For God and County-- Part 3: 13,00 Paratroopers and 925 C-47s

The airborne assault into Normandy, which was part of D-Day (June 6) Allied invasion of Europe, was the largest use of airborne troops up to that time.  Paratroopers of the U.S. 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions, the British 6th Airborne Division, the 1st Canadian Parachute Battalion and other attached Allied units all took part in the assault.

Numbering more than 13,000 men, the paratroopers were flown from bases in southern England to the Cotentin Peninsula in approximately 925 C-47 airplanes.  The parachute troops were assigned what was probably the most difficult task of the initial operation -- a night jump behind enemy lines five hours before the famous coastal landings.

--GreGen