DDay Misidentifications #1: The ‘Utah Beach’ Photo That Was Omaha

Identifying a Famous DDay Air Photo

The photo below often circulates on social media and frequently catches attention. It is sometimes presented as showing the landing on Utah Beach, and at other times as Omaha Beach. Curious about its true origin, I decided to investigate.

My first step was to search through the U.S. National Archives to track down the original image. It didn’t take long — and the result was even better than expected: I found a wider black-and-white version of the scene.

This comparison immediately reveals how misleading the colorized version can be. At first glance, the upper part seems to show the end of the beach and the sand dunes. In reality, it is a pool of water, with the dunes lying further inland.

The key identifying detail is the sand dune with a track just behind it. I was able to match this exact spot on another aerial photo taken later, at higher tide. The location lies between Easy Green and Easy Red — confirming once and for all the true identity of this well-known image.

Looking closer, the tide makes a big difference in what we see:

• On the low tide photo, there are no vehicles by the dunes — only craft just beginning to land.

• On the high tide photo, several vehicles have already reached the dunes, with many more visible across the beach.

This suggests that the low-tide image was taken early in the landings, perhaps between 5:30 and 11:30 a.m. on D-Day. Could the landing craft help narrow down the timing?

In the image we can identify one LCI and several LCTs. Based on the limited landing tables I have, the first wave of LCTs reached Easy Sector at H+60, followed by 3 LCIs between H+65 and H+70, with another wave of both types of craft arriving at H+120.

A third, even wider photograph helps confirm this. It shows very few vehicles or men on the beach. Those visible on the left appear to be DD tanks from the 743rd Tank Battalion, which seem to have just made it ashore. This points again to an early moment in the assault — most likely the first wave of LCTs and LCIs between H+60 and H+70. That would mean the picture shows men and vehicles of the 5th Engineer Special Brigade landing.

Conclusion

This photograph clearly shows the DDay landings on Omaha Beach, specifically the eastern part of Easy Green sector. It was probably taken around the first high tide, with LCTs from the 5th Engineer Special Brigade arriving at H+60/70.

This photograph can now be firmly identified as showing the DDay landings on Omaha Beach, specifically the eastern part of Easy Green sector, right at the boundary with Easy Red. The match with the sand dune and the track behind it provides a clear geographic reference, leaving no doubt about where this picture was taken.