D-DAY

The Germans firmly believed that the Allies would invade the European continent at the narrowest part of the English Channel, between Dover and Calais. The straight-line distance of approximately 26 miles (41.5 km) made sense; however, the Calais area was extensively fortified, and those defenses included eight guns of 200mm or larger plus an additional ten guns ranging between 305mm and 406mm. No invasion fleet could approach this area of the coast, and even the coastal town of Dover was within shelling range of these massive weapons.

To reinforce the belief that the invasion would come in the Calais area, the Allies executed a complex yet convincing deception plan. The overarching plan was known as Operation Bodyguard, and designed to convince the Germans that France and Norway would be invaded simultaneously. The nonexistent British Fourth Army was scripted for the invasion of Norway, and Gen. George S. Patton was given command of the also nonexistent US First Army Group. Allied air superiority denied the Germans the ability to observe military activities in the Fourth Army and US First Army Group’s area, so they had to collect intelligence by monitoring radio traffic, news reports, and other information, which was broadcast specifically for consumption by the information-hungry German Army.

In the dark hours on the night of June 5/6, subordinate activities of Operation Bodyguard were launched on and over the English Channel. Facing Calais, Operations Glimmer and Taxable were used to confuse German ship and aircraft radar by presenting what looked like large fleets of ships and aircraft approaching the French coast. Although the targets appeared to be getting closer and closer, they never physically appeared. Operation Mandrel saw the Allies flying bombers working in concert with ships jamming German radar, essentially making the Germans blind to the invasion activities. Operation Titanic saw the Royal Air Force drop 500 dummy parachutists far behind German lines to confuse them as to where the attack was actually occurring and to make the attacking force seem much stronger than it was. The deception operations provided cover for airborne troops that were to drop behind the invasion beaches to secure vital bridges and roadways, and kept German reinforcements at bay until a beachhead could be secured.

THE AERIAL ASSAULT

Shortly after midnight on June 5/6, path-finder troops parachuted behind German lines to mark drop zones for the first wave of Allied paratroopers. Operation Tonga saw the British 6th Airborne Division drop to the east of the invasion beaches and capture vital bridges crossing the Caen Canal and River Orne. These troops landed near Ranville (Drop Zone N), Varaville (Drop Zone V), and Cuverville (Drop Zone K). They would be reinforced by glider-borne troops that landed near Le Port (Landing Zone W).

Simultaneously, more than 800 C-47s and C-53s of the IX Troop Carrier Command’s 50th, 52nd, and 53rd Troop Carrier Wings shuttled more than 13,100 paratroopers from the American 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions to 8 drop zones north of Carentan at the base of the Cotentin Peninsula. These drop zones were behind the Omaha and Utah invasion beaches. Low clouds, German antiair-craft fire, small arms fire, and navigation errors all combined to scatter many of the paradrops. Two C-47s dropped their para-troopers directly over Sainte-Mère-Église, where German soldiers shot them dead as they descended in their parachutes or got hung up in trees.

While the Allied paratroopers consolidated their positions, reinforcements and mobile equipment were brought across the English Channel in a massive glider-borne operation. Royal Air Force Hamilcar gliders brought M-22 Locust light tanks, while tricycle-gear Horsa and American CG-4A Hadrian gliders flew in jeeps, mortars, 75mm howitzers, anti-tank guns, ammunition, food, and reinforcement troops.

Commonwealth troops were tasked with silencing the Merville battery, which was thought to contain four 150mm guns. These guns had a range of nearly 2 miles and could reach out to strike Allied ships of the invasion fleet as they approached the beach. The plan called for 600 men of the 6th Airborne Division’s 3rd Parachute Brigade to land and advance on the battery. The troops were scattered, however, and only 150 men were able to attack. After capturing the battery, they determined that the four guns were smaller, only 100mm. British paratroopers disabled two of the guns, which cost them half their attacking force (seventy-five men). When the British moved on to the next objective, the Germans recaptured the site, using the remaining two guns against the Allies. The Germans maintained control of the battery until August 17, when the site was abandoned.

One of the first successes of the operation was the capture of the Bénouville Bridge, later to become known as the Pegasus Bridge, and the Orne River Bridge, later remembered as the Horsa Bridge. Landing within yards of the bridges, RAF parachutists and glider-borne troops from the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry teamed up with a group of Royal Engineers to capture and, in the face of strong German counterattacks, hold both bridges until later relieved.

Glider missions Chicago and Detroit followed the paratroopers into Normandy before sunrise bringing heavy weapons and additional troops. The Chicago gliders brought men from the 101st Airborne Division, while the Detroit gliders carried men from the 82nd Airborne Division. Later in the evening of June 6, 208 C-47s towed gliders in support of missions Elmira and Keokuk, further reinforcing American troops.

AIR SUPERIORITY STRANGLES ALL MOVEMENT

While the invasion fleet approached the beach at sunrise, Allied fighters patrolled the skies, keeping the Luftwaffe at bay. US Army Air Forces P-47 Thunderbolts and Royal Air Force Typhoons strafed or rocket-attacked any German vehicle that moved or any identifiable enemy strong-point. Marauding Allied fighters prevented the German Army from moving reinforcements during daylight hours, enabling US and Commonwealth troops to expand the beachhead and move inland.

There were more than 150 German radar sites of all types along the Atlantic Wall, between France’s Bay of Biscay and the coast of Norway. Typhoons, Thunderbolts, and A-20 and B-26 medium bombers paid close attention to these high-priority targets.

Eighth and Fifteenth Air Force B-17 Flying Fortress and B-24 Liberator heavy strategic bombers were employed in a tactical role in the months leading up to and following the invasion. Tactical locations such as railroad marshalling yards, bridges, and coastal defense artillery sites were on the bombers’ target list. Each plane could carry a bombload of approximately 8,000 pounds (3,600 kg) on short-range missions. At this stage of the war, the US Army Air Forces and the Royal Air Force could each put up nearly 1,000 heavy bombers per mission. On the night of June 5/6, Royal Air Force Bomber Command sent 1,012 heavy bombers to attack 10 German coastal artillery batteries, scoring a number of direct hits and reducing the enemy’s defensive capabilities.

FUEL FOR AN ADVANCING ARMY

In addition to ammunition and food, the Allied armies required vast quantities of gasoline. To deliver needed supplies, Operation Pluto (Pipe Line under the Ocean) had been conceived to flow fuel from England to France using 3-inch-diameter flexible pipes. To move the gasoline, four pipes were laid from the Isle of Wight to Cherbourg (two Hartley-Anglo-Iranian-Siemens pipes, known as HAIS pipes, and two Hamel steel pipes) and sixteen pipes (eleven HAIS and six Hamel) were laid from Dungeness, England, to Boulogne. Operation Pluto delivered 172 million gallons of gasoline between September 1944 and VE Day (May 8, 1945).

Drawing representing the radar and radio countermeasures that were part of Operation Bodyguard during the early-morning hours of D-Day. While paratroopers and glider-borne infantry would come across the Channel to the south of Cherbourg, Operations Glimmer and Taxable would be used as diversions to mislead the German defenders. Operation Mandrel involved the use of ships along with four B-17 bombers fitted with AN/APT-3 low-frequency radar jammers. Operation Titanic saw the Royal Air Force drop masses of dummy paratroopers with a number of Special Air Service men to create confusion and give the Germans the impression that the invasion force was much larger than it actually was. NARA

Royal Air Force Short Stirling bombers from No. 218 Squadron flew sorties in support of Operation Glimmer. This involved tricking German radar at the Pas-de-Calais into seeing radar returns of a large aerial armada approaching. In addition to the aerial element of Operation Glimmer, six small boats towed radar reflector balloons and transponders that simulated radio traffic among a large fleet of ships. This deception kept the Germans thinking the invasion would materialize where they mistakenly thought it would. KEV DARLING COLLECTION

Operation Taxable involved eighteen small boats accompanied by No. 617 Dam Busters Squadron Avro Lancasters duplicating the tactics of Operation Glimmer, this time to convince the Germans that an invasion force was moving toward La Poterie-Cap-d’Antifer. Here King George VI inspects members of the Dambusters Squadron after their successful breaching of the Möhne and Eder Dams in the Ruhr River Valley of Germany. KEV DARLING COLLECTION

Men of the 101st Airborne Division on the ramp at USAAF Station 463, Exeter, England, on the evening of June 5. They will soon receive the signal to gear up and board the Skytrain for the flight to Normandy. The 101st Airborne was assigned Drop Zones A (at Saint-Martin-de-Varreville) and C (Hiesville) to secure and hold the beach exits for the landing troops as well as to destroy the casemated 88mm guns at Saint-Martin-de-Varreville. At Drop Zone D (Angoville-au-Plain), the 101st was to destroy the bridges across the Douve River and capture the La Barquette lock.

Built at the Douglas Aircraft Company’s Oklahoma City factory, C-47-10, serial number 42-92717, was delivered on February 16, 1944, and had flown to England by April 14. This Skytrain survived the war. NARA/US ARMY AIR FORCES

Cpl. Joe E. Oleskiewicz from the 101st Airborne Division strikes a pose in the troop door of a C-47. Oleskiewicz is cradling an M1 Thompson 0.45-caliber submachine gun and has jump goggles around his neck. Face paint was worn by many paratroopers to reduce the reflectivity of their faces. This Skytrain will drop parapacks of equipment (seen under the fuselage) along with paratroopers. NARA/USAAF 51885AC

Paratroopers stand for inspection before boarding 95th Troop Carrier Squadron C-47A-80-DL, serial number 43-15087. These men will soon fly from Station 463, RAF Exeter, to jump in the dark over enemy territory. Evidence that the invasion stripes were hastily painted on aircraft is evident around the star-and-bar insignia. Paint runs nearly obscure the aft bar. NARA/USAAF 51876AC

A wartime censor has scratched out the 101st Airborne Division shoulder patch of the soldier on the left. The soldier on the right is holding a bazooka. Note that these men are carrying nearly their own weight in equipment and ammunition. Each wears a Mae West inflatable life vest under his parachute harness. NARA/USAAF 52024AC

A Thompson submachine gun–toting paratrooper boards a Skytrain for the cross-Channel attack. Weighed down with gear, most men needed a boost to ascend the ladder into the aircraft. LIBRARY OF CONGRESS

Onboard a Skytrain or Skytrooper, a 101st Airborne noncommissioned officer reads a telegram containing Supreme Allied Commander General Eisenhower’s “You are about to embark upon the Great Crusade” message. Allied paratroopers landed in Normandy five hours before the seaborne assault began. NARA/USAAF 53302AC

The training is complete. Spirits are high, and these American paratroopers are ready to drop into occupied France as the leading elements of the invasion. Two of the transport’s flight crew have come aft for the photo. Ahead of the bulkhead sits the pilot, copilot, navigator, and radio operator. NARA/USAAF 75891AC

Douglas C-47A-90-DL Skytrain, serial number 43-15665, from the 53rd Troop Carrier Wing, 434th Troop Carrier Group, 73rd Troop Carrier Squadron (fuselage code CN-P), based at Aldermaston, en route to a drop zone in France carrying supplies for Allied troops in parapacks under the wing center section. The parapacks were attached to the underside of the aircraft with bomb shackles. NARA/USAAF 82575AC

Douglas C-47s of the 53rd Troop Carrier Wing, 436th Troop Carrier Group’s 76th Troop Carrier Squadron (fuselage code CW), based at Welford Park, en route to drop members of the 82nd Airborne Division. The 82nd Airborne landed in Drop Zones N (near Picauville) to destroy additional bridges across the Douve River, O (seizing the town of Sainte-Mère-Église), and T (Amfreville) to help hold the La Fiere causeway. NARA/USAAF 116001AC

Parapacks (A-4 and A-5 delivery containers) dropped to Allied troops during D-Day litter a field. Parapacks typically consisted of equipment that was too heavy to be carried down by paratroopers, such as rations, grenades, rifle and mortar ammunition, and machine guns, and weighed between 210 and 230 pounds each. An M1A1 75mm Pack Howitzer and its M8 gun carriage could be broken down into nine parapacks (Paracrates M1–M7, Parachest M8, and Paracaisson M9). Each was fitted with a 24-foot-diameter cargo parachute of a different color, enabling men on the ground to identify the contents of each parapack without having to open it. Paracrates M1–M5 and M9 were suspended and dropped from under the aircraft, while paracrates M6–M8 were pushed out the cargo door, with the parachutes opening by static cord. Some of the howitzer parapacks could weigh up to 330 pounds. NARA/USAAF 51675AC

A Troop Carrier Command C-47 floats in the English Channel while a British motorboat stands off. Flying low to drop paratroopers or release gliders exposed the C-47 Skytrains and C-53 Skytroopers to small arms and antiaircraft fire. NARA/USAAF 51617AC

Antiaircraft gunners watch the sky in the hours after the initial drops. They are manning an M45 Quadmount (four heavy-barrel 0.50-caliber M2HB Browning machine guns) in an M16 antiaircraft half-track on the perimeter of Station 486, RAF Greenham Common. Each gun was provided with 200 rounds in ammo cans and could put lead downrange at 450–550 rounds per minute. Note the sandbagging around the half-track. In the background are C-47s from the 89th (fuselage code 4U) and 90th (Q7) Troop Carrier Squadrons parked among Horsa gliders. NARA/USAAF 53924AC

GLIDER OPERATIONS

The “Arsenal of Democracy” (Detroit) built 13,903 Waco CG-4 Hadrian gliders during the war. In the months leading up to D-Day, thousands were shipped, disassembled, and crated across the Atlantic to England.

Crookham Common was a large, open field area located east of USAAF Station 486, RAF Greenham Common, open and suitable as a glider assembly depot. Glider fuselages arrived in five crates—cargo section, cockpit, inner and outer wing sections, and tail assembly—and were assembled then towed to the Greenham Common Airfield to be disbursed to the various Troop Carrier Group bases. Crated gliders can be seen in the lower area, with completed fuselages above. Progressing in the assembly process, the inner wing sections were added next, followed by the outboard panels. Note the bivouac area of Army tents at the top of the photo. NARA/USAAF 51194AC AND 52911AC

Ninth Air Force Service Command mechanics attach the port wing to a CG-4A glider. The serial number has been obscured by wartime censors. NARA/USAAF C-51552

CG-4A 42-77451 sits at RAF Upottery in East Devon, home to the 50th Troop Carrier Wing’s 439th Troop Carrier Group. Sixteen companies built more than 13,000 CG-4As during the war, and this example is one of the 3,190 built by the Ford Motor Company at Kingsford, Michigan. The Kingsford plant employed 4,500 in 3 shifts of 1,500 workers each, building 8 gliders per 24-hour day. NARA/USAAF 75950AC

The Douglas C-47 Skytrain was the most versatile cargo aircraft of World War II, with more than 10,000 produced at 3 factories: Long Beach and Santa Monica, California, and Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The aircraft’s reinforced floor and portside double loading doors enabled the interior to be configured to tow gliders, drop paratroopers, carry litter patients and ambulatory wounded, or haul combat equipment such as jeeps, trailers, 37mm antitank guns, or 75mm howitzers. This plan view of the C-47 is from the load adjuster slide rule. Each aircraft carried a load adjuster to calculate the center of gravity before takeoff. Everything loaded onto the aircraft and its position within the fuselage had to be accounted for when figuring the center of gravity. AUTHOR’S COLLECTION

The Douglas C-53 Skytrooper was used to drop paratroopers or two gliders during the aerial invasion and, when a foothold was secured on the continent, to evacuate the wounded back to hospitals in England. These aircraft were built at the company’s Santa Monica, California, factory and were very similar to many airline-configured DC-3s delivered before the war.

The C-53 had seating along each side of the cabin for twenty-eight fully equipped troops and was equipped with a single door on the port side. External parapacks could be carried under the fuselage at sections D and E. The C-49 and C-50 were the military designation for the Douglas Sleeper Transport and other early DC-3 airliners impressed into military service. The performance of these former airliners was essentially the same as the C-53. AUTHOR’S COLLECTION

The American Army’s choice for a transport glider was the CG-4A Hadrian. The Hadrian featured a fabric-covered tubular steel and wood frame with fabric-covered wooden wings. The cockpit section was hinged, swinging upward to enable a jeep, quarter-ton truck, or 75mm howitzer to be loaded straight-in. When carrying troops, thirteen fully equipped men was the standard capacity. The glider’s useful load was approximately 4,200 pounds, and its maximum takeoff weight was 7,500 pounds. CG-4As were first employed during the July 1943 invasion of Sicily and played a major role in deploying troops to strategic locations, silently, in the hours before the D-Day invasion. AUTHOR’S COLLECTION

A trailer is loaded into a Waco CG-4A glider by men from the 82nd Airborne Division. The trailer has a number of stretchers protruding from under the tarpaulin cover. Note the hurriedly painted number on the fuselage. A Horsa glider and a pair of C-47s are parked in the background. NARA/USAAF 54671AC AND 75901AC

Men from the 82nd Airborne Division secure a howitzer to the deck of a CG-4A glider. When carrying this type of load, the CG-4A had a useful load of 4,200 pounds (1,905 kg): a crew of two, three passengers, one howitzer, and eighteen rounds of ammunition. NARA/USAAF A-54671AC

C-47s and Horsa gliders in takeoff position for the D-Day offensive line the runway at RAF Aldermaston in Berkshire. The C-47s are from the 434th Troop Carrier Group’s 72nd (fuselage code CU) and 73rd (CN) Troop Carrier Squadrons, which, together with the 71st and 74th Troop Carrier Squadrons, towed thirty-two Horsa and fifty-two CG-4A Hadrian gliders into battle on D-Day. NARA/USAAF 53041AC

CG-4As (left) and Horsa gliders await towplanes as part of the June 7 glider mission Galveston. This photo was most likely taken at USAAF Station 469, RAF Ramsbury, in Wiltshire. The 1st Battalion of the 82nd Airborne’s 325th Glider Infantry Regiment, loaded into thirty-two CG-4As and eighteen Horsa gliders at this base, were towed across the Channel and set down at Landing Zone E near Hiesville. Their original destination was Landing Zone W, near Les Forges, but heavy ground fire necessitated the change. Mission Galveston was composed of 100 tug/glider combinations, with the balance of the troops coming across in 50 CG-4As launched from USAAF Station 467, RAF Aldermaston. NARA/USAAF 53243AC

Royal Air Force Horsa gliders await the call to duty on the morning of June 6. The American CG-4A gliders were low to the ground, with a tail dragger landing gear configuration and an upswinging nose that enabled straight-in loading of jeeps, trailers, guns, and cargo. The RAF Airspeed Horsa gliders featured tricycle landing gear and a large cargo door on the port side behind the cockpit. This door was large enough to accommodate a jeep, and upon landing, the tail section could be separated from the main fuselage by the removal of eight bolts and some safety wire, enabling jeeps to drive out on ramps carried onboard. NARA/USAAF A-83081AC

Maintainers from the 91st Troop Carrier Squadron at USAAF Station 462, RAF Upottery, prepare a tow rig from the CG-4A glider at left to a C-47 Skytrain. Based on the weather and the lack of invasion stripes, this photo appears to have been taken in late May 1944. NARA/USAAF

Officers from the 439th Troop Carrier Group inspect the tow lug on a C-47 Skytrain. Nearing the landing zone, the glider pilots would uncouple the tow and descend to land, while the Skytrain would drag the tow rope back to base. NARA/USAAF 75738AC

Wearing the shoulder patch of the American 82nd Airborne, these men of the 307th Airborne Medic Company await the signal to board a British Airspeed Horsa glider, RAF serial LJ114. The 307th was part of Mission Elmira, flown on June 6 from RAF Greenham Common by the 438th Troop Carrier Group. When released over Normandy, the gliders of Mission Elmira were to land in Landing Zone W near the villages of Bénouville and Saint-Aubin-d’Arquenay, in the vicinity of the Bénouville Bridge (later to be known as the Pegasus Bridge) over the Caen Canal. NARA/USAAF A15216

Skytrains from the 88th Troop Carrier Squadron resume glider tug operations from the runways of USAAF Station 486, RAF Greenham Common, on the evening of June 6. All the Skytrains’ engines are turning, and CG-4A number one is about to start the takeoff roll behind a C-47 glider tug. Note how the tow rope connects to the CG-4A at the top of the cockpit frame. NARA/USAAF 83087AC

A C-47 from the 90th Troop Carrier Squadron (fuselage code Q7) departs from Station 486 on June 6. Other Horsas and CG-4As can be seen on the ramp in the distance. NARA/USAAF 51885AC

An Airspeed Horsa glider in American markings lifts off behind a C-47 en route to the landing zones in Normandy. Horsas had a long chord and large, thick wings that provided better handling at landing speeds. Unfortunately for the gliders, the trip was usually one way. NARA/USAAF 51742AC

Built at Santa Monica, California, Douglas C-53D 42-68840 is seen towing a CG-4 glider over the English countryside. The C-47/C-53 cargo planes were capable of towing two gliders; however, to keep operations simple, and because there were enough towplanes and crews, they towed only one glider at a time. NARA/USAAF

Ninth Air Force Troop Carrier Command Douglas C-47s tow Waco CG-4A gliders toward the invasion coast. Gliders were a quick way to land reinforcements—both men and equipment—near the battlefront. NARA/USAAF 52479AC

American CG-4A gliders loaded with infantry from the 82nd Airborne are towed by C-47s from the 438th Troop Carrier Group’s 88th Troop Carrier Squadron (fuselage code M2). The aircraft pairs launched from RAF Greenham Common on June 6 as part of Mission Elmira and are seen crossing the coast of France. NARA/USAAF 51609AC

Towplanes and gliders circle the landing zones later in the day on June 6. Nearly every open field looking into the distance has multiple gliders at one end or another. The fields in the foreground have both CG-4As and Horsas. Most of these landing areas were secure by this time on June 6; however, overflying occupied territory subjected tug-and towplanes to small arms and larger antiaircraft fire. Glider pilots who were released at such low altitudes were essentially committed to land in whatever field, no matter the conditions, lay directly ahead of them, as CG-4As, when fully loaded, had a sink rate of approximately 400 feet per minute. NARA/USAAF 51618AC

Reconnaissance photo from late on June 6 showing a mix of Horsas and CG-4As in French fields. Most look intact, although closer examination shows that a number suffered tragic fates. Wings are missing, and wreckage is strewn about where gliders cartwheeled upon landing or struck rows of trees. A number of Horsas have had their tail sections removed as well. Small groups of white dots are livestock, while evenly spaced dots are obstacles placed by the Germans to defeat landings by gliders. NARA/USAAF 51750AC

Horsa gliders with American markings sit in a French field among parachutes left by airborne infantry; one is still attached to a parapack (near right wing of the top glider). The center and lower-right Horsas have had their tail sections disconnected to allow faster unloading of a jeep or gun. These gliders most likely landed under enemy fire. The Horsa at lower right carries the American star-and-bar insignia on the port wing and the British roundel on the starboard side. NARA/USAAF 52030AC

Known as “Rommel’s Asparagus,” a series of posts were driven into the ground in the fields of Normandy to defeat airborne assault gliders. The idea was to stretch wire between each post to shred the gliders upon contact. This field’s asparagus certainly had the better of the CG-4A at left, which has had part of its left outer wing sheared off. Both wings have collapsed, and the cockpit looks to have separated from the fuselage. NARA/US ARMY SIGNAL CORPS

American-marked Horsa glider with cockpit windows shot–up sits in a French pasture following the aerial assault. NARA/USAAF 53206AC

This French field has become a glider graveyard for a pair of CG-4As and the cockpit of a Horsa glider, with another behind it. Waco CG-4A number 11, at left, is likely from glider Mission Chicago, which saw fifty-two C-47s tow CG-4As from Station 467, Aldermaston, across the English Channel. Mission Chicago’s aircraft arrived over the Normandy landing zones at 4:00 on the morning of June 6. During this mission 2nd Lt. R. C. Howard, in C-47A-80-DL 43-15101, was forced down by antiaircraft fire and crashed near Étienville. This was his crew’s first mission. All five escaped the aircraft and were heading toward Allied lines when they walked into a German ambush. Lieutenant Howard was shot and fell over a shallow bank into a swamp. His crew never saw him again. NARA/USAAF 54016AC

After landing, the men in this Horsa removed the eight bolts attaching the tail section to the fuselage, attached the ramps, and drove out a jeep. The invasion stripes on the underside of the tail show the rush in which they were applied. NARA/USAAF 192609

Memo from General Eisenhower, Supreme Allied Commander, Allied Expeditionary Force (SHAEF), to Gen. George C. Marshall, US Army Chief of Staff, written at 8:00 a.m., June 6, 1944, reporting light losses during the aerial assault and that the operation was proceeding. The decision to delay the invasion by one day is justified by the comment about the favorable weather conditions predicted for the coming days. NARA

NINTH AIR FORCE MEDIUM BOMBERS IN ACTION

During the D-Day landings, this A-20 Havoc from the 410th Bomb Group, 644th Bomb Squadron, based at Gosfield, England, returns from a strike against railyard and oil storage facilities near Carentan. As it passes over the invasion fleet, LSTs can be seen below towing various “rhino ferries,” (flat-bottom pontoon barges capable of being driven up, onto the beach to discharge vehicles and supplies), while the LST near the A-20’s starboard horizontal tail has a barrage balloon deployed. The 410th Bomb Group put up forty-five planes—a maximum effort for that strike. The group’s second strike of the day saw them drop bombs on the railyard near Abbeyville, northeast of Dieppe, part of the Allied plan to keep the Germans thinking the Normandy invasion was just a diversion for the real assault that was to come at Calais. NARA/USAAF 51736AC

Coastal gun emplacements were the D-Day target for the Ninth Air Force’s 322nd Bomb Group, 450th Bomb Squadron. Based at USAAF Station 485, RAF Great Sailing, Essex, England, Martin B-26C-45-MO 42-107685 (fuselage code ER) returns across the English Channel on D-Day. This Marauder is fitted with “package guns”—four 0.50-caliber machine guns fitted below and behind the cockpit and fired by the pilot or copilot. The portside guns can be seen in the fairings between the engine and fuselage. The Ninth Air Force later moved to bases in France, and this aircraft was transferred to the 387th Bomb Group, 558th Bomb Squadron. It was lost to antiaircraft fire on February 22, 1945. NARA/USAAF 51590AC

One of many Douglas A-20s leaves a French railroad marshalling yard under a cloud of smoke. This image graphically illustrates the precision with which low-flying medium bombers could strike a target. NARA/USAAF 59176AC

Wickedly painted shark’s mouth B-26B-55-MA Marauder, serial number 42-96165, 397th Bomb Group, 599th Bomb Squadron, based at USAAF Station 162 at Chipping Ongar, Essex, England. In June and July 1944, the 39th Bomb Group flew 81 missions with more than 2,000 sorties (one sortie equals 1 aircraft dispatched) with only 1 aircraft lost over enemy territory. The 397th Bomb Group’s aircraft were overall bare metal, and 42-96165’s shark nose was yellow with red gums around white teeth. NARA/USAAF 55127AC

Douglas A-20 Havocs from the 416th Bomb Group over the cloud-covered coast of France near Le Havre en route to attack rail and transport targets behind Allied lines. In the foreground is A-20G-30, serial number 43-9701, built at Douglas’s Santa Monica, California, factory and delivered on December 27, 1943. The aircraft flew from the West Coast to Memphis, Tennessee, to Newark, New Jersey, and from there it was sent to the Eighth Air Force in England (under code SOXO) on January 27, 1944. The Havoc was then assigned to the Ninth Air Force’s 416th Bomb Group, 668th Bomb Squadron, at RAF Wethersfield, Essex, England.

Other Havocs lower in the formation wear the fuselage code 5C, denoting their assignment to the 671st Bomb Squadron, also based at RAF Wethersfield. Note that the turret gunners of 5C-K and 5H-Z have their guns facing forward as they scan the sky for the Luftwaffe. This view also shows the rough application of invasion stripes and how quickly they are weathering. NARA/USAAF 52228AC

STRATEGIC BOMBERS AND ALLIED SUPPORT

Photographed from the deck of a PT boat en route to patrol off the invasion beaches, a squadron of B-17 Flying Fortresses passes over at relatively low altitude to strike targets behind enemy lines. B-17 and B-24 strategic bombers were employed tactically alongside the medium bombers of the Ninth Air Force and aircraft from the Royal Air Force to interdict German road and rail traffic in the Normandy region. NHHC NH 44308

Airborne radar picture of the Bay of the Seine and the Normandy region showing the invasion beaches and large cities, from left, of Cherbourg, Vire, Caen, Orne, and Le Havre. A B-17 fitted with H2X radar in the chin position made this image. H2X was a ground-scanning radar used for bombing when visual aiming techniques were not available due to fog or clouds obscuring the target area. H2X was a development of British H2S radar, and its US technical nomenclature was AN/APS-15 radar. NARA/USAAF 59379AC

The Normandy invasion beaches as seen through an H2X radar screen on the morning of D-Day. The center of the radar picture is approximately 35 miles off the coast and shows the invasion fleet just offshore. NARA/USAAF A-59379AC

The bomber carrying the H2X radar has passed over the invasion fleet and is about to cross the Normandy coast. A trained radar operator was able to distinguish the target from background clutter and drop bombs through overcast. NARA/USAAF B-59379AC

Photo reconnaissance De Havilland DH.98 Mosquitos played a large role in collecting pre-and post-invasion intelligence for Operation Overlord and the subsequent move across France. Mosquito B Mk IX (PR.XVI), RAF serial NS536, was in service with RAF 627 Squadron. The aircraft was written off when its main gear collapsed on landing at Boscombe Down, England, after a navigation exercise on March 13, 1945. WILLIAM T. LARKINS COLLECTION

The Royal Air Force’s Bristol Beaufighter was extremely lethal with its four forward-firing 20mm cannon. This aircraft, Beaufighter Mk X, RAF serial number JM339, wears invasion stripes and was in the thick of the battle, attacking German shipping. Assigned to RAF 254 Squadron, the aircraft was lost engaging a pair of German M-class minesweepers near Waddenzee Ballumerbocht, the Netherlands, on November 21, 1944. Squadron aircraft attacked the minesweepers, firing twenty-four rockets, with eight striking the ships—one was smoking and the other fully engulfed in flames when last seen. Pilot Sgt. J. Dalley and navigator F/Sgt. G. J. Burns perished in the crash. WILLIAM T. LARKINS COLLECTION

AIR SUPERIORITY STRANGLES ALL MOVEMENT ON THE GROUND

Maintainers gather as an officer gives an update from the front. Note the invasion-striped Lockheed P-38 inside the hangar. NARA/USAAF 52741AC

P-38J-10-LO 42-68144 (fuselage code 5Y-H) was assigned to the Eighth Air Force’s 364th Fighter Group, 384th Fighter Squadron, based at USAAF Station 375, Honington, Suffolk, England. First Lt. William P. Hess’s aircraft was damaged in combat and ran off the side of the runway, collapsing the starboard main gear while the engine was making power. The 364th Fighter Group flew 342 missions before transitioning to the North American P-51 Mustang. NARA/USAAF 71931AC

Lockheed P-38s of the 20th Fighter Group were based at USAAF Station 367, King’s Cliffe, Northamptonshire. Prior to D-Day, the 20th Fighter Group received Droopsnoot Lightnings, in which armament in the nose was replaced with a bombardier and a bombsight. The Lightnings would fly a formation similar to the one seen here, and all aircraft would salvo their bombs when they saw the lead aircraft drop. P-38 pilots were not enthusiastic about flying their fighters straight and level on the long bomb run to the target, as they felt they were sitting ducks when bombing for lower altitudes. NARA/USAAF 51937AC

High-back P-51B/Cs of the Eighth Air Force’s 361st Fighter Group prepare to take off to escort bombers deep into Germany. The Mustangs carry drop tanks and have been painted with invasion stripes. The stripes helped bomber gunners distinguish the new Mustangs from the German Bf 109s during the heat of combat. NARA/USAAF 52369AC

Mustangs led by Maj. George R. Rew of the Eighth Air Force’s 361st Fighter Group, 374th Fighter Squadron, get the takeoff signal to depart USAAF Station 165, RAF Little Walden, Essex, England, shortly after D-Day. These Mustangs are carrying 108-gallon paper drop tanks under each wing. Major Rew is flying P-51B-10-NA 42-106721, Scarlet Kate , which was not long for the sky; soon after D-Day he was assigned P-51B-10-NA 42-106763. Rew’s new mount was fitted with a Malcolm hood (similar to the canopy on a British Spitfire) and he named his new Mustang Scarlet Kate II. That aircraft was lost on a local flight with 2nd Lt. Barry R. Hicks at the controls when its engine quit. Hicks was uninjured in the accident and returned to service. NARA/USAAF 51631AC

Field takeoff control officer 2nd Lt. Jerome R. Mau of Chicago, Illinois, shown launching an Eighth Air Force P-51 Mustang from the 361st Fighter Group’s 374th Fighter Squadron. The Mustang shown is P-51B-10-NA 42-106631 (fuselage code E2-K), assigned to Capt. Robert C. Wright. NARA/USAAF 52368AC

After escorting bombers to the target, Allied fighters had the option to descend to the deck and strafe targets of opportunity. Here Mustangs wreak havoc on a German airfield somewhere in France. Allied air superiority afforded a great advantage in the breakout from the invasion beaches. NARA/USAAF51467AC

Lt. Gen. James H. “Jimmy” Doolittle looks on as maintainers work on a P-51B at a base in England. Doolittle’s Eighth Air Force fighters and bombers provided tactical support to the invasion effort from June 2 to June 17. On D-Day Minus Four (June 2), the Eighth Air Force kept up the diversion by bombing eighteen different targets in the Calais area. Flying 864 heavy bombers into virtually the same airspace took some planning; the area was completely covered by clouds, so bombing would have to be by radar. Escorting the bombers and patrolling to intercept German fighters saw 175 P-47s, 46 P-38s, and 144 P-51s launched as well. On that day, none of General Doolittle’s aerial fleet were lost. NARA/USAAF A-60005AC

Mustangs from the 354th Fighter Group’s 356th Fighter Squadron (fuselage code AJ) patrolling over France shortly after D-Day. The 354th was dubbed the “Pioneer Mustang Group,” as they were the first American unit to take the new fighter into combat. The group escorted gliders on D-Day, then began strafing targets behind the beaches to prevent German reinforcements from being moved up to meet the invasion force. The group moved to the Allied airfield at Cricqueville (known as A-2) shortly after it opened on June 17. NARA/USAAF 53328AC AND 53328-A

P-51D-10-NA 44-14495 (fuselage code SX-I), Dallas Doll , was the personal aircraft of 2nd Lt. Frank H. Bouldin Jr. The Mustang is showing one victory under the cockpit window. Bouldin would finish the war with 3.5 aerial victories. Note the size of the 108-gallon underwing drop tanks. NARA/USAAF 69093AC

Col. Thomas J. J. Christian Jr., commanding officer of the 361st Fighter Group, 375th Fighter Squadron, pulls in tight while escorting bombers on a mission in support of the Normandy invasion. Colonel Christian’s P-51D-5-NA 44-13410, Lou IV , was named for his daughter Lou Ellen. The aircraft also wore the name Athelene , thought to be for the wife of crew chief S/Sgt. D. Jameson. Christian’s prior aircraft were Lou (P-47D-11-RE 42-75494), Lou II (P-51B-15-NA 42-106787), and Lou III (P-51B-15-NA 42-106942). Lou IV and Colonel Christian were lost on August 12, 1944, while strafing the marshalling yard at Boisleux-au-Mont, France. NARA/USAAF 52735AC

P-47D-15-RE 42-76141, Arkansas Traveler (LH-Q), was flown by 2nd Lt. Lonnie M. Davis of the 353rd Fighter Group’s 350th Fighter Squadron. Davis acquired this aircraft after its former pilot, Capt. Dewey E. Newhart, was killed in action on June 12 flying another aircraft. Newhart had the name Mud and Mules painted under the windscreen on the port side. Davis retained the name Arkansas Traveler on the starboard side in tribute to his fallen comrade. Note that the checkered squadron markings are also carried on the rudder trim tab. NARA/USAAF 69085AC

In the foreground is invasion stripe–marked P-47D-27-RE 42-27339 heading a lineup of aircraft from the 78th Fighter Group, 82nd Fighter Squadron. Wearing fuselage code MX-S, this is the personal aircraft of then Maj. Joseph E. Myers. Major Myers would share credit for the first aerial victory over an Me 262 jet fighter on August 28, 1944. He was flying 42-27339 during the downing of the jet. Myers retired with the rank of brigadier general in September 1970. Behind Myers’s Thunderbolt is Lt. Robert Bosworth’s P-47D-22-RE 42-26387, Miss Behave , and P-47D-28-REs 44-19846 (MX-W) and 44-19963 (MX-H). NARA/USAAF 55432AC

P-47D-28-RE 44-19898 (fuselage code G9-S) was overall bare metal with a red nose cowl and black rudder band. In the cockpit is Maj. Wayne H. Stout from the Ninth Air Force, 405th Fighter Group’s 509 Fighter Squadron. The 405th Fighter Group flew ground attack missions leading up to D-Day. As Allied troops were moving deeper into France, on July 29 the Thunderbolts from the 405th Fighter Group caught a German armored division out in the open on a road outside Avranches, near Mont-Saint-Michel. The column stretched 3 miles (4.8 km) in length; the P-47s knocked out the leading and trailing vehicles, then began to work over all the tanks and trucks trapped in the middle. WILLIAM T. LARKINS COLLECTION

Seen at a forward operating base in France, this invasion stripe–marked P-47D has a pair of 500-pound bombs fitted under the wings. Its eight 0.50-caliber machine guns made it a formidable air-to-air and air-to-ground aircraft. NARA/USAAF 54973AC

P-47D from the 365th Fighter Group’s 386th Fighter Squadron on the beach shortly after D-Day. This aircraft is P-47D-15-RE 42-76297, flown by 2nd Lt. John A. Weese. According to 1st Lt. Valmore J. Beaudrault (in “Missing Air Crew Report 5696”): “On June 10, 1944, I led a flight of four on a patrol mission over the Cherbourg assault area. Lieutenant Weese was number four man in my flight. He became separated from the rest of us in the clouds at 1245 hours and 6,000 feet. At 1310 hours he called over the [radio] saying he was hit and his prop was out and his oil pressure was gone. Said he was at 7,000 feet and could see the beachhead and thought he could belly-land behind our lines. He seemed very cool, and I don’t think he had been injured.”

Weese did indeed ditch his aircraft into the water off the Juno invasion beach at Saint-Aubin-sur-Mer, but he must have been injured by flak, as he was dead by the time rescuers got to his plane. The aircraft was pulled from the water and deposited on the beach.

Saint-Aubin-sur-Mer was within the Juno Beach landing site, where more than 15,000 men of the 3rd Canadian Infantry Division stormed ashore to cut the Caen–Bayeux Road and capture the Carpiquet Airfield. Fighting was fierce, and the airfield was not taken for a month. (NARA/USAAF 72625AC

Fighters from the Eighth and Ninth Air Forces strangled road, rail, and water transportation throughout occupied France in an effort to cut German lines of supply and reinforcement. Here a marshalling yard receives the attentions of marauding Thunderbolts. NARA/USAAF 52397AC

Thunderbolt pilots getting low to destroy aircraft on a German airfield in occupied France. Aside from the dangers of flying too low or being struck by debris from exploding targets, airfield antiaircraft fire was murderous and accounted for more fighter losses in the closing year of the war than did German pilots. NARA/USAAF 51466AC

A German train releases pressure from its boiler as the 0.50-caliber bullets from a P-47 Thunderbolt find their mark. Allied air superiority kept the Germans bottled up during daylight hours. NARA/USAAF 51465AC

German Dornier 217 night fighters come under the guns of a P-47 as the Thunderbolt destroys everything during a low-level strafing pass. Germany’s lack of fuel and oil combined with a dedicated campaign to destroy German aircraft, whether the aircraft were on the ground or in the air, enabled Allied troops to move across occupied France with minimal threat of attack from the sky. NARA/USAAF 55186AC

Still frame from a Thunderbolt’s gun camera showing the destruction of a German aircraft, most likely an Arado Ar 96 tandem-seat trainer. The trainer’s wing tank has caught fire, and the aircraft is not long for the sky. NARA/USAAF 56871AC

IX Troop Carrier Command
50th Troop Carrier Wing, Cottesmore
439th TCG, Station 462, Upottery
91st TCS	C-47	fuselage code L4
92nd TCS	C-47	J8
93rd TCS	C-47	3B
94th TCS	C-47	D8
440th TCG, Station 463, Exeter
95th TCS	C-47	9X
96th TCS	C-47	6Z
97th TCS	C-47	W6
98th TCS	C-47	8Y
441st TCG, Station 464, Merryfield
99th TCS	C-47	3J
100th TCS	C-47	6B
301st TCS	C-47	Z4
302nd TCS	C-47	2L
442nd TCG, Station 488, Fulbeck
303rd TCS	C-47	J7
304th TCS	C-47	V4
305th TCS	C-47	4J
306th TCS	C-47	7H
52nd Troop Carrier Wing, Cottesmore
61st TCG, Station 483, Barkston Heath
14th TCS	C-47	3I
15th TCS	C-47	Y9
53rd TCS	C-47	3A
59th TCS	C-47	X5
313th TCG, Station 484, Folkingham
29th TCS	C-47	5X
47th TCS	C-47	N3
48th TCS	C-47	Z7
49th TCS	C-47	H2
314th TCG, Station 538, Saltby
32nd TCS	C-47	S2
50th TCS	C-47	2R
61st TCS	C-47	Q9
62nd TCS	C-47	E5
315th TCG, Station 493, Spanhoe
34th TCS	C-47	NM
43rd TCS	C-47	US
309th TCS	C-47	M6
310th TCS	C-47	4A
316th TCG, Station 489, Cottesmore
36th TCS	C-47	4C
37th TCS	C-47	W7
44th TCS	C-47	6E
45th TCS	C-47	T3
53rd Troop Carrier Wing, Greenham Common
434th TCG, Station 467, Aldermaston
71st TCS	C-47	CJ
72nd TCS	C-47	CU
73rd TCS	C-47	CN
74th TCS	C-47	ID
435th TCG, Station 474, Welford Park
75th TCS	C-47	CK
76th TCS	C-47	CW
77th TCS	C-47	IB
78th TCS	C-47	CM
436th TCG, Station 466, Membury
79th TCS	C-47	S6
80th TCS	C-47	7D
81st TCS	C-47	U5
82nd TCS	C-47	3D
437th TCG, Station 49, Ramsbury
83rd TCS	C-47	T2
84th TCS	C-47	Z8
85th TCS	C-47	9O
86th TCS	C-47	5K
438th TCG, Station 486, Greenham Common
87th TCS	C-47	3X
88th TCS	C-47	M2
89th TCS	C-47	4U
90th TCS	C-47	Q7

Drop Zones, June 6, 1944
Drop Zone	Nearest Location
101st Airborne Division
A	Saint-Martin-de-Varreville
C	Hiesville
D	Angoville-au-Plain
E	Hiesville
82nd Airborne Division
N	Picauville
O	Sainte-Mère-Église
T	Amfreville
W	Les Forges

Glider Missions, June 6, 1944
Mission	Departure Airfield	Group	Gliders	Landing Zone	Airborne Div.
Detroit	Ramsbury	437th	52 CG-4A	O	82nd
Elmira	Ramsbury	437th	8 CG-4A, 18 Horsa	W	82nd
	Greenham Common	437th	14 CG-4A, 36 Horsa	W	82nd
	Membury	436th	2 CG-4A, 48 Horsa	W	82nd
	Welford Park	435th	12 CG-4A, 38 Horsa	W	82nd
Chicago	Aldermaston	434th	52 CG-4A	E	101st
Keokuk	Aldermaston	434th	32 Horsa	E	101st
Glider Missions, June 7, 1944
Galveston	Ramsbury	437th	32 CG-4A, 18 Horsa	W	82nd
	Aldermaston	434th	50 CG-4A	W	82nd
Hackensack	Upottery	439th	20 CG-4A, 30 Horsa	W	82nd
	Merryfield	441st	50 CG-4A	W	82nd