AvWeb Normandy Visit: Gliders of D Day

One of the best World War II museums is in St. Mere Eglise, the Normandy town liberated by the 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions. Paul Bertorelli recently visited the town and prepared this detailed report on how gliders were used during the D-Day operation.

[@georgeskinner2474]

I just saw this the day after Memorial Day, 2022. Thinking of my Dad, T/3, Norman W. Skinner, who jumped in with the 101st. He made it home after being in all the 101st jumps and the Battle of the Bulge. Thank you for the well done video.

[@alanwelch7297]

My dad was a pilot of a CG4A glider during the D-Day invasion. He passed away in 1992 and seldom talked about it. Thank you

[@johngordon1576]

The Waco glider (known to the British as a 'Hadrian') was one of two types used by US and British paratroopers in Normandy. The other was the British 'Horsa', of which 400 were supplied for US troop use. The Waco carried 13 fully equipped troops and was smaller but could be towed by the C47 and 'snatch' lifted with a hook deployed from the tail from airfields in Britain for quick turnaround. The Horsa carried 30 fully equipped troops but had to be tow lifted from airfields in Britain by second line bombers no longer in offensive operations eg Stirling, Halifax, Whitley etc

[@philliptuwaletstiwa7256]

Thank you. My Dad landed his glider at St. Mere Eglise on D-Day Morning. He told me he saw John Steele hanging from the church steeple as he made his way to Utah Beach..Dad made three or four more glider landings in Holland, France, and Germany.. I have his uniform and all his glider manifests. With appreciation to you Paul for airing a lesser-known story. Phillip

[@janetkjar2480]

In case you can't get to this location, there is an amazing museum about the gliders in Lubbock, Texas. It is called the Silent Wings Museum. It is on the original site where the pilots were trained.

[@Phmcoy]

Also the National WWII Glider Pilots Association

[@Marauder92V]

Paul - thank you for doing this piece. Saw it today, Father's Day and couldn't help thinking of my Dad and his role in the invasion. 82nd Airborne, 325th Glider Regiment, Company I.

[@jonlong2663]

Respect for your dad and all the glider riders of 325th.

[@Smitherrrrs]

Hi, thank you for your father's service. Just a question, do you have any photos of him? Or any stories that might shed light on the equipment used by the glider troops? I'm doing some research and looking for stories of different equipment etc thanks

[@allenelkins6745]

This is fabulous. The pictures early in the show is my Uncle Herbert Barbour. He was in the Battle of the Bulge and awarded a Bronze Star.

[@robinwells8879]

I visited the area a couple of years ago and it was moving. I particularly liked the families spending time together on the beaches. A freedom won for them at great cost by others but the happy noise of children at play seemed right and a lasting memorial in its own right.

[@philbirk]

Thank you for such a well done piece. My grandfather was a glider pilot. He landed in Normandy just outside of St. Mere Eglise and flew in Market Garden. I'm thankful for people who keep these memories alive and honor those that sacrificed so much so long ago.

[@donaldlile9196]

does anyone know the length of the tow cable used to pull the Gilder

[@philbirk]

@@donaldlile9196 300 feet, if memory serves.

[@Fieldmorey]

Paul: Congratulations on a wonderful presentations. You may not know that my father conducted a primary glider training program during 1943 in Janesville, Wisconsin. My older brother was one of the 12 flight instructors used to train 110 pilots using Piper Cubs and the like. The training operation that my father ran deserves a story in itself. A few years ago I visited the museum in Sainte-Mere-Eglise as well as the American cemetery. You were spot on regarding the emotional reaction one feels standing there. Good job! Field Morey - West Coast Adventures

[@palco22]

We honor the people, despise the assault on humanity. Great video, much appreciated.

[@robertlowe5795]

GT job this is a must-visit never knew anything about this site as soon as this virus has gone god bless them all, bob UK. 76 years.

[@spiritof76forever81]

Thank you! My Uncle Joe Savala was a Paratrooper in the 82nd Airborne Division. His old shoulder patch has the gilder on it, and it is displayed in my cubicle. I had always wondered about the unit he served in. Thanks.

[@johnlucas5830]

Thank you for your informative video. I remember my father, Private Walter W. Lucas, mentioning St. Mere Eglise, through which he marched just after wading ashore upon exiting a Higgins landing craft, then repeatedly unloading ammunition by wading through the surf, at Utah Beach on June 6, 1943.

[@j.dunlop8295]

My uncle was 101st airborne glider engineer, he survived but didn't talk much unless drinking! On one operation of +400 gliders only 14; were reusable, afterwards! (14) ☠️

[@rchuyck]

Outstanding report. The close on the cemetery is chilling, very well done

[@tedstriker754]

The wheeled CG4A's were able to be picked up by a tow hook from an overflying C-47. I would have never known about that capability if it weren't shown near the end of the movie "Objective Burma".

[@rickborrettjr6810]

Fantastic piece Paul. I enjoyed this immensely today on the 75th anniversary of the d day invasion. From 01 to 03 I had the good fortune to serve in the famed 101st as an infantryman. The organization takes a lot of pride in its long and distinguished history. An interesting side piece, the 101st soldiers still wore the glider patch on our headgear until the army moved to the beret in 2001, a throwback to the units origination.

[@richardstewart-jones4155]

Paul's presentation style is exemplary. The facts are conveyed without embroidery but in a laconic manner that suits the subject matter well. I have watched many of his AvWeb episodes and enjoyed them all.

[@leololauzone]

Wow! This was super enlightening. I did not know you until now but this is some high quality content right here. Thank you so much for it.

[@neilmurgatroyd3197]

Thankyou Paul. I'm a Brit, I've been to the WW1 sites, but I need to see these. Great report as usual.

[@GaragebandandBeyond]

My grandfather was the head of the Glider Department at the very beginning!

[@slex66]

Thanks, Paul. Well done, as are all your pieces (video and written) for AvWeb.

[@UTubeGlennAR]

>^..^< Just a few thousand + more fine example why they call these men the "Greatest Generation".............. Great 9:20 talk on D Day Mr. AvWeb backed by great histotical visual segments along with current photos, Thank You...........

[@vicbanks9079]

Very informative, nicely produced, thanks.

[@TenantRepGuru]

Thank you for this video Paul.

[@bluenosepiperflyer]

Well done, Paul. Thank you.

[@davidweston6653]

Very professionally done. Learned a lot. Tks

[@ziggy2shus624]

At 9:04 there is a video on KZbin showing the actual burial of WW2 soldiers in Europe. They used bull dozers to dig a trench, then threw the bodies in a mass burial. The well placed individual markers were added later.

[@ikay2102]

Great history lesson, thank you.

[@brianb5594]

Very nice piece Paul!

[@geoffwaldron5929]

Thank you Paul

[@Sometungsten]

Well done. Thank you.

[@tptp56]

Thank you for this. Lest we forget.

[@rickd1412]

I think it is properly pronounced -- WAYCO. Just a minor correction. I also understand that there are cemeteries for the German dead there as well.

[@havenrich]

WAYCO is a city in Texas, the aircraft is a WAHCO!

[@FINSuojeluskunta]

Nice video lots of cool information.

[@garywheeler2055]

Very well presented.

[@lesterdiamond6190]

excellent post. thanks!

[@SimonAmazingClarke]

Excellent video. C47 were also used as gliders. No engines, half full of fuel, a few airmen, ammunition, oil and tools. These gliders landed on ground cleared by the army and xhecked by airman as suitable forca fighter unit. The gliders landed and in a shirt times fighters could land, refuel, re arm and be back in the battle quickly.

[@davidwilliams3856]

Pilots of the British Glider Pilot Regiment, were highly trained and well thought of. After they landed and the aircraft was unloaded, the pilots fought along side the troops who they carried into battle.

[@johnknox6779]

My grandfather's glider crashed upon landing; killing the head officer in charge of the unit along with everyone else on board. He drug himself out with almost all of his ribs shattered until a medic found him.

[@nomcc5522]

My great grandpas last mission operation market garden, his glider crashed into a ditch killing the pilot and most of the crew and him and 2 others surrendered and was transported to the pow camp stalag 13

[@littlerascal2753]

my dad was in the 101st, a sergeant. his job was to bring in the company jeep by glider. hated flying for the rest of his life!!!

[@Smitherrrrs]

Hi, thanks for your father's service, just a question, do you have any photos or stories of the invasion from your father's perspective? The equipment used, units, locations etc? I'm doing some research and trying to find individual stories, thanks!

[@ronhaag1968]

As if it wasn't unfortunate enough that the C-47's overshot the designated drop zones, many of the Airborne units suffered casualties when those gliders crash-landed into obstacles.

[@GeorgeSemel]

It's ok that there is a little bit of a flea market atmosphere, nothing wrong with a little commerce, As for the Gliders well they were short lived, soldiers, ride into battle now on helicopters. I would think that spending just three days would make for a little bit of a rush to see where history was made- It's on my bucket list, I don't care much for cities like Paris, I could spend a couple of weeks wandering around St. Mere Eglise and the surrounding countryside! Well done Paul as usual.

[@LanceWinslow]

Great aviation history there

[@stevenk6638]

Great !

[@gerrycollins2335]

It takes quite a bit of skill and experience not just to land a heavy glider on a farm field with trees and hedges all around it, but then to manoeuvre the glider to an edge of the field (to make landing space for others behind) before all its energy was lost. I suppose some of the troops were required to pull gliders to the side, if they stopped where they would obstruct landings.

[@geraldleat5970]

What kind of safety margin did the tow aircraft have to keep it above the stall speed ?

[@michaeltagg492]

How about mentioning the first men to hit the ground on D Day, the British glider operation to capture the bridges across the river Orne, most famously Pegasus Bridge.

[@luismiranda3826]

Isnt there a movie on this

[@jaredj631]

It looks like something you could make with plywood in your back yard.

[@GrumpyIan]

Basically what they did.

[@andersep68]

What was the "must have" map and where to get it?? In Normandy right now on a "tour de Duxford and Normandy" in my RV6...

[@AVweb]

Major and Mrs. Holt's Battlemap or Normandy. Amazon has it. They do a whole series of battlemaps.

[@andersep68]

AVweb we Found it at Pegasus Bridge :) Thanks

[@user-lm1uw4cj1o]

太棒了

[@standziobek7108]

Not bloody likely I'll walk to war

[@ross.venner]

Thank you, very informative. At the same time, you fail to contrast the American glider pilots with the combat role of the British Glider Pilot Regiment. It's men had weapons and a clear operational role. Typically holding the landing area.

[@bjs2022]

Thanks for the great report with an excellent script and good body mike sound but shame on the editor for using or altering the historical films and photos by BBCing them; blowing-up, blurring (destroying the original resolution), and cropping (or stretching/distorting) to fill the 16:9 aspect ratio frame. The historical photographers and cinematographers carefully composed their images in the format they had and no one has the right to degrade and censor their work.

[@kneedeepinbluebells5538]

NO Wonder So Many LIKES !!!

[@robertdarisjr4088]

Hard Landing

[@RyanNX211]

"Canvas" would be too heavy

[@havenrich]

probably doped aircraft linen

[@paulbertorelli9044]

@@havenrich Nope. "The wings are first covered with a canvas fabric stretched on like wallpaper over plywood then every seam, hold, open place, closed place," You could say it was cotton because canvas is just heavy cotton material. Linen was too light and lacked puncture resistance.

[@havenrich]

@@paulbertorelli9044 Thanks for the education. I don't have the training or experience with that type aircraft.