echolmberg Posted June 6, 2019 Share Posted June 6, 2019 Last night, in honor of it being the eve of D-Day, I was watching "Band of Brothers". It got me to wondering something: Around what time of the day (or evening) did the troop transports take off from England to head to Normandy? Also, what time did the first paratroopers begin their jumps from the planes? TIA! Eric Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dnl42 Posted June 6, 2019 Share Posted June 6, 2019 There's some info on the Kickstarter site for That's All Brother. It cites departure at 2233. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dnl42 Posted June 7, 2019 Share Posted June 7, 2019 A contemporaneous video showing loading and takeoff is on youtube (also linked from the kickstarter site). Here's some more info: Quote The aircraft 'that's all brother' was from the 87th troop carrier squadron, 438th troop carrier group. She was the lead aircraft in the massed formation of over 800 C47's that took part in the Normandy invasion. She is also famous for being the first aircraft on June 6th to drop her transport of paratroopers, earning the name 'the aircraft that lead the D-Day invasion'. Late on June 5th, the plane departed from Greenham Common, Southwest of London with 5 crew members and 16 paratroopers. Most C47's could carry up to 28 paratroopers, however 'that's all brother' was equip with a heavy ground mapping radar that enabled her to map and guide other aircraft to their drop zones and so her paratrooper load was cut by almost half. At 12:44 on June 6th, paratroopers from 2/502nd led by Colonel George Van Horn Moseley jumped out from 'Thats all brother' outside Sainte-Mere-Eglise on the correct drop zone. Unfortunately only a few survived the assault on the town. I believe the officer in question about half way through the video is Captain George Lage who was battalion Surgeon for 2/502. He and his medics set up the famous aid station at the Holdy battery where gliders from the HQ/2 327th GIR crash landed. He survived Normandy but was later discharged on the 18th September 1944 after taking a bullet through his chest. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
echolmberg Posted June 7, 2019 Author Share Posted June 7, 2019 Wow! Great info and thank you for sharing! To drop into enemy territory in the middle of the night and to engage the enemy while lost never fails to baffle me. Those men were, indeed, the greatest generation. Eric Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.