The story of the Normandy beaches and the FDTs

Off the Normandy beaches on D-Day floated three secret command ships nobody talks about. Converted into floating intelligence hubs bristling with radar and hidden radio rooms, the Fighter Direction Tenders FDT13, FDT216 and FDT217 became the Allies' eyes and ears above the invasion fleet — intercepting German wireless traffic in real time, directing waves of Spitfires overhead, and helping down an estimated 76 Luftwaffe aircraft while losing only one ship to enemy bombing. Their success traced back to a hard lesson from Dieppe and a race to fit revolutionary radar born from a daring 1942 commando raid. Read the full story of the forgotten ships that helped win the air war over the Normandy sands.

FDT 13