The Glider Pilot Regiment units were largely attached to two Allied Groups, No 38 Group, Allied Expeditionary Air Force and No 46 Group, RAF Transport Command. These were vital parts of the initial assault on the Normandy beach-head. On 6 June 1944, the Groups consisted of 15 squadrons with a total of 478 serviceable transport aircraft and 1,120 assault gliders. 38 and 46 Group were to to deliver, and then supply, the British 6th Airborne Division by parachute and glider to Drop Zones and Landing Zones in Normandy in support of British and Canadian amphibious landings. The Airborne Division was to protect the flank of the main landings. The Air Observation Post Squadrons were attached to two further Groups, 83 and 84 Groups. These Groups also consisted of a number of reconnaissance and fighter-bomber units. The fighter-bombers worked in close co-operation with the Air Observation Forward Air Controllers who would direct them on to targets. The Air Observation Squadrons also directed artillery and naval gun fire onto targets in the invasion area.
The major Army air actions are listed in the timeline below:
5 June - D-Day minus one
Night5/index.htm6June Operation TITANIC. A force of 40 Hudsons, Halifaxes and Stirlings dropped dummy parachutists, rifle fire simulators, Window and two SAS teams to simulate airborne landings away from invasion area. 200 dummy parachutists were dropped near to the base of the Cotentin Peninsula, 50 more east of the River Dives, and 50 to the south west of Caen. 200 more dummy parachutists and the SAS teams were dropped at Yvetot, 30 miles south west of Dieppe. The SAS had orders to allow some of the enemy to escape to spread alarm by reporting landings by hundreds of parachutists. Two of the Stirlings were lost in this operation. The dummy parachutists were crude cloth representations of a human figure, a simple series of cloth bags and strips connected in a roughly cross-like shape to give the impression of a parachutist, certainly they were not accurate rubber figures suggested in some accounts. The dummies were equipped with a device that would prevent the enemy discovering that they were a deception. This was an explosive charge that destroyed the cloth figure by setting it on fire, which suggested that the man had burnt the parachute and lay hidden, ready for action or sabotage.
Night5/index.htm6June Glider Operations - Engineers and paratroops were dropped over Normandy to carry out a variety of roles. Capturing strategic and tactical objectives, destroying enemy gun emplacements and setting up flarepaths that would guide the glider-towing aircraft were the most important among these which were all part of:
Operation TONGA. The 3rd and 5th Parachute Brigade Groups dropped on early hours of D-Day with six primary objectives. The first was to seize and secure the Landing Zones for the subsequent glider deployments. The paratroops also had to seize the high ground at Ranville, destroy the enemy batteries at Merville and opposite Ouistreham and destroy the bridges over the River Dives. Gliderborne troops were to assist with the assault on the Merville battery and to seize the vital bridges over the River Orne and Canal de Caen at Benouville.
A total of 266 aircraft, largley Dakotas and Albemarles, were detailed to carry paratroops. Of these, 264 took off and 255 reported successful drops with 4,310 of 4,512 of the paratroops carried being delivered. Only seven aircraft were lost during the paratroop delivery part of this operation. The called for the transport aircraft to be followed by 98 glider and tug combinations, all which took off. 74 gliders were successfully released of which 57 landed on or near their designated Landing Zones. Altogether 611 troops were carried by glider and 493 successfully released.
The first action took place at the now famous Pegasus Bridge. Shortly after midnight Halifaxes towed six Horsa gliders containing a company of the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry Regiment, a part of the 6th Airborne Division, across the Channel to the mouth of the Orne River. The mission was to seize and hold the key bridge across the Orne River and canal between Benouville and Ranville. These glider-borne troops, lead by Major John Howard, were the first Allied troops to see action on D-Day. The small force took and held the bridge for 24 hrs. The bridge was preserved for allied use by a daring aerial coup de main.
6 June - D-Day
6 June Operation MALLARD - In the evening, the remainder of the 6th Airborne Division was delivered by 256 gliders, 246 of which landed on the correct zones. These were towed by aircraft from 14 Squadrons of No 38 and 46 Groups.
6 June Operation ROB ROY - During the night of6/index.htm7June, re-supply operations were flown with supplies being dropped by parachute.
Fighter bombers began a new direct support role, operating with the assistance of radio-equipped Forward Air Controllers (FACs). The fighter bombers were on call from "Cab Ranks", orbiting points close to the forward edge of the battle area. From these Cab Ranks, the FACs could very quickly call on air support for any targets of opportunity or threats to the troops in their area.
The FACs were both RAF and Army personnel, specially trained to identify targets to the pilots and direct thier fire. Also, and seemingly almost permanently, airborne over the beachheads were the Air Observation aircraft. These light aircraft directed fire from naval vessels off-shore initially, before they began directing artillery fire once the regiments were established on land. The light aircraft of the Army were also were the first to operate as airborne FACs, directing the fighter bombers themselves.
By 30 June, the whole of 83 Group, eight fighter and fighter-bomber wings, one reconnaissance wing and five Air Observation Post squadrons, were now based in France. The close proximity of the German defensive forces meant the airfields were under almost constant attack.
Overlord Army and Glider Pilot Regiment Units
Air Observation Posts 83 Group:
652 Sqn
Cobham, Surrey
Auster IV
653 Sqn
Penshurst, Kent
Auster IV
658 Sqn
Collyweston, Northants
Auster IV
659 Sqn
East Grinstead, Sussex
Auster IV
662 Sqn
Westley, Suffolk
Auster IV
Air Observation Posts 84 Group:
660 Sqn
Westhanger, Kent (Advanced Landing Ground)
Auster IV
661 Sqn
Fairchilds, Kent (Advanced Landing Ground)
Auster IV
Airborne and Transport Forces 38 Group:
295, 570 Sqns
Garwell, Berks
Albemarle/Horsa
296, 297 Sqns
Brize Norton, Oxford
Albemarle/Horsa
190, 620 Sqns
Fairford, Glos
Stirling IV/Horsa
196, 299 Sqns
Keevil, Wilts
Stirling IV/Horsa
298, 644 Sqns
Tarrant Rushton, Dorset
Halifax V/Horsa/ Hamilcar
Airborne and Transport Forces 46 Group:
48, 271 Sqns
Downey Ampney, Glos
Dakota/Horsa
233 Sqn
Blakehill Farm, Wilts
Dakota/Horsa
512, 575 Sqns
Broadwell, Glos
Dakota/Horsa
Airspeed Horsa
The Horsa was the UK ’s first operational troop-carrying glider. The first aircraft flew in the autumn of 1941 and orders for 3,792 aircraft soon followed. The simple, all-wooden construction meant that large quantities of the aircraft could be made by a wide number of sub-contractors, and its use of wood did not further reduce the vital supplies of steel for other aircraft.
A Horsa could carry 25 paratroops and made its operational debut in November 1942 during the failed attack on a German heavy water plant in Norway. Due to the range which the aircraft had to be towed (by Halifaxes), each aircraft only carried 15 troops for this operation. More success was had during the invasion of Sicily in July 1943, but its during the two major air assaults of 1944, Overlord and Market Garden that the Horsa acquitted itself, delivering many thousands of men to landing grounds on the continent. Three Horsas were used to insert the party which took the important Pegasus Bridge in the very first moments of the invasion.
Manufacturers : Airspeed, Christchurch
Accommodation : Up to 25 paratroops, crew of two.
Dimensions : Span 88ft, Length 67ft
Gliding speed : 100 mph
General Aircraft Hamilcar
Of all the gliders used by the allies in World War II, the General Aircraft Hamilcar was the largest. First flown in March 1942, the Hamilcar was used primarily to carry heavy freight (it could carry a 7-ton tank) and had a crew of two. Just over 410 aircraft were built.
Far fewer Hamilcars were involved in the Normandy landings (only seventy in total towed by Stirlings and Halifaxes), but their contribution was nonetheless a vital one.
Manufacturers : General Aircraft Ltd., Hanworth, Middlesex.
Accommodation : Load up to seven tons, crew of two.
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The Glider Pilot Regiment units were largely attached to two Allied Groups, No 38 Group, Allied Expeditionary Air Force and No 46 Group, RAF Transport Command. These were vital parts of the initial assault on the Normandy beach-head. On 6 June 1944, the Groups consisted of 15 squadrons with a total of 478 serviceable transport aircraft and 1,120 assault gliders. 38 and 46 Group were to to deliver, and then supply, the British 6th Airborne Division by parachute and glider to Drop Zones and Landing Zones in Normandy in support of British and Canadian amphibious landings. The Airborne Division was to protect the flank of the main landings. The Air Observation Post Squadrons were attached to two further Groups, 83 and 84 Groups. These Groups also consisted of a number of reconnaissance and fighter-bomber units. The fighter-bombers worked in close co-operation with the Air Observation Forward Air Controllers who would direct them on to targets. The Air Observation Squadrons also directed artillery and naval gun fire onto targets in the invasion area. 
Night5/index.htm6June Operation TITANIC. A force of 40 Hudsons, Halifaxes and Stirlings dropped dummy parachutists, rifle fire simulators, Window and two SAS teams to simulate airborne landings away from invasion area. 200 dummy parachutists were dropped near to the base of the Cotentin Peninsula, 50 more east of the River Dives, and 50 to the south west of Caen. 200 more dummy parachutists and the SAS teams were dropped at Yvetot, 30 miles south west of Dieppe. The SAS had orders to allow some of the enemy to escape to spread alarm by reporting landings by hundreds of parachutists. Two of the Stirlings were lost in this operation. The dummy parachutists were crude cloth representations of a human figure, a simple series of cloth bags and strips connected in a roughly cross-like shape to give the impression of a parachutist, certainly they were not accurate rubber figures suggested in some accounts. The dummies were equipped with a device that would prevent the enemy discovering that they were a deception. This was an explosive charge that destroyed the cloth figure by setting it on fire, which suggested that the man had burnt the parachute and lay hidden, ready for action or sabotage.
Night5/index.htm6June Glider Operations - Engineers and paratroops were dropped over Normandy to carry out a variety of roles. Capturing strategic and tactical objectives, destroying enemy gun emplacements and setting up flarepaths that would guide the glider-towing aircraft were the most important among these which were all part of:
A total of 266 aircraft, largley Dakotas and Albemarles, were detailed to carry paratroops. Of these, 264 took off and 255 reported successful drops with 4,310 of 4,512 of the paratroops carried being delivered. Only seven aircraft were lost during the paratroop delivery part of this operation. The called for the transport aircraft to be followed by 98 glider and tug combinations, all which took off. 74 gliders were successfully released of which 57 landed on or near their designated Landing Zones. Altogether 611 troops were carried by glider and 493 successfully released.
The first action took place at the now famous Pegasus Bridge. Shortly after midnight Halifaxes towed six Horsa gliders containing a company of the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry Regiment, a part of the 6th Airborne Division, across the Channel to the mouth of the Orne River. The mission was to seize and hold the key bridge across the Orne River and canal between Benouville and Ranville. These glider-borne troops, lead by Major John Howard, were the first Allied troops to see action on D-Day. The small force took and held the bridge for 24 hrs. The bridge was preserved for allied use by a daring aerial coup de main. 
6 June Operation ROB ROY - During the night of6/index.htm7June, re-supply operations were flown with supplies being dropped by parachute.
The FACs were both RAF and Army personnel, specially trained to identify targets to the pilots and direct thier fire. Also, and seemingly almost permanently, airborne over the beachheads were the Air Observation aircraft. These light aircraft directed fire from naval vessels off-shore initially, before they began directing artillery fire once the regiments were established on land. The light aircraft of the Army were also were the first to operate as airborne FACs, directing the fighter bombers themselves.
