The Mulberry Harbours: A Review of an Early Example of Offshore Engineering

The Mulberry Harbours were used to support Operation Overlord, the invasion of occupied Europe, in 1944. This paper reviews the design of the breakwaters used, given the major advances made in ocean engineering and wave dynamics made over the last half century. The expected sea state is estimated and compared to the original design parameters. The failure mechanisms associated with the Phoenix caissons are discussed. The engineering decisions on the floating Bombardon breakwaters are considered; the authors conclude that some of the units were positioned in an area where unusually high waves could be expected, which may have contributed to their failure.