The point for the diengagement from the towing aircraft was on the German side of the Dutch border (marked with beacons). This moment was supposed to arrive at an altitude of 2,600 metres but not all achieved this. Thus the Ju 52 pilots had little option but to penetrate Dutch airspace, which alerted the AA defences.

“When I dropped the tow, the sun was just rising in the east at my back so that it was light enough to make out the other gliders. Most of them had an almost white finish⁸ which was to help the pilots and Ju 52 crews see each other at night.” Opitz recalled however that the leading gliders of the “V” were probably painted in another colour, rather like a camouflage scheme, with the exception of the upper section which had a lighter tone than the remainder of the gliders. This colouring apparently helped to identify the chain-leaders. In contrast to Schubert, Opitz recalled that the point for abandoning the tow was marked by two beams, one fixed, the other oscillating. Most probably several routes had been marked for all of the SA Koch flying groups.⁹