This is the second volume of a comprehensive five part work on D-Day
that includes a multitude of personal military accounts from both Allied
and German Aviation personnel ‘who were there’. Overlord began with an
assault by more than 23,000 airborne troops, 15,500 of them American,
behind enemy lines to soften up the German troops and to secure key
objectives. 6,600 paratroopers of the US 101st ‘Screaming Eagles’
Division in 633 C-47s and 83 gliders and 6,396 paratroopers of the US
82nd ‘All American’ Division in 1,101 C-47s and 427 gliders were dropped
over the neck of the Cotentin peninsula.
By the end of the operation, the list of casualties was extensive. But
101st Airborne Division linked up with the US 4th Infantry Division
beach landings at Pouppeville, the most southerly exit off ‘Utah’ Beach
and the 82nd secured the area north of Ste-Mère-Église after fierce
fighting and drove the enemy north, considerably delaying the German
243rd Infantry Division from contacting the Allied beach assault force.
This important episode within the wider history of D-Day is enlivened in
classic Bowman fashion, featuring both extensive historical notes as
well as deeply personal accounts of endurance and individual gallantry.
This fourth volume of a comprehensive five part work on D-Day covers
every aspect of aerial operations on and behind the beaches at 'Omaha'
and 'Utah' beaches on 6 June 1944. It might be imagined that the passing
years would blunt the outlines of the experience but the D-Day veterans
do not forget. Their accounts convey the chaos, terror and hysteria as
the first salvos of German fire clanged off the landing craft, in
language that is all the more powerful for its terseness and simplicity.
The landings at 'Omaha' which were vital to connect the US troops at
'Utah' Beach with the British and Canadian beaches to the east were an
unmitigated disaster with an estimated 3,000 killed, wounded and
missing. The highest number of casualties of all the beaches, they were
the greatest American losses in one battle since the Battle of Antietam
Creek in the American Civil War in September 1862.
The situation on the beach was chaotic as troops were pinned down by
enemy fire and had to take cover behind mined beach defenses. As things
progressed, it was an accumulation of individual acts of self-sacrifice
and gallantry which opened up an exit and a seaborne bombardment by the
task force saw tenuous footholds finally gained by early afternoon. In
stark contrast to Omaha, an almost textbook landing was made at Utah;
the air bombardment was effective and a strong current actually landed
the 4th Infantry Division 2,000 yards south of their intended target
where the beach was less heavily defended.
This account analyses each aspect of the aerial operation, noting how
events on the ground and in the sea impacted upon pilots endeavors in
the skies. Evocative images supplement the text effectively to create a
real sense of what it was like for the pilots of D-Day, the individuals
who made such a contribution to the Allied war effort in the Second
World War.
This is the story of
the Arado 234, an aircraft that on one day in 1944, in the skies above
Normandy, heralded the beginning of a new era in aviation: the jet
era...
For more than a century, the aviation industry has experienced continual
change and upheaval. Many individuals have contributed to this field of
developmental aviation over the course of time. One of these key
players is Heinrich Lübbe, a man who marked the evolution of aerial
transportation through his cultivation of technological excellence. From
flying lessons given to him by his friend Roland Garros, to the
creation of the Arado business, Lübbe made a significant impact and left
a lasting legacy.
Ladies and Gentlemen Aviators 
