THE FIRST IN
Nothing on the scale of D-Day had ever been attempted. The scope was as staggering as the obstacles to be overcome ashore. Planners knew it would be touch-and-go until sufficient force could be built-up and lodgments deepened to effective defensive perimeters against the expected counterattacks. The Allies pulled out all the stops with deception, swimming tanks, artificial harbors and a fuel pipeline under the English Channel. There would be fire from ships off the invasion beaches and bombing by heavy, medium, light and fighter bombers to isolate the invasion area and reduce the possibility of enemy reinforcements. Disrupting enemy communications and troop movements behind the invasion beaches was a high priority and weeks before D-Day Allied aircraft began interdicting lines-of-communication as far north and east as Paris. There was no doubt about elite American and British parachute and airlanding infantry units being in the mix. They became Operation Neptune.
No one was under any illusions that surprise would make Neptune landings unopposed, and the 82nd Airborne’s 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment (PIR) was the only unit jumping that had prior experience in combat (Operation Husky, Sicily, July 1943).
Units stepped up training in England. Below, gliders practice flight and landing in April 1944.
Shadows are well out in front of the aircraft but the spread is less on the lead ships. The C-47 at upper right is atop the shadow of the Waco CG-4 it is towing, showing this flight is descending.
Everyone understood that PIRs would go in first and drops had to be tight for the best chance of success, but none of the Troop Carrier pilots in Overlord had experience flying into anti-aircraft fire. It was also understood that if the invasion faltered on the beaches all the paratroopers would probably be lost.
The scope of Neptune is evident in this photo of a single UK base training glider pilots in May 1944. I count 19 C-47 tow planes, 24 Horsa gliders in two-tone British camouflage livery, 78 Waco gliders with U.S. markings and olive drab paint, one B-24, one U/l light plane and one possible B-25. And this is only part of one base. For some reason the string of Waco gliders and C-47 tugs lined up for take-off on the runway is short one glider.
Enlargements of the same imagery (above and below) show the relative size and shape of a C-47, a Horsa and two Wacos. Black and White invasion identification stripes weren’t painted yet.
As we’ve seen, the Germans were also preparing for the obvious, concentrating defenses on the beaches but not neglecting likely glider landing grounds.
Much like the British had done in Kent in 1940, obstructions were created in large open fields. Obstruction posts were small hindrance to paratroops but they were a real hazard for gliders, designed to tear off wings or flip them onto their backs. However, surprise and swift use of a concentrated force were so important that landing near the ground objectives was critical. So many of the most desirable landing grounds were studded with ‘Rommelspargel’ that in the end defenses were largely disregarded in favor of proximity to the target.
Parachute Infantry and air landing units were to spread confusion in the enemy rear, secure critical bridges and roads, sever enemy communications to the interior and, for a brief period, keep enemy reinforcements at bay. Since they needed surprise, night drops and glider landings were unavoidable. High casualties and confusion were anticipated, but the risk was deemed acceptable when weighed against the potential gain.
British beaches were the east flank of the invasion and their left was supported by British 6th Airborne Division (mostly landing east of the Orne River). Parachute and airlanded troops had the tasks of destroying a strong German coastal artillery position near the coast two miles east of the landing beaches. They would also control key bridges over the Caen Canal and Orne River to block enemy reinforcements. They had to hold their ground until relieved by advancing forces from the beachhead. Surprise was considered so important in taking of the two bridges that those assault units were the first to land in France on D-Day.
Photo Reconnaissance aircraft were lifting off for France before first light on 6 June.
Extensive cloud cover would ordinarily scrub a photo mission, but not this day. It was critical to determine what was going on in France.
Heavy cloud cover in some areas and scattered clouds in others were problems most of the morning. Recon imagery also picked up photos of D-Day activity. Here eight P-47s trolling for enemy planes or hovering overhead to support ground troops.
Combing the coast, recce planes photographed P-38s orbiting to insure air superiority over the beaches.
Flights of heavy bombers, in this case USAAF B-24s, were photographed shuttling from England to bomb targets behind the FEBA (Forward Edge of the Battle Area).
Flying high or low, alone or in pairs, recce sorties sometimes caught a wingman (a USAAF F-5).
Imagery available to me during my file screening was selected cut-negatives from RAF missions and roll negatives from USAAF sorties. Some missions I reviewed combed parallel to the coast at different distances, others (as we shall see later) flew perpendicular to the coast, going inland for several miles, then turning and exiting on a reciprocal heading several miles east or west. None of the film was accompanied by plots but I had good maps and I found Google satellite photos invaluable – sorry, I wasn’t able to identify every location that caught my eye three decades ago.
Photo reconnaissance missions on 6 June 1944 also captured assembling support ships and the characteristic ‘fish tailing’ wakes of a line of flat-bow LCAs or Higgins Boats heading for the beach.
Flying just off shore, directly over the beach or paralleling the coast at various distances inland from the beach, dozens of sorties collected hundreds of 250 and 500 foot-long rolls of negatives (sometimes five rolls per flight) that were rushed back to England for processing and photo interpretation.
In spite of high winds that scattered some of their parachute drops, the 6th Airborne Division made a ‘text book’ airborne assault with gliders coming down almost on top of the two target bridges. Troops assembled swiftly and controlled both bridges in ten minutes – accomplishing all four assigned tasks by dawn.4 The rest of the division jumped in about two hours later.
This photo shows a ‘Horsa’, and the wing of another, on the ground just a few feet from the bascule bridge spanning the Caen Canal west of Benouville. The bridge counter-weight section is visible in the image, as are German trenches on the west side of the canal.
RAF and USAAF photoreconnaissance aircraft were out early and often on the 6th, this time not so much searching for the enemy activity as to help discover where forces, particularly airborne, actually landed, and what progress was being made.
The main photo recce task was providing confirmation of invasion progress to Allied commanders ‘sweating it out’ in England.
Keeping all those flights sorted out was quite a tour-de-force, made more complex by heavy, medium and fighter bombers also working the same airspace. I’ve never heard of a mid-air in all that activity but there were a few collisions between gliders and aircraft over the channel on the way in or back to England.
When a flood of men began to arrive from the air, the Germans were just as unable to sort out and stop what was going on as were the Dutch and Belgians in 1940. Following sharp fighting, the Merville Battery was neutralized by dawn. It was discovered to have four obsolete 100mm guns instead of the expected more threatening modern 150mm guns. Linked up with infantry advancing from Sword Beach, British Airborne Infantry held the ground east of the Orne for several more days in the face of determined German counterattacks.
Seventeen gliders can be seen on this RAF exposure near the quarry (bottom center) between Amfreville and Ranville (Landing Zone ‘N’). The Orne River is down and to the left with the Caen Canal beyond. North, and the coast, are to the top of the photo.
This is where the Normandy Invasion began, just past midnight on 5/6 June.
Enlargement of the photo above is fascinating to a PI. Note the regularly spaced white dots running in a straight line to the upper left corner. That is a newly installed phone line. The route disregarding boundaries of farm fields says it’s military – perhaps related to the Merville Battery. Other nearby smaller dots in the fields (slightly closer together) show posts of ‘Rommelspargeset’ out to disrupt glider landings.
Leading up to the invasion, tactical PR from England was concentrating on the search for V-1 launch sites in France and bombers were attacking those targets as fast as they were identified. On 6th and 7th June all available RAF and USAAF photoreconnaissance and strike assets were assigned tasks directly supporting the invasion.
Invasion beaches were covered every few minutes by PR flights, but coverage of airborne landing zones behind the beaches was not so plentiful. This may be because of morning cloud cover inland, but also because the air behind the beaches was filled with protecting fighters and supporting bombers. Recce sorties were carefully planned to cover programmed Airborne landing zones – and some of the air drops were not where intended.
Another photo of 6th Airborne landing area LZ-N (below), looking southwest, shows a piece of the Orne River and Caen Canal just beyond. A little bit of Benouville shows in the upper right corner (on the far side of the canal). The bridge objectives are directly under the cloud (a frustrating but not uncommon circumstance for photo recon). The dark curving shape at upper left is the port propeller of the taking aircraft, an American F-5. Clustered chutes can be seen just right of the propeller tip and 40 gliders are on the ground – one of them between the river and canal very close to the bridges (upper right). Other gliders came down in fields just beyond the upper right corner of this frame.
This photo must have been taken quite early on 6 June because I have seen a photo on the internet (Wikimedia.org) showing the same area with more than a dozen gliders in the same fields where those chutes are on the ground and another (Britannica.com) with at least 80 gliders in the area. All gliders, original assault and reinforcement, appear to have landed heading north, toward the coast (toward the bottom of this photo).
For orientation with modern maps, that white blob just below the cloud is the quarry north of Ranville.
Enlargement shows eighteen Horsas and two Hamilcars (straight wings) down less than a mile from the objective. This was a damn good landing.
Another enlargement of the same imagery, below, shows two examples of ‘Rommelspargel’ clipping the wings of gliders just northeast of the Ranville Quarry. Other Horsas seem to have avoided the hazards and all got down without disaster.
The two US Airborne landings were more scattered. Of course finding the landing zones by spotting gliders and chutes on the ground didn’t show where the troops were or how they were doing. Vehicles and heavy guns are relatively simple for a PI to identify but Infantry in contact are a lot harder to spot (fires on the ground are often the best clue). Another factor may have been that a plane flying over and parallel to the beach was assumed friendly but a plane flying perpendicular to the beach (i.e., coming from or going deeper inland) was a question mark and troops on the ground weren’t taking any chances.
Twenty plane-loads of pathfinders went in first, landing clean and correct to guide the main landings but the more than 800 aircraft of the main lift didn’t fare as well.
Darkness, dense clouds, high winds and fire from now alerted ground forces served to confuse and scatter the transport planes. Some pilots bored in on their drop targets. Others jinked, veered away, speeded up (beyond safe jump conditions), or went to higher altitude, resulting in badly spread drops and drops into locations far from the ground objectives. Tragically, some C-47s went long and heavily-loaded paratroops landed in marsh along the Merderet River, well behind Utah Beach. Some drowned before they could shed their chutes and gear.
Above, this 6 June photo shows 21 chutes and four Waco gliders on the ground, one crashed. It is impossible to tell if the chutes are a stick from the same C-47 but the scattered nature of the landings is apparent. Assembly in the dark was made more difficult by a maze of hedgerows that frustrated the American landings near the Douve River more than the British LZs on the Orne.
Enlargement gives a better look at the Wacos and chutes in fields 3000 feet southwest of Sainte-Marie-du-Mont. This is probably part of the 101st Airborne Division assault.
Utah Beach’s left flank hinterland was assigned to the 101st Airborne. Though scattered in their drops and taking losses of men and equipment in the swamps, they successfully secured key bridges around Carentan and causeways leading through low land to the beach. Troops from Utah Beach linked up with the paratroops just after noon.
Behind the right flank of Utah Beach the going was tougher for 82nd Airborne. Their mission was to secure avenues from the beaches, roads near Sainte-Mere-Eglise and bridges over the Merderet River (running farther inland and parallel to the ocean) but intense ground fire caused the loss of many transports and a seriously scattered drop, many on the ‘wrong side’ of the Merderet. Other men drowned in the Merderet flood-plain or were shot in the air as they descended. Assembly into viable fighting units was slow in the darkness. Ironically, the scattered forces also made it impossible for defenders to determine how many paratroops were landed and what their objectives were.
Another example of the spread landings is the 6 June USAAF photo below. There are 14 chutes and 22 gliders (four crashed, one on its back in the open – note fuselage shadow on the wing – and the rest are in trees) dispersed over a little more than a mile of French countryside.
Another enlargement from top right of the preceding photo. This shows the 101st landing 8000 feet southwest of Sainte-Marie-du-Mont. It would be a miracle if anyone got out of that glider unhurt.
Two of these four Wacos came down hard.
Once a glider committed to land, there was no second chance or ‘go around’. Below, British Horsas were in a tight landing a little too tight for one pair.
On D-Day, all aircraft, including gliders, wore black and white Invasion Recognition Stripes.
Daylight glider reinforcement on D+1 attempted to bring units back to strength and made the parachute/airlanded infantry viable, vital forces holding the flanks of the invasion. They controlled lines of communication, occupied key intersections and routes, cut telephone wires and disrupted German reinforcements approaching from the south. Aerial photoreconnaissance in clearer weather on 7 June documented airlanding reinforcements and helped locate drop areas from the earlier landings.
Some landings were exceptionally well executed - one this clean suggests a day landing. At above, six Wacos and a Horsa came down close together, albeit one wound up in the trees. Skids marks show the direction of landing. A number of chutes were in the fields just beyond the upper right of the photo.
Three cows are sauntering over to investigate the upper right Waco, indicating no personnel remaining in the area.
My wife, and faithful editor, insisted upon a better look at the cows.
Enlargement shows a concentrated container air drop by a low-flying bomber, like a B-24, probably for the 82nd Airborne. Some of the chutes are still filling with air so the drop was probably not long before this photo. I don’t see any movement nearby but most of the 54 chutes are still attached to their containers, indicating the cargos haven’t been unloaded yet. Farm animals (bottom center) suggest no troops or fighting nearby. Parachute containers were used to resupply troops with medicine, ammunition, food, even weapons. The standard was a six foot by 15″ CLE (Central Landing Establishment) container developed by the British. Markings on the outside identified contents to facilitate unloading in combat. The photo (date and location unknown) shows loading a CLE with rounds for the PIAT (Projectile, Infantry, Anti-Tank).
This imagery is a USAAF oblique looking north (to the left as you read this) half way between Sainte-Marie-du-Mont and Sainte-Mere-Eglise on D+1. It is probably a 101st Airborne landing zone. Like many of the others in this book, these fields are still recognizable on Google satellite imagery).
In this example, the choice of LZ (Landing Zone) was excellent – long, flat, dry, and unobstructed by trees, defenses or hedgerows. A good LZ usually contributed a lot to a well-done landing with few casualties. There are more than 50 chutes on the ground, 25 Horsas, six Wacos and one possible Hamilcar. All gliders coming down in or near the same fields suggests a daylight operation and excellent pre-invasion Intelligence.
Not all landings went as planned and rehearsed. This mosaic of two sequential 6 June photos of an American LZ show gliders coming down in close proximity. It appears the parachutes are from a subsequent supply drop. Pranged Horsas and an intact Waco facing opposite to the Horsas’ landing direction, all suggest a night op.
That Horsa facing the Waco has lost part of its left wing to an obstruction of some sort.
A very tight British landing. In spite of a badly broken glider in the hedgerow (left center) and another in the trees (lower right) it looks like everyone got down safe. Marks on the ground indicate approach was from left to right. I have no idea how the glider got into the hedge like that, it might have struck the hedge before it touched down on the ground. Gliders with the tails off have been opened intentionally by their crews to bring out small vehicles such as Jeeps, Universal Carriers or anti-tank guns.
These Horsas probably landed in daylight on 6 June. The jumpers probably came in earlier in the dark.
Another D+1 photo (above) shows nearly 100 chutes on the ground, the results of at least four C-47s flying in tight formation, probably indicating the absence of ground fire.
Below is D+1 imagery of British LZ-W on the west side of the Caen Canal (upper left) between Benouville/LePort (arrow) and Saint-Aubin d’Arquenay (just off the bottom of the photo) – Pegasus Bridge is where the road crossing the frame and the canal intersect (just off the left side of the photo). The first of these 46 Horsas came in just after midnight on 6 June. Aday later the war had moved south and east. Just off the right edge are bombed German defense positions and tank tracks heading inland (photo in next chapter).
Enlargement of 6th Airborne Division Landing Zone ‘W’ shows landings to be tight and clean despite occurring at night. It is interesting that, despite being a perfect glider landing area close to obvious military objectives, these broad, open fields beside the Orne, two miles south of Ouistreham, were not filled with obstacles. The only field that is suspicious is the one at bottom center.
Landings were made from south to north (photo bottom). Lord Lovat’s Commandos ffollowed the canal bank south from Sword Beach to link with the Airlanding Brigade at Pegasus Bridge just after 1300 hours.
Just before dawn on 6 June, and over the next few days, all three Airborne Divisions were reinforced by additional gliders bringing in light vehicles, more troops, light artillery and anti-tank guns. New landings farther west on D+1 helped isolate the German stronghold port of Cherbourg. A Cellophane-tape repaired 7 June photo (below) shows C-47s and Wacos coasting-in just northwest of Utah Beach at low tide. Note off-shore beach defenses at lower left; beached landing craft and Allied support ships at Utah are in the distance.
This is probably the 325th Glider Infantry Regiment being delivered to reinforce 82nd Airborne Division at Sainte-Mere-Eglise.
This series of negatives was RESTRICTED (a security classification we no longer use). The number at lower left was the Intelligence File location for subsequent retrieval.
Below, a companion photo shows a poor choice of landing zone with more than half of the Horsas and Wacos crashed into small fields made by tangles of dense hedgerows and tree lines as more glider tows approach. Despite better options at upper left and right, these Air-Landed troops quickly assembled and bottled up the German garrison in Cherbourg.
It is rare to find imagery of an actual combat air landing in progress.
Use of Horsas for this reinforcement permitted delivery of vehicles and heavier equipment such as howitzers. At below we see C-47s with their tows still attached, other gliders on the ground and one at lower right about to touch down. In the center of the photo is a series of white dots that may be a parachute drop (likely supplies).
Another enlargement from the same 7 June photo. Gliders are circling (in a different direction) and it seems a crash at lower left caused a fire.
British landing area near Ranville photographed on D+1. The war has passed on to the south and east, leaving the gliders alone. The Orne River is just beyond the road (below the photo) and the only activity I see is in a field just below the road on the left.
Extreme enlargement shows what appear to be people and scattered material. This is far enough from the nearest glider that it must be related to the chutes and suggests care of injured paratroops.
4. Honoring this coup, the Orne River Ranville Bridge is now names for British Horsa gliders and the critical Caen Canal Benouville Bridge for Pegasus, the 6th Airborne Division unit emblem.