Further information:
The Allied naval command had been established for planning purposes on 5 May 1943. On 25 October Admiral Little was replaced as Commander-in-Chief Allied Naval Expeditionary Force (ANCXF) by Admiral Sir Bertram H. Ramsay. It was not until 1 April, however, that Admiral Ramsay assumed operational control of U.S. naval forces and even then his command remained formal until the eve of the invasion. The principal duty of ANCXF in January was still the preparation of an Allied naval plan.
 
Admiral Ramsay had in 1940 commanded the sea-borne forces at Dunkirk. See the memorial to this in the Portsmouth Cathedral. In 1945 Admiral Ramsay and four of his staff were killed when a plane they were on crashed on take-off.