United States 2/503rd - Later the 509th Parachute Infantry Battalion in North Africa during World War II. Fully equipped 509th PIB paratroopers climb into United States Army Air Force C-47 transport airplanes to land in Italy. Soldiers lift the nose of a glider and load a 105 mm howitzer into the front end. The nose of the glider being lowered. The soldiers load a jeep into the front end of the glider. The nose of the glider being lowered.
U.S. gliders being assembled at RAF Greenham Common, England, in preparation for the D-Day invasion during World War II. Truck trailers arrive at the airfield. Packing crates placed on field. Workmen assemble U.S. Waco CG-4 assault gliders. Man directs arriving vehicles. Light tractor pulls crate loaded with glider part. Truck loaded with men arrives. Men work under the wing of a glider.
Recap of events leading up to invasion of Normandy (D-Day) during World War II in England. Command departure point shows C-47 tow planes and gliders being readied on a runway at an airfield in England. Tow plane and glider pilots being briefed by an officer. U.S. Brigadier General James Gavin speaks to his paratroopers. Soldiers attend religious services. Supreme Commander of Allied Forces General Dwight Eisenhower talks with men of 6th Pathfinder Units, 101st Airborne Division, who will jump the night before D-day. Paratroopers march out of hangars. Paratroopers attach parapacks beneath a plane. Wings of plane painted with invasion stripes. Heavy equipment being loaded aboard a glider. Paratroopers put on their gear. Jumpmaster makes the final inspection. Paratroopers board planes. Gliders and planes take off. From edited film produced in 1947.
Pilots training in a glider school in Unterwössen, Bavaria, Germany. A glider takes off from an airfield in Unterwössen, with the Bavarian Alps on the background. Glider flies past trees. A cross on a crag near the German- Austrian border. Glider performs various stunts in flight, including a loop-de-loop.
A United States Waco CG-4A glider lands at an airfield in Holland during World War II. A pair of gliders land at the same time. Smoke rises from the ground. A glider approaches and lands from a distance. A glider lands, tilts up on its nose and falls back.
A Waco CG-4A glider landing northeast of Zaan district, North Holland, Netherlands during World War II. A glider lands in the airfield, tilts up on its nose and falls back. More gliders landing. Soldiers opening the nose of a glider “Tessie” to unload.
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