 West Cheswald sailed from Poole on 7 June in a convoy , consisting of what one author called the " dregs of the North Atlantic shipping pool " , and reached the Normandy beachhead the next day , two days after the D @-@ Day landings . Poropat reports that the corncob ships traveled under cover of darkness and , stripped of all unnecessary equipment , carried no radios , having only a signal lamp ( with a spare bulb ) for communication . Once at the designated location , the ships were put into position and scuttled over the next days , under heavy German artillery fire . Naval Armed Guardsmen manned the guns on all the gooseberry ships to protect against frequent German air attacks ; West Cheswald 's gunners were credited with downing one plane on 10 June . All the while , harbor pilots — about half of the New York Bar Pilots Association , according to one source — carefully positioned the ships . West Cheswald and West Nohno were the last two ships sunk off Utah Beach when they went down on 11 June . Even though she had been sunk , West Cheswald continued to serve as an antiaircraft platform manned by Navy gun crews until 19 June , and by Army crews after that date . West Cheswald 's naval gunners were awarded a second battle star for participation in the Normandy Landings . 
