[D-DAY / OPERATION NEPTUNE / TOP SECRET INTELLIGENCE] Top Secret Coastal Recognition Manuals | 1944, with Original Photographic Silhouettes and Navigational Templates — used aboard USS YMS-381 on D-Day

Booklets H & M: France, North Coast
Top Secret Coastal Recognition Manuals with Original Photographic Silhouettes and Navigational Templates — used aboard USS YMS-381 on D-Day
[London: Admiralty / Allied Naval Intelligence, 1944.]

Two volumes, folio (330 x 210 mm), hardbound in original plain boards with cloth spines. Marked Restricted.
Booklet H: 5pp, with a continuous photographic silhouette of the coastline from Grandcamp-les-Bains westward, assembled from mounted prints.
Booklet M: 27pp, covering the coastline from La Madeleine to Hameau du Nord, with similarly mounted continuous photographic panoramas.
Each volume complete with printed instruction sheet and original clear acetate targeting template housed in the rear pocket.

A rare and significant pair of D-Day coastal recognition manuals, used aboard USS YMS-381 during the Allied landings on Utah Beach, 6 June 1944. These top-secret booklets were part of the pre-invasion material issued to naval command and assault units, providing panoramic photographic references of the French coastline to aid in accurate identification of landing sectors under fire.

Produced by Allied Naval Intelligence, the manuals were designed to be used from the sea, with features annotated and silhouetted for easy comparison during operations. These were essential tools in the coordination of amphibious landings and naval bombardments, enabling forces to pinpoint beachheads and artillery positions with precision.

Booklet H covers the western sector near Grandcamp-les-Bains; Booklet M includes the strategic coastline surrounding Utah Beach, one of the two American landing zones.

Provenance: From The Beckham Collection, the most important privately held D-Day archive to reach the market in recent years. Both volumes were carried aboard USS YMS-381, a U.S. Navy minesweeper that operated in advance of the main assault force on D-Day.

Condition: Both volumes in excellent original condition. Photographic panoramas clean, complete, and precisely assembled. Instruction sheets and acetate targeting templates present and well preserved. Bindings sound, with only minor wear to extremities.

An exceptional operational pair — used on the day of the invasion, with full wartime provenance and rare complete survival.