1944
US forces 'delivered' by Gliders towed by Dakota's on the Cotentin Peninsula.
Shortly after midnight on 6 June, over 18,000 men of the US 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions and the British 6th Airborne Division were dropped into Normandy. Allied paratroopers and glider-borne infantry were well trained and highly skilled, but for many this was their first experience of combat. Their objectives were to capture key sites behind the beaches and to secure the flanks of the assault areas.
NN
On the approach, the transports faced heavy cloud cover and intense enemy fire. Many of the airborne units were dropped outside of their target areas. Despite German resistance and the confusion caused by the scattered landings, the airborne forces achieved many of their objectives.
The Caen Canal Bridge, June 1944. It was renamed Pegasus Bridge, after the mythical
winged horse utilized as the formation sign of the British airborne forces.
On the night of 5 June 1944, a force of 181 men, led by Major John Howard, took off from RAF Tarrant Rushton in Dorset, southern England in six Horsa gliders to capture the Bénouville Bridge, and also the Ranville Bridge, a few hundred yards to the east, over the Orne River. The object of this action was to prevent German armour from crossing the bridges and attacking the eastern flank of the landings at Sword Beach.
NN
Five of the gliders landed as close as 47 yards from their objectives. The attackers poured out of their battered gliders, completely surprising the German defenders, and took the bridges within 10 minutes. They lost only two men in the process and they were the first members of the invading Allied armies to die as a result of enemy fire on D-Day.
NN
One glider, assigned to the capture of the river bridge, landed at the bridge over the River Dives, some 7 miles off. Most of the soldiers in this glider moved through German lines towards the village of Ranville where they eventually re-joined the British forces. The 7th Parachute Battalion reinforced the glider forces who all linked up with the Commandos that landed at Sword Beach.
NN
Later in 1944, the Bénouville Bridge was renamed 'Pegasus Bridge' in honour of the operation. The name is derived from the shoulder emblem worn by the British Parachute Regiment which depicts Bellerophon riding the flying horse Pegasus. Ranville Bridge was named 'Horsa Bridge' after the Horsa gliders.
NN
One of the members of the 7th Battalion reinforcements was Captain Richard Todd, a young actor,
who would, nearly two decades later, play Major Howard in the film The Longest Day.
NN
Source: IWM / Wikipedia
Photo: Bundesarchiv, Bild 146-2004-0176 • Licensed for reuse under CC-BY-SA 3.0
An abandoned glider is examined by German troops.
Main
Menu
