Mission Detroit
None
Operation Overlord
(Battle of Normandy) |
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Prelude
Airborne assault
Normandy landings
Anglo-Canadian Sector Logistics
Ground campaign
Anglo-Canadian Sector
Breakout
Air and Sea operations Supporting operations Aftermath |
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, during World War II . It was part of Operation Neptune , the assault portion of the Allied invasion of Normandy , Operation Overlord . Originally slated to be the main assault for the 82nd Airborne, the glider operation instead became the first reinforcement mission after the main parachute combat assault, Mission Boston . The landing zone for mission Detroit was near Sainte-Mère-Église , to the west of Utah Beach .
The objective of the division was to secure the town of Sainte-Mère-Église and to take the bridges along the Merderet River . By doing this, the U.S. 4th Infantry Division coming in at Utah Beach would have easy access to making their way northwards towards the ports at Cherbourg .
Casualties for the 82nd Airborne Division on D-Day were about 1,260 of 6,600, or about 20%. On 6 June 1944 the heavier elements of the division landed by glider in Mission Elmira .
Air movement table - mission Detroit
Serial | Airborne Unit | Troop carrier Group | # of C-47s | # of gliders | UK Base | Drop Zone | Drop Zone Time |
28 |
Batteries A & B, 80th AAA Bn
Rlements Div HQ Elements Div Artillery Elements 82nd Signal Bn |
437th TCG | 52 | 52 Waco | RAF Ramsbury | O | 0407 |
SOURCE: D-Day Etat des Lieux
See also
Further reading
- Harrison, G. A. (1951). Cross-Channel Attack (PDF) . United States Army in World War II: The European Theater of Operations. Washington, DC: Office of the Chief of Military History, Department of the Army. OCLC 606012173 . Retrieved 9 June 2014 .
- Warren, J. C. (1956). Airborne Operations in World War II, European Theater (PDF) . USAF Historical Studies. Maxwell AFB, Alabama: USAF Historical Division, Research Studies Institute Air University. ISBN 0-89126-015-3 . Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 June 2016 . Retrieved 15 June 2014 .
External links
Primary articles on the Battle of Normandy,
Western Front
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World War II
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