THE TROOP CARRIER D DAY FLIGHTS

Conclusions

D Day Normandy took place 6 June 1944 If you were there and you are reading this you are one lucky ol boy

The true HISTORY of this mission can never be told accurately until it is balanced with accounts from the Pilots as well as the airborne forces The impressions being circulated in books and TV documentaries today are based on incomplete data and as a result their conclusions are subject to question The majority of oral reports of this mission given by paratroop veterans were spoken in good faith They reported what they saw and believed it to be true As a matter of general interest professional archivists like Major General Ret John Moench warn us that casual oral histories are often incomplete and unreliable and to be safe they should always be thoroughly checked The records both Airborne and Air Forces show that Troop Carrier played a crucial role in the success of the D Day mission A few individuals largely undocumented differ

The pilots were thoroughly trained and qualified The records show that they flew a complex mission flawlessly until encountering low clouds and blinding fog Although the fog made for less than perfect delivery the Airborne forces did a remarkable job of gathering fighting units together and achieving their goals The casualties on Utah Beach where there was airborne support were considerably lower than Omaha Beach where no airborne forces were placed between the beach and the German defenders There was more to this of course The paratroopers had no way of knowing how impossible it was to maintain command discipline and flight control of a tight formation in zero zero operating visibility

And there was no way to tell them Many still may not know

Many individual pilots suddenly forced to make all the crucial command decisions on their own with little or no visibility and with no SHAEF contingency plan did a remarkable job of finding the drop zones on their own for the paratroopers Some evasive action has been reported by both airborne forces and Troop Carrier crews but the amount and the timing differs

Most official reports both Airborne and Troop Carrier place this as happening after the fog A few paratroopers very few place it before and speculate that it was the result of panic

When things did not go as planned American ingenuity and initiative took over at all levels to save the day There were many outstanding acts of bravery both in the air and on the ground in the D Day assault and many wonderful stories have been told about the Troop Carrier and Airborne forces but there are many yet to be heard There is an obvious need for better understanding between the Troop Carrier veterans and some of the Airborne veterans It is not too late but the time is rapidly running out

LEST WE FORGET

The Troop Carrier D Day Flights
Editor and Recording Historian Lewis E Johnston

LewJtn@aol com