Operation Titanic

Operation Titanic
Part of Operation Bodyguard
The D-Day naval deceptions made up one part of Operation Bodyguard.
Operational scope	Tactical Deception
Location	English Channel
Planned	1944
Planned by	London Controlling Section, Ops (B), Allied Expeditionary Air Force
Target	Nazi Germany
Date	5–6 June 1944
Executed by	United Kingdom: No. 138 Squadron RAF No. 161 Squadron RAF No. 90 Squadron RAF No. 149 Squadron RAF Special Air Service
Outcome	Allied success
Casualties	2 Short Stirling of No. 149 Squadron and their crews 8 Men Special Air Service killed or executed

Operation Titanic was a series of military deceptions carried out by the Allied Nations during the Second World War. They formed part of tactical element of Operation Bodyguard, the cover plan for the Normandy landings. Titanic was carried out on 5–6 June 1944 (the night of the invasion) by the Royal Air Force and the Special Air Service. Its objective was to drop hundreds of dummy parachutists, noisemakers and small numbers of special forces troops in locations away from the real Normandy drop zones. It hoped to deceive the German defenders into believing that a large force had landed, drawing troops away from the beachheads and other strategic sites.

Titanic was undertaken by four squadrons from No. 3 Group RAF (the special duties squadrons) alongside detachments from the 2nd SAS Regiment. It accompanied other tactical deceptions including Operations Glimmer and Taxable and wide ranging radar deception. Overall the results of Titanic were broadly achieved. Intercepts of German communications indicate that at least some of the landings were believed to be real and they sowed some confusion during the early part of the Normandy invasion.