this tank parked…

The gates went up and the people filled in. Oh well!

Back to the vehicle square, more Jeeps had arrived while I was waiting and watching the tank demo.

I love this hand-painted Jeep nose art pinup for ‘Mary Lou’.

We quickly went into the museum’s gift shop before departing to check out what 80th-anniversary merch they had, and I spotted what appeared to be an original Jeep hood with original markings tucked away in the top corner of the gift shop. Always nice to see!

Following the quick trip inside, it was time to head to the next destination! A few more Jeeps had arrived, and I realized that the amount of vehicles coming and going meant that I could spend all day documenting the changing of the line-ups everywhere there. The day wasn’t over yet, but we weren’t sure of our next destination as many of the major roads were still closed and blocked off due to the various Presidents and Dignitaries still in the area for the morning/afternoon ceremonies. So one last look at a few Jeeps and a French Citroen Traction Avant.

Heading out the only road we could leave on since the main freeway was closed, we started to drive through some towns. There were military vehicles EVERYWHERE. I can’t convey just how many were using the roads through the towns because, just like us, they were blocked from using the freeways. So you would see convoys like this and countless singles/doubles/etc. of military vehicles. It really was an invasion of Olive Drab Green on the roads!

As we were driving, this auto store caught my eye with some fun 80th Anniversary of D-Day artwork on their windows including this GI deep into the engine of a Jeep. I thought it might be another military vehicle store, so we stopped to take a look. Turns out, it was just a generic automotive store with festive artwork. But kudos to them for getting into the spirit. It was at this time I realized we were on the outskirts of Carentan. We didn’t get to really visit this well-known town liberated by the 101st Airborne and the 2nd Armored Division. We decided to go explore. Most military/history buffs will probably know the name Carentan from the ‘Band of Brothers’ series in which an entire episode was devoted to the 101st and 2nd Armored taking of the town.

And it was there we found another one of these Normandy memorials. This one says: “The heroism of the allied forces liberates Europe – On June 12, 1944, the 101st Airborne Division opens the glorious road to victory.” It is located just outside the Mairie de Carentan-les-Marais (Carentan town hall).

And there was a nice memorial and infographic on the 2nd Armored Division’s role in the liberation of Carentan.

The plaque down below the memorial is in honor of the 101st Airborne ‘Screaming Eagles’ and the liberation. It lists the participating airborne units in the Normandy Campaign.

Behind all that was this tree with an amazing 101st Airborne ‘Screaming Eagle’ tribute made out of flowers.

As we walked towards the main road of the city, once again we spotted more vehicles. It was a constant stream of military vehicles mixed in with modern cars in a never-ending procession through the city roads. Here, as this WC-51 passing several Jeeps and a GPA at this pizzeria.

A neat surprise was seeing this stubby but large Autocar U-7144-T tractor truck traveling down the road!

Turning into the main road through Carentan, we were greeted with this sight! Definitely in the D-Day 80th spirit. That crowded storefront on the left was actually a very popular military store. Lots of WW2 uniforms, real and reproduction, along with various Normandy merchandise. Great store to visit!

And there was no lack of military vehicles all around Carentan like this early Slate Grille Jeep loaded with netting.

Poking out from the town rooftops was the city’s main church, the Église Notre-Dame de Carentan. It was probably built sometime in the 12th century but was mostly ruined in the Hundred Years’ War in the mid-1300s. It was rebuilt in the 15th Century.

In the town square (more like a triangular square) they had an 80th Anniversary festival happening with food vendors, games, and live entertainment. It was a nice place to stop and get some dinner!

As we waited in line to get into that military store, there was a lot of vehicle activity. The Slate Grille Jeep with all the netting took off.

And lots more Jeeps were coming and going through the city. Here’s a Ford GPW Jeep.

And that Ford GPA amphibious Jeep that I’d seen earlier at the Normandy Victory Museum rolled into town.

One nice thing about traveling around the different areas of Normandy in a military vehicle is you could really park them wherever you wanted. And I don’t think anyone really minded, as they added to the atmosphere and backdrop of what was going on. Here, a Dodge WC-57 and two Jeeps sit partially on the sidewalk. And with that, it was time to leave Carentan!

On the long journey back to Bayeux, made complicated by the still closed roads, I was finally able to see the three Douglas C-47 Skytrains, including ‘That’s All Brother’ from the CAF in Texas (USA), orbiting for a paratrooper drop. A friend of mine was flying that C-47, and our schedules of when he was going to drop paratroopers and where I’d be just kept not lining up. So as we were driving I was able to watch them drop over one of the ceremonies in the distance.

Finally, back in Bayeux, I went for a walk around the town as the day started to get late. Remember, the sun didn’t set till about 10:45pm! It was nice to casually stroll through the town and check out the various decorations and artwork for the 80th Anniversary.

What’s amazing to me is how many of the buildings, even several of the shop fronts, are almost exactly as they were in 1944. Trying to imagine this road once the town was liberated with Jeeps, tanks, etc. all rolling through.

And I love how the town showcases this history with wartime photos in many of the windows of those shops, like this photo showing an Allied sign pointing out a bypass road to avoid going through Bayeux.

And there were still Jeeps out and about. Here’s a Ford GPW Jeep in British markings (note the leading M on the hood number).

It was actually in this square (Saint-Patrice) that I saw the first Jeep in Normandy during the 75th Anniversary. So, it’s always nice to see more there.

As the sun started to set, I would still spot the occasional Jeep driving through the town probably headed home for the evening.

And a couple of Jeeps parked outside of cafes for a late dinner. Here is a Ford GPW in front, with an extra radiator coolant reservoir mounted to the grille and a Capstan winch. The Jeep had the lower lights running, which I knew would drain the battery. But I could not locate the owner to let him know. I hope the battery was still charged once they got back to the Jeep!

One interesting thing to note about that lead GPW was a cover for the fender-mounted blackout light. First time I’ve seen a cover for that! A fantasy item for sure, but pretty neat.

Heading back to the hotel as the sun is finally about to set, here’s a look at the two light tributes to D-Day next to the cathedral.

And a sunset shot of the Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Bayeux. This cathedral was built in less than fifty years and used to be where the famed Bayeux Tapestry was showcased. In the 12th century, it was rebuilt following serious damage. Additional construction began in the 15th century and continued into the 19th century! And with that, we have finally finished a very long sunrise to sunset day on the actual June 6th, 2024 80th anniversary of D-Day. But there’s still some more days to come!

And that wraps up this part 4 update! Look for part 5, starting the June 7th day, in about a week (much sooner than the last gap between updates) which will cover visiting all the other Normandy beaches, the huge Jeep meet at Luc Sur Mer, and more!
Till the next update…