Allied warships pictured arriving in Normandy for D-Day 80 commemorations

Allied warships have arrived in Normandy ahead of commemorations for the 80th anniversary of D-Day.

Among the vessels to arrive in northern France were the US Navy's USS Oak Hill and USS Normandy, plus ships from Norway, Poland and Canada.

The French navy posted pictures of the vessels arriving in Cherbourg, as well as an image of the French navy's helicopter carrier PHA Mistral.

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Cherbourg, like many other towns and villages in Lower Normandy, was badly destroyed by Allied bombs meant for the German army in 1944.

As the only deep water port in the region, it was a primary objective of the American troops who landed at Utah Beach.

Commemorations will be taking place across Normandy this week to mark 80 years since D-Day, which was the largest seaborne invasion in history.

Codenamed Operation Neptune, the amphibious assault consisted of 7,000 ships and landing craft manned by more than 195,000 naval personnel from eight Allied countries.

By sea and air, the Allies landed around 156,000 troops in Normandy - out of those, 73,000 were American and 61,715 were British. 

The Battle of Normandy which followed D-Day, lasted for more than two months, contributing to the liberation of western Europe from Nazi forces.

The USS Normandy, a guided-missile cruiser bearing the name of the battle arrived in Cherbourg alongside USS Oak Hill, a Ferry-class dock landing ship of the US Navy.

For the anniversary, Royal Navy Type 23 frigate HMS St Albans is expected to be anchored off the beaches of Normandy to provide a backdrop to the commemorations.