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. The operation formed part of Operation Bodyguard, the cover plan for the Normandy landings in 1944. Titanic was carried out on 5–6 June 1944 by the Royal Air Force and the Special Air Service. The objective of the operation was to drop 500 dummy parachutists in places other than the real Normandy drop zones, to deceive the German defenders into believing that a large force had landed, drawing their troops away from the beachheads.

Titanic was one of several deception operations involving the Royal Air Force on D-Day; others were Operations Glimmer and Taxable, executed by No. 218 Squadron and No. 617 Squadron, and radar deceptions by No. 101 and No. 214 squadrons.

Operation Titanic formed part of Operation Bodyguard, a broad strategic military deception intended to confuse the Axis high command as to Allied intentions during the lead-up to the Normandy landings. The most complex portion of Bodyguard involved a wide ranging strategic deception, organised by the London Controlling Section (LCS), in southern England called Fortitude South. Through decoy hardware, radio transmissions and double agents, Fortitude attempted to inflate the size of the Allied force in England and develop a threat against the Pas-de-Calais (rather than Normandy, the real target of Operation Overlord).