What does the D in D-day stand for? | Notes and Queries

What does the D in D-day stand for?

G A Treadaway, Hong Kong China

• It means "designated" day.

  Peter Post, Boston USA

• The D denotes the 4th day from Go date. After Go ahead had been given for the invasion the Allies had to wait 3 days for the weather to improve and then went on the 4th. Had it been the the 3rd day we would always have referred to it as C-Day.

  Guy, Hemel UK

• Day. the same as the H in H-Hour stands for Hour.

  Craig, London

• It stands for "Day". The countdown for D Day was "D minus 10" etc, ie 10 days before the "Day"

  Mark, Leicester UK

• As dull as this answer may seem, D stood for 'Day'.

  Tony, Warrington UK

• The "D" is applied simply because it is the initial letter of the word Day. Thus the day of the invasion could be discussed as an imminent project by the Allied planners. None of them knew when it would begin.

  Roy Tuvey, London

• The D in D-Day stands for 'Day' in the same way that H in H-Hour stands for 'Hour.'

  Stan Faller, London

• Der. It is a mocking reference to "Der Tag" - the day of Hitler's invasion of the UK.

  Quentin Langley, Woking

• It stands for D - its meant meant to designate the "day" of the invasion and appears to be used in operations where the day/ date itself needs to be kept secret (or has not yet been determined)

  Kate Carter, London