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Fri, Jun 10, 2005

The Glider Pilots of Pegasus Bridge

Silent Raiders Practiced Hard For D-Day

The pilots of the gliders at the Caen Canal and Orne River bridges, between Ranville and Benouville, were all Staff Sergeants of the Glider Pilot Regiment. The co-pilots handled the navigation, the pilots did the flying.

Caen Canal "Pegasus" Bridge

1.  Wallwork and Ainsworth
2.  Boland and Hobbs
3.  Barkway and Boyle

Orne River "Horsa" Bridge

1.  Lawrence and Shorter
2.  Pearson and Guthrie
3.  Howard and Baacke

They had been practicing night landings, using the exact turns and descent rates they would use on D-Day, for three months prior. All the machines landed directly on target, except for Lawrence and Shorter, who became disoriented.

Their group landed at, and seized, the wrong bridge, but were able to orient themselves and get to the right rendezvous on June 7th. The others had given them up for dead, and so were quite delighted to see them.

FMI: www.gliderpilotregiment.org.uk, www.assaultgliderproject.co.uk   

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