The Northern Ireland War Memorial (NIWM) and the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland (PRONI) are delighted to welcome you to the last of three events to mark the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings in June 1944.
D-Day, 6 June 1944, saw the biggest amphibious operation ever staged. Here in Northern Ireland we are remembering the vital role played by the Allied bombardment fleet which gathered in Belfast Lough from April onwards, before sailing in complete secrecy to open up on German positions. No-one living around the Lough ever forgot the sight of the great US battleships Texas, Arkansas and Nevada and the accompanying armada of British, Free French and Polish warships. One day they were there, the next all gone as they sailed into history!
Ian Wilson is a former Chairman of Northern Ireland War Memorial and author of So vast an armada - from Belfast Lough to d-Day.
