US Navy Operation Neptune 1944-06-06 Coast of Normandy
After two weeks in that Sicilian port, Ancon shaped a course for Algiers. She reached that port on 2 October and spent almost six weeks undergoing repairs and replenishment.
In mid-November, she set sail for the United Kingdom and, on 25 November, arrived in Devonport, England, where she was designated the flagship of the 11th Amphibious Force.
An extended period of repairs and preparations for the impending invasion of France kept Ancon occupied through the winter and much of the spring participating in numerous training exercises with other Allied warships.
On 25 May, King George VI of the United Kingdom and Field Marshal Bernard Law Montgomery visited the ship. The preparations culminated on 5 June, when Ancon got underway for Baie de la Seine, France.
She served as flagship for the assault forces that landed on Omaha Beach in Normandy. Throughout the invasion, the ship provided instructions for forces both afloat and ashore.
She transferred various units of the Army command to headquarters ashore and made her small boats available to other ships to carry personnel and materials to the beachhead. On 27 June, she got underway to return to England and, the next day, arrived at Portland.
