Normandy, The Airborne Invasion of Fortress Europe

ladies and gentlemen the picture in regard to see he says a formal film document as a silver made by the army earthwork in graphic detail it reveals the operation use of pliers in the invasion of Normandy riders would you help to manufacture you will not soon forget this picture you mean be able to recognize gliders which you build with your own hands I think you will smile and thrive when you see how well they perform but without them the invasion of German air territory could not have been a success as well yes you'll be filled with justifiable pride at speaking for the air technical service command and in Siam Army Air Force I wanted to know that we share this pride with you but the job is not yet done we still need flight is of every description - such as only you can make in the past you'll work very hard but now he was working harder for your toil on the aircraft we need to speed victory thank you this is the story of the operation which began the assault on the continent of Europe ix troop carrier command will transport and resupply parachute and glider elements of the 82nd and 101st Airborne Division and will be prepared to transport elements of the British 1st Airborne Division as directed the US one hundred and first Airborne Division will begin landing approximately 30 minutes prior to civil twilight on the morning of d-day to assist the 4th division in the initial assault and capture the town of Carentan the u.s. 82nd Airborne Division will land to the immediate west of the 101st for the purpose of preventing the movement of enemy reserves to the east and north simple isn't it this mission which reads so easily calls for an attack from England on the continent of Europe the best to me Europa walled-in by the formidable defense in depth of the Atlantic Wall mind trapped bristling with gun emplacements and fortifications an impregnable barrier said the Nazis the combined Chiefs of Staff decided that frontal assault alone would not crack fortress Europe the Atlantic Wall must be vaulted in the cracking process begun from the rear the initial effort by land sea and air would be made in this area spearheaded by troop carrier and airborne forces but before the d-day there must be a number of lesser D days the first large-scale airborne operation was performed in conjunction with the assault on Sicily 10 July 1943 taking off from fields in Africa for dropping zones in Sicily troop carrier units transported by glider and aircraft units of the first British in the US 82nd Airborne Division's almost a year before this operation a troop carrier group transported a parachute infantry battalion from England to start the invasion of North Africa but the invasion of Sicily was the first real test for troop carrier units which had trained in maneuvers in Texas the Carolinas and England the Sicilian operation indicated there was much to be learned about the planning of an airborne operation troop carrier aircraft was shut down by friendly forces parachute drops were widely scattered it was a tactical success however rich an experience for the units which would later participate in the assault on the continent lesson was driven home but more navigation aids were badly needed but gliders must be landed at slow speeds but some type of air break was necessary to decrease the rate of descent of gliders going into small fields the protection for the nose of the glider and rough landing should be provided not only to protect the pilot but to facilitate unloading a technique had to be worked out for gliders landing on water lessons of sicily was added the experience of the highly successful operation in the Markham Valley of New Guinea in which troop carrier and the airborne forces showed the practicability of a well planned daylight operation back in the United States many lessons learned from the operations in Sicily Markham Valley and Solano were made a part of training and maneuvers the Griswold nose was developed to protect the glider in rough landings kerachut arrestor was adapted to permit landing the glider in restricted areas the intercom between toplane and glider was introduced blitz landings were out glider pilots were taught a slow constant rate of descent with a slow landing to a precise spot on the ground many types of combat aircraft was suitable for towing the CG for a glider b25 was used the p38 performed its task well even the PBY became a tow plane note the takeoff of the PBY before the glider here's a b-17 in dual toe the treble tobias c-54 airborne aviation engineers trained in anticipation of their probable use for building landing strips and rebuilding bombed air drums in France troop carrier airplanes are converted in a matter of minutes into ambulance ships and from lessons learned overseas grew the doctrine expressed in War Department secular 1:13 employment of airborne and troop carrier forces doctrine was put into practice and secular 1:13 became the blueprint for all future airborne operations airborne and troop carrier units are theater of operation forces their employment must be an integral part of the basic plan made by the agency directing all land sea and air forces in the operation the coordinating directive must be issued in time to allow realistic preparation and training by troop carrier and hair borne units for the specific operation airborne troops must be employed in mass and the bulk of the force landed in a small an area as possible the use of highly trained pathfinder teams dropped in advance to mark dropping zones and glider landing zones as ascension procedures must be prescribed which will ensure that troop carrier aircraft on course at proper altitudes and on correct time schedules are not fired upon by friendly forces power pilots and the staffs of operational training groups which were committed to the United Kingdom with trained and flying procedures of the United Kingdom before they left the state no flying was emphasized designed to prevent early detection by the enemy air crews had to fly through a corridor Aflac pinpointed by searchlights every aspect of operations in the United Kingdom flying control air sea rescue supply British navigation weather all phases of peer of training were covered before the unit's departed overseas maneuvers ended with gliders landing in small fields similar to the potential landing zones in France live loads are in the gliders airborne troops continue in their specialized tactics glider pilots are trained to stay in action with them until evacuated meanwhile in England supreme headquarters was formed the planning phase changed to the Manning phase the airborne planning committee headed by the air commander-in-chief of the Allied expeditionary air force was composed of representatives from all the services involved in the airborne operation Navy ground and air as well as the troop carrier command and the Airborne Division's concerned British ground crews helped assemble their own horses gliders before turning them over to troop carrier this British force are now belongs to the ninth troop carrier command each group now had 73 aircraft instead of the normal 52 the troop carrier force of three wings and 14 groups contained one experienced wing and five combat wise groups from the Mediterranean three planes in each squadron are equipped for aerial pickup thorough coordination between ground and air is necessary for accuracy and delivery of resupply containers these men of pathfinders a combined team of troop carrier crews and parachute technicians will drop on objective areas and set up homing devices for the main aerial convoy teams consist of 9 to 14 technical men and 5 security personnel the Pathfinder school starting without precedent and table of organization and with little equipment turned out 50 trained troop carrier crews and 260 British and American airborne officers and Men by d-day Pathfinder airplanes were equipped with every navigational aid used by troop carrier and the flight crews and airborne teams received 30 to 60 hours training in their use both in the air and on the ground each Pathfinder team is equipped with eight specially designed hall-of-fame lights from which DZ light tees are made by d-day crews who had lived trained and were briefed together could navigate under instrument conditions to within 600 to 800 yards of a pinpointed position in unfamiliar territory from March through May 35 lower echelon and three full-scale Command exercises were held culminating in a full dress rehearsal for the operation against the continent times loads distances and navigational aids we're exactly as would be used in the assault landing zones were selected for their similarity to those in Normandy which intelligence showed were 900 to 1500 feet long and averaged 500 feet wide mosaics showed that the objective areas would hold 1,300 gliders the Normandy fields were bounded by trees 15 to 75 feet high along with numerous dense hedges glider pilots were allowed to choose their own fields and release was made at Heights from 800 to 1000 feet both ideas were impractical the high release made the gliders more vulnerable to ground fire and sacrificed accuracy and when each pilot shows his landing field there were too many conflicting patterns following this manoeuvre it was decided that leaders were to choose the landing field for the three other gliders in his element and the release would be made at 400 to 600 feet if fields small enough for practical operational training are used there are certain to be crack-ups a compromise must be made between realistic training and the number of gliders which may be expended on the manoeuvre one reason the percentage of Horsa crack-ups was to be so much higher in the actual operation was that a sufficient number were not available for extensive practice in full load landings into small fields because of the rugged fuselage construction most of the CG for a gliders which sustained damage upon landing deliver their loads of personnel and equipment in fighting condition airborne infantry file into buses for their last land borne ride until d-day these hangers are their barracks until they climb aboard the airplanes and gliders new equipment is issued there's nothing to do now but kill time nothing that is but to keep it the peak and await orders grab a few moments to read letters from home and write a few lines but this is business you want to be sure you're in business when the time comes so you take inventory of your stock and trade and keep everything clean and shining and ready overnight the ship's blossomed out in their new war paint on D - - invasion markings were applied another lesson from Sicily invasion money reveal the objective by now the High Command insisted that individuals should know their destination hours before takeoff time para packs were assembled and delivered to the c-47s LS T's received their quotas of troops who will cross the beaches and move forward if troop carrier and airborne have done their job one glider Regiment of the 101st was to go in by boat as was some attached and supporting units of both divisions the lift or the required aircraft and gliders was not available to put them in by air as early as needed he day - one time narrows down gliders for the first nights operation or assembled for the takeoff glider pilots are told to assemble at Division Headquarters after landing for evacuation to England and have borne General has a final talk of men troop carrier and airborne have their final inspection more than a dozen fields paratroopers much their ships each pilot has been furnished a list of his passengers era packs are checked this outfit has enough of pash blood in its collective veins to justify their haircut there was a message from the supreme commander you are about to embark on a Great Crusade the eyes of the world are upon you and the hopes and prayers of all liberty-loving people go with you pilot and crew chief make a final check of the Power Packs here's another final check it's time by the jumpmaster just before the men go aboard you this triple will drop his British leg pack loaded with demolition supplies just before he lands dusk Pathfinder teams board the ships that will show the way into enemy territory 925 troop laden aircraft will home tonight on navigation aid set up by these pathfinders this is one minute out of one hour one day in the world's history there has rarely been equaled these are the first ships to take off in the airborne invasion of fortress Europe - ship is airborne at 2154 as the Pathfinders head for the coast of France other c-47s move into position for that takeoff at the head of the runway 30 minutes after the path - take off first serials of c-47s Paulo on the invasion there's a troop carrier aircraft across the channel the alight invasion fleet is already way tanka sealing had been forecast there's three thousand dollar route clearing at DZ but actually is variable 500 to 1000 visibility is poor they end up hookup standard or ready with a green goo the unit landed squarely on the German 91st Infantry Division and other enemy troops these enemy units were on maneuvers and were already occupying their assigned defensive positions surprise was gained only by the leading parachute unit and subsequent serials found themselves under practically continuous ground an anti-aircraft fire while crossing the peninsula and upon land 821 airplane loads 13,000 para troops were delivered into disease in less than two hours troop carrier had not planned a train for a night glider landing but more Panzers moving into the peninsula made 100 glider loads of anti-tank guns and troops essential for the initial phases it was estimated that only 50% of personnel and equipment would be available for use after the landing this calculated risk was accepted the serials were made up of the reliable cg forays which were easy to put into strange fields in darkness 0-200 time for the gliders to go all right glad I'm crunching LD coastal defenses are softened up for the beach landings daybreak the naval bombardment continues Marauders went in ahead of the troops to blast enemy coastal installations priority number one air supremacy had been obtained a long time before d-day the eighth and ninth air forces had accomplished that standing offshore the invasion craft wait as Allied planes blast the coast polite service ships come in you Marauders go on to the next phase the bombing and crippling of roads bridges waterways rail heads the isolation of a battlefield and the battlefield is isolated no German reserves come through to the coast in any strength the beachhead holds and grows the air force piles up a record number of sorties fighters blast every target that moves on enemy ground any target of opportunity is legitimate prey record sorties are flown by the fighters on d-day back in England the next glider serials are being marshaled for the takeoff the c-47s are doing double duty back from the tire troop drops they're ready to take off with gliders dual towed and practiced in the States but it was not used in this operation due to the extra time necessary for air assembly under the additional marshalling space which it would require on the air drums hard pressed paratroopers who went into action in darkness earlier today are depending on reinforcements and heavier equipment which will be delivered by these glider serials three groups of fighter cover are in takeoff position at airdromes to the south the coordinated British effort was made simultaneously by the British 6th Airborne Division transported by RAF 38 group and what objectives around calm particularly interesting was the delivery of 8 and 1/2 ton tanks of a recce regiment in 30 huge hamilkar gliders 29 of the 30 tanks were in action within 10 minutes after they were landed air superiority makes possible lists daylight operation a CAC ended a mission for this friendly airplane two-way traffic and it's congested these are areas flooded by the Germans parachutes and gliders from the previous serials the gliders cut loose from their toe planes we have fighter cover all the way to the landing zone not even a lone German fighter was able to sneak through one of the gliders makes a landing in the flooded area here are the staked fields intelligence warned us about the traps consisted of poles 12 to 15 feet long the 82nd and 101st Airborne Division's were in action 33 and 24 days respectively the 82nd having captured salmieri Gleason secured the bridgehead across the meadow a river destroyed other river crossings protected the flank of the Seventh Army Corps and drove west to the dew River the 101st seize the areas assigned it destroyed bridges drove on to Carentan to establish a defense area there to troop carrier the commanding general the 82nd Airborne Division sent this commendation on the most difficult conditions including landing under fire and enemy occupied terrain glider pilots did a splendid job on the ground they rendered most willing and effective service providing local protection for the division command post during the most critical period when the division was under heavy attack from three sides please express to all elements of your command who brought the division in by glider or parachute or who performed resupply missions for us our admiration for their coolness under fire their determination to overcome all obstacles and for their magnificent spirit of cooperation this is part of the price paid for 6 & 7 June 1944 1662 troop carrier airplanes were dispatched in the first 24 hours of the assault 43 were lost and 311 damaged by small arms fire a lot happened here that cameras could never get corporal with the Pathfinders remembers we were covering the landing of the first bunch of gliders were pinned down by German fire across the field as the men came running out they stepped right into it and started a drop all around us the German canon blue one glider right apart a veteran glider pilot a night glider operation means more landing casualties and extreme difficulty in unloading it is certainly not desirable if a dawn or dusk landing is at all practicable a power pilot I flew in a parachute cereal the first night and the navigation aids really worked but I couldn't see the light T which was supposed to be on my drop zone War Department observer who entered combat with one of the Airborne Division's troops were dropped generally in the vicinity of the disease but were badly scattered it appears that three arranged supply systems are not flexible enough for airborne combat supplies should be dropped as called for by local commanders rather than dropped in mass large-scale parachute resupply drops are wasteful and should be restricted to emergencies more attention should be paid to switching over to ground supply as soon as possible a troop carrier liaison officer our Pathfinder teams in two cases I know of suffered heavy casualties the light T's which we expected so much help from were only 10 percent operational due to enemy fire 50% of the resupply drop landed in enemy hands communications didn't exist to advise latest serials of changes in the enemy situation troop carrier operations and communications personnel should move with the 1st parachute or glider units 89% of the horses and 50% of the wackos crashed in landing but 75% of personnel and equipment were ready for combat back from Normandy these men would have faced further tests how much they had learned will be history history made by an airborne army you

Channel: US National Archives

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Length: 52min 41sec (3161 seconds)

Published: Fri Apr 03 2015