WWII Flying Coffins
Evertonian
My Uncle was a RAF glider pilot. Did all the pre D-day training but they stopped using them just prior to his mission I believe. Don't know what they did with him after that though.
Became an Optometrist after the War. I guess he wanted to make sure he properly read what he was signing up for in future!
Became an Optometrist after the War. I guess he wanted to make sure he properly read what he was signing up for in future!
A lot of people will already know this, but as a captain in the Parachute Regiment, Richard Todd, the British film actor (of Dambusters fame) landed at Pegasus Bridge, where he eventually met up with Major John Howard, who led the glider assault, on the bridge. Todd played the part of Major Howard in the film The Longest Day, a nice touch by the casting director.
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The GPR at Arnhem, suffered the highest casualty rate among all the 1st AB units during Market Garden, at around 90%
As a direct result many RAF pilots were seconded to the GPR for Op VARSITY (the Rhine crossing) including my late Father. This secondment was fairly 'robust' as my Father's memoirs record:
"As with 95% of successful candidates I graduated (from No 3 BFTS Miami Oklahoma) as a Sgt Pilot. My flying recommendations were: Fighter Low-Level, Fighter Medium-Level and Fighter High-Level as priorities 1,2 and 3. I had enjoyed my flying training and looked forward to Fighters!
It was at the NCO Pilots' pool at Harrogate when events put me on a different course. We were called to assembly where several high ranking Army Officers endeavored to recruit volunteers to transfer to the Army to become Glider Pilots!
Needless to say the Army Officers were booed off the stage, though a few lads did volunteer. Some 10 days afterwards we were called to assembly again, whereupon we were told: “You either accept secondment to the Glider Pilot Regiment, or you will be transferred to the army as Privates and sent to the Far East as Infantry!”
It is interesting to note that some 2/3 of the UK Glider Pilots on Op VARSITY were RAF. Indeed this is reflected in the casualty figures.
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Since I moved to my present home, I have had the pleasure & privilege of getting to know Alex Reith, an active member of the local SAAFA branch.
A top bloke, he still drives himself around in his Lexus.
Yes on D-Day, they were under instructions to get back to the beach and get a lift home, in case they had to do it all again.
Alex (92) returns to D-Day landing | South Coast Herald
Golden Journo moment: Interviewing D-Day glider Alex Reith
D-Day pilot recalls mighty force | IOL
https://www.gov.uk/government/world-...th-anniversary
https://www.google.com/search?q=alex...HZVHDJMQsAQINw
A top bloke, he still drives himself around in his Lexus.
Yes on D-Day, they were under instructions to get back to the beach and get a lift home, in case they had to do it all again.
Alex (92) returns to D-Day landing | South Coast Herald
Golden Journo moment: Interviewing D-Day glider Alex Reith
D-Day pilot recalls mighty force | IOL
https://www.gov.uk/government/world-...th-anniversary
https://www.google.com/search?q=alex...HZVHDJMQsAQINw
The GPR losses figure for Market Garden includes those made POW, I'm friends with one who to this day has not forgiven the ******* Paras for not telling him they were leaving.
I always understood that the unit with the highest percentage losses killed during Market Garden was the RASC Air Despatchers.
I always understood that the unit with the highest percentage losses killed during Market Garden was the RASC Air Despatchers.
Thread Starter
The links will take you to the US Glider Pilots association website.
The second link is a copy of an After Action Report which is very interesting reading. The thought of being in an engine-less aircraft that is for sure going to be landing within a very short time of being released from the Tow Aircraft, and for sure into a aggressively defended LZ....must be something to consider both before your Takeoff....and after a successful landing.
The site contains some good Video's...and Audio recordings of interviews with Veterans of the Glider Force.
NWWIIGPA-8 MISSIONS
http://www.ww2gp.org/images/eightmis...29-252x173.gif
The second link is a copy of an After Action Report which is very interesting reading. The thought of being in an engine-less aircraft that is for sure going to be landing within a very short time of being released from the Tow Aircraft, and for sure into a aggressively defended LZ....must be something to consider both before your Takeoff....and after a successful landing.
The site contains some good Video's...and Audio recordings of interviews with Veterans of the Glider Force.
NWWIIGPA-8 MISSIONS
http://www.ww2gp.org/images/eightmis...29-252x173.gif
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On my Sqdn at Binbrook early `60s was an " elderly " SAC with Pilots Wings. He had qualified as a glider pilot in late `44, but luckily for him never was needed. Left RAF but decided to re-enlist. Caused a few raised eyebrows when he first arrived. I think his name was George .
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My old Dad told me of a flight of the Beaus based on Malta or N Africa shooting down some 6 engined big ugly Me troop carriers, said the just folded up when hit across the wing area across the body..that must have been a terrible way to end ya life German or not..!
My old Dad told me of a flight of the Beaus based on Malta or N Africa shooting down some 6 engined big ugly Me troop carriers, said the just folded up when hit across the wing area across the body..that must have been a terrible way to end ya life German or not..!
Last edited by Trim Stab; 18th Jan 2017 at 16:54.
At the 2003 Paris Airshow, Dean Borgman our Sikorsky CEO had a great idea: take prospective S-92 owners on an airborne guided tour of the Normandy Beaches utilizing a prototype S-92, and then host a lunch at a large chateau/restaurant in the country outside Bayeux.
He engaged a licensed Normandy Beach Guide whose background was a UK history major wedded to a French schoolteacher. Since seeing the " Longest day " movie, I had been interested in D-Day and had read a few volumes re Omaha Beach and by chance the Stephen Ambose " Pegasus Bridge " book.
We spent one morning practicing the routine ( one thing that impressed at the outset was how far it was from the east end of the U.K. Beaches to the west end of Utah beach, but that leads to a different subject ).
Three areas really got our attention:
1. Omaha Beach. We started out 1/2 mile offshore, got down to 75-100 ft and proceeded in at 30-40 Kts. The small ridge that fronts the beach, when you think of lots of MG-42's etc., becomes absolutely scary. There is one book ( forgot the title ) that describes the small individual actions by which the surviving infantry got up that ridge, but damned if I know how they did it after looking at it head on and low.
2. The Pegasus LZ. No GPS, no pathfinders, no NVG's, ‘no nuttin’ except a wet compass and a watch to make the pre-planned and practiced turns to a final approach heading. That field is still there if you Google it. Five of the six ships got into the LZ ( the sixth landed about 7KM(?) away ). Some pretty special flying, and that is a huge understatement.
3. Point du Hoc. We hovered over the surf looking up at the cliff, and same as Omaha: the immediate reaction being, how in hell did they do what they obviously did?
Have ever since been very thankful that Dean Borgman had the idea. Even our licensed guide was blown away by the picture of these battle sites when looking at them from the attacking perspective and just elevated enough to get a longer view. The difficulty of the attacking forces becomes magnified well beyond what one imagines when reading the written versions. The reality of the Pvt Ryan movie opening scenes comes to mind.
The next day we did it with the guests and between the excellent and now very, very animated brief by our guide and the fantastic lunch in Bayeux, it was a good day.
We had rigged the machine in advance with an extended intercom system so that all pax had headsets and mics. The intercom communications were interesting. There were moments when everyone became dead quiet as the enormity of what they were looking at became clear.
He engaged a licensed Normandy Beach Guide whose background was a UK history major wedded to a French schoolteacher. Since seeing the " Longest day " movie, I had been interested in D-Day and had read a few volumes re Omaha Beach and by chance the Stephen Ambose " Pegasus Bridge " book.
We spent one morning practicing the routine ( one thing that impressed at the outset was how far it was from the east end of the U.K. Beaches to the west end of Utah beach, but that leads to a different subject ).
Three areas really got our attention:
1. Omaha Beach. We started out 1/2 mile offshore, got down to 75-100 ft and proceeded in at 30-40 Kts. The small ridge that fronts the beach, when you think of lots of MG-42's etc., becomes absolutely scary. There is one book ( forgot the title ) that describes the small individual actions by which the surviving infantry got up that ridge, but damned if I know how they did it after looking at it head on and low.
2. The Pegasus LZ. No GPS, no pathfinders, no NVG's, ‘no nuttin’ except a wet compass and a watch to make the pre-planned and practiced turns to a final approach heading. That field is still there if you Google it. Five of the six ships got into the LZ ( the sixth landed about 7KM(?) away ). Some pretty special flying, and that is a huge understatement.
3. Point du Hoc. We hovered over the surf looking up at the cliff, and same as Omaha: the immediate reaction being, how in hell did they do what they obviously did?
Have ever since been very thankful that Dean Borgman had the idea. Even our licensed guide was blown away by the picture of these battle sites when looking at them from the attacking perspective and just elevated enough to get a longer view. The difficulty of the attacking forces becomes magnified well beyond what one imagines when reading the written versions. The reality of the Pvt Ryan movie opening scenes comes to mind.
The next day we did it with the guests and between the excellent and now very, very animated brief by our guide and the fantastic lunch in Bayeux, it was a good day.
We had rigged the machine in advance with an extended intercom system so that all pax had headsets and mics. The intercom communications were interesting. There were moments when everyone became dead quiet as the enormity of what they were looking at became clear.
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Agreed, in respect of the landing zone at Pegasus Bridge.
In the early 1980's, as a 17 year-old, I visited the bridge at Benouville (the original one before it was replaced) and noticed a rough track that led from the bridge and into an open field on the east bank.
Having walked a matter of a few yards there was a concrete obelisk. A short distance further on there was a similar obelisk. A third one lay further down the path.
Each obelisk had a small plaque on it and indicated where the nose of an inbound glider had come to rest.
Looking back at the bridge it was readily apparent just how much skill it had taken to put those gliders down so close to the bridge.
All completed in darkness, with a full load of troops, with no serious injuries and without alerting the guards on the bridge.
Incredible piece of airmanship.
In the early 1980's, as a 17 year-old, I visited the bridge at Benouville (the original one before it was replaced) and noticed a rough track that led from the bridge and into an open field on the east bank.
Having walked a matter of a few yards there was a concrete obelisk. A short distance further on there was a similar obelisk. A third one lay further down the path.
Each obelisk had a small plaque on it and indicated where the nose of an inbound glider had come to rest.
Looking back at the bridge it was readily apparent just how much skill it had taken to put those gliders down so close to the bridge.
All completed in darkness, with a full load of troops, with no serious injuries and without alerting the guards on the bridge.
Incredible piece of airmanship.
The amazing thing is that I understand that, if they survived the landing, the pilots were expected to pick up an SMG and join the troops in the fight. Talk about multi-tasking!
Thread Starter
The American Army embraced that concept when they concocted the "Air Assault" idea.....but instead of Gliders they decided to use Helicopters....and land on top of the enemy and do quick enough that the element of surprise would provide a tactical advantage for the assaulting troops.
It sounded good in the General's Mess I suppose.
It took a while before they came up with a Plan B in the event those who were supposed to be surprised and caught off guard....did not get that part of the brief.
Mind you....it would take a Blind Deaf person to miss the fact a flight of Thirty or so UH-1 Hueys were landing in the Garden.....and even then the Vibrations alone would give rise to some suspicion of something going awry.
I do wonder how you land six Gliders in the middle of the night within yards of the Sentries and they did not hear anything unusual?
It sounded good in the General's Mess I suppose.
It took a while before they came up with a Plan B in the event those who were supposed to be surprised and caught off guard....did not get that part of the brief.
Mind you....it would take a Blind Deaf person to miss the fact a flight of Thirty or so UH-1 Hueys were landing in the Garden.....and even then the Vibrations alone would give rise to some suspicion of something going awry.
I do wonder how you land six Gliders in the middle of the night within yards of the Sentries and they did not hear anything unusual?
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I do wonder how you land six Gliders in the middle of the night within yards of the Sentries and they did not hear anything unusual?
I'd suspect sizeable numbers of troops suffered from an elevated level of hearing loss, caused by constant exposure to explosive and very loud noise.
I can remember my training Sgt (a Vietnam Vet) warning us of the potential dreadful penalties for being a lax sentry when on picket.
He related a story to us about how 13 U.S. servicemen were knifed to death in one camp when VC infiltrated it, due to lax sentries.
Could have been an apocryphal story, inflated to instill fear of sentry laxity into us rookies. I cannot find any online reference to such a large SVN death toll in one incident.
Thanks to those with the informative input into the thread re the gliders. I only knew a little about them previously, I always thought it would virtually rate as a suicide mission.
Last edited by onetrack; 19th Jan 2017 at 03:48.
Cold weather, fatigue, lax sentries - and sentries only expecting enemy to appear from ground level. Hoods causing limited vision and reduced hearing ability.
I'd suspect sizeable numbers of troops suffered from an elevated level of hearing loss, caused by constant exposure to explosive and very loud noise.
I'd suspect sizeable numbers of troops suffered from an elevated level of hearing loss, caused by constant exposure to explosive and very loud noise.
OB,
Ref the sqn of dive bombers:
- Brewster Buccanneer (Bermuda in UK service) - unlikely given the small number (5) used by the UK
- Fairey Albacore - unlikely, as by 1943 they were being retired from front-line duty rather than working up to it
- Fairey Barracuda - entering service in 1943, so the most likely of the 3 suspects.
Ref the sqn of dive bombers:
- Brewster Buccanneer (Bermuda in UK service) - unlikely given the small number (5) used by the UK
- Fairey Albacore - unlikely, as by 1943 they were being retired from front-line duty rather than working up to it
- Fairey Barracuda - entering service in 1943, so the most likely of the 3 suspects.
Although the Skua was used as a dive bomber, it was the Barracuda which had a lethal reputation. After his time on Swordfish and Albacores, my brother's late god father flew them and told me that you had to be very careful entering the dive, but more so once the dive brakes were closed and the torpedo released - airflow disturbance over the high set tailplane could cause a significant pitching moment and you had to catch it quickly or the aircraft would depart from controlled flight.
The seabed off RNAS Crail must be littered with the wretched things...
The seabed off RNAS Crail must be littered with the wretched things...
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This photograph is from a few days after the landings - Pegasus bridge is to the left with Horsa bridge in the centre. The bridge assault gliders are still in position.
