3. Hobart’s Funnies
These were special World War II tanks uniquely modified to carry out tasks that the most standard tanks had difficulty handling. The specially modified Hobart’s Funnies were operated by the 79th Armored Division of the United Kingdom or by experts from the Royal Engineers. The unusual vehicles played a central role throughout the Battle of Normandy and most importantly on D-Day.
The troops needed sufficient armored support to be able to break through Germany’s coastal defenses at Normandy and the rest of Western Europe. They had this lesson from the August 1942 failed raid at Dieppe, which also exposed how challenging it was to land armored vehicles in the course of an amphibious offensive.
The Allies, therefore, designed the reinforced vehicles to perform specialist tasks as well as reinforce their troops on the ground on D-Day. The vehicles were named ‘Hobart’s Funnies’ after their architect, the Major-General Sir Percy Hobart. Hobart’s Funnies included the Crocodile flamethrower tank, the Duplex Drive (DD) swimming tank and the Crab mine-clearing flail tank.