John Kettler Posted May 1, 2017 Share Posted May 1, 2017 (edited) Was researching the war record of a former C-47 pilot when I came across this. It is quite a compilation of individual accounts of what really happened that day, as opposed to the sensational claims made to reporters and filed uncritically as stories on and after D-Day, stories which became facts in the eyes of many. Also addressed is how "pop" historians have treated the brave men of Troop Carrier Command. But how did they actually perform, as seen by the paratroopers and glider troops they delivered and by higher? What were the expectations placed upon the C-47 crews in terms of combat performance when the expectation was of losses so severe the mass drops were nearly canceled outright in the planning stage? How well and accurately did they deliver their men and cargo? Did they basically drop the paratroopers and cargo willy nilly as soon as they came under German antiaircraft fire, which many think as a result of ill-informed popular accounts, or did they do what it took to get the job done? What environmental factors worked against them which have been either given short shrift or ignored outright in numerous tellings of the airborne drops and glider landings? Were the crews of the C-47s properly trained? What about planning and ground crew efforts? These and more are addressed in the map rich Troop Carrier D-Day Flights by Lew Johnston Found this most informative and perspective altering document on the Air Mobility Command Museum site.https://amcmuseum.org/history/troop-carrier-d-day-flights/ Regards, John Kettler Edited May 1, 2017 by John Kettler 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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