PLUTO—The Pipeline Under the Ocean

Abstract

Reports on PLUTO and DUMBO, the pipelines that ran under the ocean that was part of the D-Day landings during World War II. But just as important as the landings were the means by which the Allied Forces were supplied with fuel, provisions, and further men and equipment in the months following the landings. This was made possible by ingenious prefabricated concrete harbors (“Mulberry Harbors”) and a pipeline (PLUTO), which supplied fuel. PLUTO ran from Shanklin on the east of the Isle of Wight just off the south of England to Cherbourg—a distance of about 130 km. A second set of pipelines, called DUMBO, was later laid across the Straits of Dover from Dungeness to Ambleteuse, near Boulogne. At the height of their operations, the pipelines were delivering almost 4000 tons of fuel per day, equivalent to almost 1million imperial gallons (4.5 million liters). In total, by VE Day over 781 000 cubic meters (172 million imperial gallons) of fuel were pumped to the Allied forces in Europe.