It's disappointing to see the success of #LCT7074's move used to air a grievance with a museum. It's more disappointing when that grievance is based on #duffhistory.

It's time to stop this myth: Secret frogmen didn't land on the Normandy beaches hours ahead of the invasion. 1/11 https://twitter.com/Normandy_Post/status/1299253419753050113

10 Landing Craft Obstacle Clearance Units (LCOCU) were at Normandy – 4 at Juno, 4 at Gold, 2 at Sword. Their role was to clear underwater obstacles & obstructions so landing craft could reach the beach. But they did it after the leading waves had touched down. IWM A28997. 2/11

The first D-Day landings were planned to be just after low tide, when obstacles were exposed. Behind them came the LCOCU and Royal Engineer units. As the tide came in, LCOCU would work on obstacles as they were immersed, whilst the RE would work on the beach. IWM A 23993. 3/11

Reports were filed by the senior LCOCU officers on each beach. They all detail the landing times and make it clear that they landed with the main invasion – not hours before it. Here's my reply on the original Facebook post which summarises the reports. 4/11

However, a myth has evolved that LCOCU units landed in darkness on 6 June to destroy obstacles hours before the invasion. As above, this wasn't necessary. It would also have been suicide – the beaches were subject to sustained bombardment from sea and air right up to H-Hour. 5/11

There is no evidence of this sort of operation in any report filed after D-Day – by senior officers, beach commanders or the LCOCU themselves. Unfortunately the story seems to emanate from veteran accounts in the IWM collection and in popular published histories of D-Day. 6/11

Some of these accounts make simple errors of time or geography, which is totally understandable. Nonetheless their verbatim reproduction is then used as a basis to establish a flawed timeline of the assault.

But even worse, some veteran accounts are totally fictional. 7/11

One person says he landed at Arromanches hours ahead of the first wave to clear obstacles (no landings there), used a waterproof rifle to snipe pillboxes, then jetted off by landing craft to Omaha to reinforce the US landings. It's recently been in a popular D-Day book. 8/11

There is nothing in the official record to substantiate this sort of story. LCOCU's role was on their own beaches. They worked, under fire and underwater, for days, clearing beach obstacles. They were brave men taking great risks to complete their work. 9/11

But they didn't land ahead of the invasion. Repeating this spurious story only serves to undermine the detailed planning of the invasion, the men who actually touched down first and the real story of LCOCUs themselves. These are just some of the problems with #duffhistory. 10/11

I've nothing against LCOCU & I don't criticise veteran accounts lightly. But some of them are simply not supported by any official record I've found. If there is such a record I'd be very happy to see it & amend my views. But so far serious searching hasn't yet revealed it. 11/11

*I should add that this probably helped the myth grow. https://www.britishpathe.com/video/naval-frogmen-lcocu