During World War II, mission Elmira was the landing of a significant part of the the 82nd Airborne Division’s glider train in Normandy on the evening of 6 June 1944 as part of Operation Neptune, the assault phase of Operation Overlord. It has been suggested that Northern France Campaign (1944) be merged into this article or section. ... Operation Neptune refers to the landing phase of Operation Overlord, the Allied invasion of Normandy. ... The American airborne landings in Normandy were the initial U.S. combat operations of Operation Overlord, the invasion of Normandy by the Western Allies on June 6, 1944. ... Operation Tonga: Pathfinders synchronising their watches in front of an Armstrong Whitworth Albemarle. ... Pegasus Bridge before its replacement Pegasus was the name given to a bridge over the Caen canal, near the town of Ouistreham. ... 101st Airborne Division shoulder insignia Mission Albany was a parachute combat assault at night by the U.S. 101st Airborne Division on June 6, 1944, part of the American airborne landings in Normandy. ... 82nd Airborne Division shoulder insignia Mission Boston was a parachute combat assault at night by the U.S. 82nd Airborne Division on June 6, 1944, part of the American airborne landings in Normandy. ... 101st Airborne Division shoulder insignia Mission Chicago was a pre-dawn glider-borne combat assault in the American airborne landings in Normandy, made by elements of the U.S. 101st Airborne Division on the early morning of June 6, 1944. ... Mission Detroit was a pre-dawn glider-borne combat assault in the American airborne landings in Normandy, made by elements of the U.S. 82nd Airborne Division on the early morning of June 6, 1944. ... Combatants United Kingdom Germany Commanders General-Lieutenant Miles Dempsey, British 3rd Infantry Division Generalleutnant Wilhelm Richter, German 716th Static Infantry Division Hans von Luck, German 21st Panzer Division Strength 28,845 Unknown Casualties 630 Unknown German defense at Ouistreham. ... This article is about the beach codenamed in WWII. For other uses, see Juno Beach (disambiguation) Combatants Canada Germany Commanders Major-General R.F.L. Keller, 3rd Canadian Infantry Division Generalleutnant Wilhelm Richter, German 716th Static Infantry Division Strength 15,000[1] 7,771 Casualties 340 dead, 739 other casualties... 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Lawton Collins Friedrich Dollman Strength Unknown 40,000 Casualties 2,800 killed, 5,700 missing, 13,500 wounded 39,000 captured The Battle of Cherbourg was part of the Battle of Normandy during World War II, it was fought immediately after the successful Allied... Combatants Allied Powers Nazi Germany Commanders Lieutenant General Richard OConnor SS General Paul Hausser Strength 1 armoured division 3 infantry divisions 1 armoured brigade 2 SS Panzer Divisions 5 Panzer battlegroups Casualties British VIII Corps 4,020 12th SS Panzer Regiment 324 25th SS Panzer-Grenadier Regiment 383 26th... Operation Goodwood was an Allied military operation of World War II from July 18 to 20 July 1944 taking place in Normandy some weeks following D-Day. ... During World War II, Operation Atlantic (Allies, 1944) was a Canadian offensive, part of the British great breakout tentative (Operation Goodwood) during the Battle of Normandy, on June 19th. ... 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The 82nd Airborne Division of the United States Army was constituted in the National Army as the 82nd Division on August 5, 1917, and was organized on August 25, 1917, at Camp Gordon, Georgia. ... Gliders or Sailplanes are heavier-than-air aircraft primarily intended for unpowered flight. ... The American airborne landings in Normandy were the initial U.S. combat operations of Operation Overlord, the invasion of Normandy by the Western Allies on June 6, 1944. ... June 6 is the 157th day of the year (158th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1944 (MCMXLIV) was a leap year starting on Saturday. ... Operation Neptune refers to the landing phase of Operation Overlord, the Allied invasion of Normandy. ... The Battle of Normandy was fought in 1944 between the German forces occupying Western Europe and the invading Allies. ...

Mission composition and purpose

Elmira consisted of 176 C-47 Skytrain troop carrier aircraft acting as glider tugs, 36 CG-4 Waco gliders, and 140 Horsa gliders, divided into one serial of 26 and three serials of 50 tug-glider combinations. One additional C-47, which had returned to base earlier in the day without dropping its stick of paratroopers, accompanied the last flight of the mission. The planned and briefed landing zone for the gliders was LZ W, located two miles southeast of Sainte-Mère-Église, but a smaller landing zone had also been put in operation that morning north of the town on Drop Zone O. The Douglas C-47 Skytrain or Dakota was a military transport that was developed from the Douglas DC-3 airliner. ... Horsa, according to tradition, was a fifth century warrior and brother of Hengest who took part in the invasion and conquest of Britain from its native Romano-British and Celtic inhabitants. ... Sainte-Mère-Église is a small town and commune of the Manche département, in the Cotentin Peninsula near the coast of Normandy, France. ...

Elmira was considered an essential mission, delivering two battalions of glider artillery and 24 howitzers to the 82nd Airborne. It consisted of four serials of aircraft, the first to arrive ten minutes after mission Keokuck, a similar but much smaller mission to reinforce the 101st Airborne Division. To reduce congestion over the landing zones, two serials of mission Elmira were delayed two hours until just before sunset. These carried both battalions of glider field artillery and their guns. Because the missions were flown on British Double Summer Time, both were daylight missions, with the first wave taking off at 1907 and arriving at 2104, and the second wave taking off at 2037 and arriving at 2255.

Mission details

The first two serials of 76 tug-glider combinations came under heavy ground fire just before the release point. Two C-47s were shot down after release and half the survivors suffered battle damage. Unknown to the troop carriers, troops of the German 795th Georgian Battalion occupied part of the landing zone, and the "Eureka" transponding radar beacon landing aids had been moved two miles to the northwest on Drop Zone/Landing Zone O. The C-47s released their gliders for the original LZ, unaware of the aids on LZ O. Although the 82nd Airborne considered the landings inaccurate because they did not land on LZ O, most came down within 2 miles of the original LZ. Of the 3 Wacos and 21 Horsa destroyed, most were the result of enemy mortar and artillery fire after landing. The Eureka beacon was a simple radio homing beacon used in combination with the airborne Rebecca receiver. ... An Ontario Highway 407 toll transponder In telecommunication, the term transponder (short-for Transmitter-responder and sometimes abbreviated to XPDR, XPNDR or TPDR) has the following meanings: An automatic device that receives, amplifies, and retransmits a signal on a different frequency (see also broadcast translator). ...

The second wave of mission Elmira arrived at 2255 just as the terrain was enveloped in shadow, and since no other pathfinder aids were operating, headed for the Eureka beacon on LZ O. Approximately halfway there, it came under the most severe ground fire of the day, since the route to LZ O passed directly over and along the German lines. Despite this, damage was similar to that of the serials that had come in two hours earlier, with three C-47s ditching on the way home. The last two glider serials had mixed accuracy. The first released early and came down near or within German lines, but the second came down on Landing Zone O, except for 5 who followed their briefing orders and landed on LZ W. Even so, virtually all of the personnel of both battalions made their way to the 82nd Airborne positions by morning, and had 15 of their 24 guns in operation by sundown of June 8.^[1]

Casualties in mission Elmira were 15 killed, 17 wounded, and 4 missing among the glider pilots; and 33 killed and 124 wounded among the passengers. Strom Thurmond, then a Lieutenant Colonel in a Civil Affairs unit was at age 41 credited with being the oldest person attached to the division to go into Normandy with the invasion. He later became the longest-serving senator in United States history. James Strom Thurmond (December 5, 1902 – June 26, 2003) was an American politician who served as governor of South Carolina and as a United States Senator representing that state. ... In the U.S. Army, Air Force and Marine Corps, a lieutenant colonel is a commissioned officer superior to a major and inferior to a colonel. ... Civil Affairs, known commonly as CA, is the official name for special operations units which conduct civil-military operations. ... Flag of Normandy Normandy (in French: Normandie, and in Norman: Normaundie) is a geographical region in northern France. ...

Air movement table - mission Elmira

. Horsa, according to tradition, was a fifth century warrior and brother of Hengest who took part in the invasion and conquest of Britain from its native Romano-British and Celtic inhabitants. ... RAF Ramsbury is a former World War II airfield in England. ... Greenham Common in 2005. ... RAF Membury is a former Royal Air Force station that is now the location for Membury Services on the M4 motorway. ... RAF Welford is a UK Royal Air Force station which is presently occupied by the United States visiting forces. ...

Sources

• Warren, Dr. John C. USAF Historical Study 97: Airborne Operations in World War II, European Theater (1956). Air University.
• U.S. Airborne in Cotentin Peninsula