Operation Deadstick

At 0016 hrs. three Airspeed Horsa gliders, flown with outstanding skill by pilots of the Glider Pilot Regiment, landed troops from the 2nd Battalion, Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry within 50 yards of the Caen Canal Bridge at Benouville in …

1944-06-06

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At 0016 hrs. three Airspeed Horsa gliders, flown with outstanding skill by pilots of the Glider Pilot Regiment, landed troops from the 2nd Battalion, Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry within 50 yards of the Caen Canal Bridge at Benouville in Normandy, France. The bold and audacious coup de main attack on the bridge was a complete success and after a brief 15 minute fight this vital bridge was in Allied hands. Determined counterattacks by elements of the 736th Grenadier Regt., 716th inf. Division were launched throughout the early morning hours to retake the bridge.

Benouville, France

Pegasus Bridge, originally called the Bénouville Bridge after the neighboring village, is a road crossing over the Caen Canal, between Caen and Ouistreham in Normandy. The original bridge, built in 1934, is now a war memorial and is the centerpiece of the Memorial Pegasus museum at nearby Ranville. It was replaced in 1994 by a modern design which, like the old one, is a bascule bridge.

Wikipedia: Pegasus Bridge

German

British