Lewis Oscar DITTNER

Conjoint : Jeanie L LOBBIN

Parents: Otto H  & Alana DITTNER

Brother : Herbert Frederick

Source : F Lavernhe

Map of Normandy American Cemetery

Lewis Dittner left Porsmouth on Thursday, June 9, 1944 at 3 pm aboard LST 314 (landing ship tank) for Omaha Beach with 4 other LSTs.

Everything was going well until 2 am when 2 LST were torpedoed by a U boot, one of the LST exploded at about 5 am, there were 150 survivors.

12 soldiers were returned to the sea and many died drowned or asphyxiated by oil.

Source : JP Gentil

7 U boot were in the area at that time, U 269, U 333, U 390, U 256, U 413, U 480.

All these U boot were part of operation LANDWIRT, their base was Brest, their positions were north of Cherbourg and the entrance to the Channel,

their mission set between 6 June and 25 June was to destroy as much as possible the Allied fleet that joined Normandy.

To note

Only the U 269 had the SCHNORCHEL or air tube allowing a diesel engine to operate in periscopic immersion

and was covered with a layer of ALBERICH, an anti-sonar material put into service on March 22, 1944.

This technology made it almost undetectable. It is very likely that it was one of these U boot that hit both STLs.

The LST could carry 217 troops and 98 soldiers (crews)