Hi everyone. I have read several books on Arnhem/Operation Market Garden which faintly mention this group of 10 Americans in 2 jeeps flown in by 4 WACO Gliders to the Landing Zones at Oosterbeek with the British 1st Airborne Division. Another source is this link to the Pagasus Archives: Corporal Dale Thatcher My questions are: Does anyone have any more information on this Unit or any pictures? I was looking to see what sort of uniform/equipment these men had? Thank you! Scott
The Airborne Signals Unit after action report had this to say about this American unit. " This consisted of two American Air Sp parties provided by FAAA. Each was made up of one "Veep", a Jeep fitted with a SCR-193 for ground-to-ground comn and a VHF set for ground to air, and a second Jeep to carry the personnel. In both cases the second vehs did not turn up for loading and were provided by us. The personnel themselves, although first class, had never seen the actual equipment before and neither set could be tuned to the lower of the two frequencies given. In fact comn was never established and the sets in the vehs, by reason of their bulk, were quickly destroyed by enemy action. The two offrs were not sig offrs and knew nothing of the sets. On the two dets, each of one offr and four ORs, only one offr, Lieut Johnson, returned safely. The "Veeps" are too bulky to be dug in safely, and such an ad hoc arrangement as this is most unlikely to work satisfactorily. In future Br ASSU is strongly recommended."
Hi, There is newsreel footage of Wacos taking off from British airfields during the OMG Operation. In the following they can be seen at the 1:40 and 2:00 minute mark. The first has a chalk number in the 480s. Of course you have to be wary as some editors would use footage from other campaigns to achieve the effect they wanted. Regards ...
Scott, The first Waco (489?) shown leaving in above video may have actually belonged to a group of 6 attached to AB Corps HQ also carrying US signal teams headed for LZ N. See attached table (not sure of the source). There is a photo of a Waco in Glider Pilots of Arnhem (Peters and Buist) with this caption: "One of the four Waco/Hadrian gliders flown by pilots of Lieutenant ‘Peggy’ Clark's ‘X’ Flight on DZ ‘X’. These gliders, designated to fly on the second lift to Landing Zone ‘X’ were at the last minute brought forward from the second lift to the first lift." It may have been taken by Mike Lewis, 5 AFPU. According to the book Arnhem 1944 by Middlebrook: "Sergeant Michael Lewis, one of the army photographers, quickly went into action taking photographs of Dakotas still arriving and dropping further troops, of the earliest Dutch civilians greeting their 'liberators' and of a Waco glider which had landed on the northern end of the parachute dropping zone, the area given to its pilots when briefed for the second lift." (Page 111) Some of these Wacos may show up in aerials? Regards ...
