I recommend a day trip to Portsmouth from London. Portsmouth is the historic base for the Royal Navy and a key embarkation point for the D-Day invasion on June 6, 1944. You take a Southwest train from Waterloo station to Portsmouth Harbor Station. After arriving, I suggest a guided tour of HMS Victory, the flagship for Lord Nelson at the Napoleonic period engagement at Trafalgar in 1805. He was shot by a French Navy sharpshooter and died during the battle. You can learn a great deal about the life of British sailors during this period of time.
Another stop is the new museum holding the remnants of the Mary Rose, a Tudor period warship. The ship was raised from the sea bed, preserved, and placed on display.
The last stop is the D-Day museum located a short distance from the above sites. A cab is recommended for travelers to save time and energy. In the museum is a detailed embroidery of events and personalities in operation "Overlord". A young artist was retained to draw the necessary pictures illustrating the invasion. The staff and students of the Royal School of Needlework (located at Hampton Court Palace) hand embroidered the various picture panels.
Portsmouth D-Day Museum
Air War Over Western Europe
The Imperial War Museum has a branch located at Duxford airfield near Cambridge, U.K. Visitors can travel from King's Cross station in London to Cambridge. Check with information on arrival for a local bus to take you to the museum. Duxford is oriented to the air war in WW II. Besides restored aircraft, the facility also has a building displaying armored land vehicles. The airfield has a restoration building for military aircraft.
The U.S Army Air Force in the European Theater of Operations had casualties (killed and wounded) of 62,021 in the air campaign. The general strategy was for the Americans to bomb during the day with the Royal Air Force conducting night operations. Without long range fighter support in the initial bombing phase, American losses were significant. Once the new P-51 mustang was refitted with detachable fuel tanks and the Merlin Rolls Royce engine, losses were reduced. Fighters could go all the way to the target with the bombers.
It was critical for the Allies to buildup air assets prior to the Normandy invasion. French railways, rail marshaling yards, and beach fortifications were targets of opportunity. A trip to Duxford is important in understanding the contribution made by Allied air forces. A couple of my pictures from Duxford.
Nose Art
Workhorse of the American Bomber Force
