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D-Day: Complete Top Secret Naval Operation Orders for Operation Neptune Dated April 10, 1944....
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$10,625.00
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Description
D-Day: Complete Top Secret Naval Operation Orders for Operation Neptune Dated April 10, 1944. Over 1,000 pages of text, charts, tables and maps (some fold-out) - each marked "TOP SECRET", 13 x 8 ½-inches, bound in the remnants of the original expandable portfolio. The front cover is ominously marked "The enclosed operation orders are issued for the information and guidance of all concerned. They are on no account to be allowed to fall into the hands of the enemy and are to be destroyed by fire on conclusion of the operation." The front cover is stamped "TOP SECRET / BIGOT". The term "BIGOT" was used to designate the highest level of military secrecy and the list of personnel cleared to know details of Overlord was known as the BIGOT list, and the people on it were known as "Bigots". This is the personal copy of Captain F. H. P. Cusick, presumably a British Royal Navy officer involved in the initial planning. It would be hard to down play the detail of this amazing document, the result of operational planning by British Admiral Bertram Ramsay. The first paragraph of the document perhaps best describes its overall scope: "This is probably the largest and most complicated operation ever undertaken and involves the movement of over 4,000 ships and craft of all types in the first three days. The Operation Orders are therefore necessarily voluminous." The document includes, among many other topics, a general outline of the operation, air operations, construction of artificial ports, weather, tides, ship movements and all manner of operational contingencies. The entire document is housed in a contemporary chemise and matching slipcase. We found only a single copy of this extraordinary document which has sold at auction, fetching £5,000 in 2016.Condition: About very good. The original portfolio is soiled and the string binding ties have disintegrated. The edges of the pages are brittle and chipped. The slipcase is shelf worn and soiled.
Auction Info
2017 December 10 Arms & Armor, Civil War & Militaria Signature Auction - Dallas #6184 (go to Auction Home page)
Auction Dates
December, 2017
10th
Sunday
Bids + Registered Phone Bidders: 17
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