Supply drop for "Varsity" 1945

Bedee, that's quite amazing! Two towers were built in the 30s to carry a high voltage power line across the Rhine. It could be one of those. I was not aware of these - so I stand corrected! Good job!

 

Judging by the following chart they were definitely a bit too far south...

 

Great detail from everyone , all very interesting keep up the good work

 

According the planned turn this could be aircrafts who supplied the US troops ?
Another remarkable thing is that the Liberators fly from West to East when you go to 2:28 of the video.
OR for me it looks like an airplane with a hooked Glider, coming from England ?

But don't forget PLANNING and REALITY can be different.

 

Hi Bedee - yes, the Liberators are in the air on March 24th to supply the airborne troops on the ground, flying in from the southwest, flying back southeast. And you are right, the editor of this film at 2:28 put in towed gliders in flight towards or over the Rhine. That looks impressive in the film - but that was not the real story: When the Liberators arrived between 13.10 and 13.30 hrs all gliders had been released and had landed (or crashed) … so the narration in this film at 2:28 is making statements that are somewhat inaccurate. If you look at edited and narrated films of that era (and of other eras, too, I should add) these inaccuracies happen quite a lot - either they are deliberate or accidental. Remember - the guys who scripted and edited the films were far away from the action… so they on the one hand could be forgiven for getting some things wrong. On the other hand, wartime propaganda is really not all that reliable as far as the facts are concerned.

 

This is a full film in colour (of sorts) and no sound that was made after the war - supposedly showing the Wesel mission. Not sure about the briefings and the take-off, but I believe the Wesel part only starts at 8:54. In between there is a flight over what I think is Cologne (with its cathedral) and some other footage that does not seem to belong here. Excerpts from this film of the Wesel supply drop were posted here further above but in even worse quality. The crash of two (in fact I can see three) Liberators is quite stark - as are the Liberators landing back in England at the end of the film, one of them making a crash landing sliding along the runway...
Chicago Film Archive Catalogue

 

From the US Eigth Air Force Report on the supply drop:

"Possible obstructions to low flying, such as high tension wires, towers, etc., should be carefully charted and described. On this mission the 445th Bomb Group reported that its lead Squadron' s bomb run was disrupted by a 'high tension wire suspended between two 400-foot towers' - yet the information, as provided, was that the only power line in the area was no higher than 90 feet or 100 feet. According to tho Commanding Officer of the 2nd Combat Wing, who flew in the lead aircraft, the Squadron was on course from the IP to the dropping zone. Tho two towers, one on each side of a road, were approximately 400 feet high, and located just east of Xanten between that town and the river. He believes the towers were used to carry the wire, of which there were five strands down and one strand still up, over the highway."

Bedee - so far I have found not information regarding those towers near Xanten - the maps (1:25.000 from 1936 and 1944) do not show any power lines. And a search on the web did not turn up any references or pictures.

 

From Martin Bowman Air War Varsity Chapter 8
The field order issued by the Second Air Division on the 22nd called for two task groups of 120 Liberators each - one to drop supplies to the American forces and the other to British forces - to take off from Norfolk and Suffolk and pick up the troop carrier route at Hawkinge. The bomber force was to keep in the right-hand lane from Wavre on and was to descend gradually from heights of 3,000 feet over England, 1,500 feet over the Channel and 1,000 feet at Wavre to a drop altitude between 300 and 500 feet. From a cruising speed of 160 mph at Wavre the B-24s were to slow to 155 mph at the IP and to 150 or under for the drop.

The 120 aircraft in the rear of the column were to deliver their loads to 6th Airborne Division on SDP ‘B’. This was a diamondshaped area about 2,000 yards across located about 4½ miles east of the Rhine and about three-quarters of a mile west of Hamminkeln with the double-track railway on its southwest edge. It was to be marked with a yellow ‘T’, green smoke and a white letter ‘B’, supplemented by an M/F beacon. In addition a VHF landing beacon (SCS-51) was to be set up at the IP and aimed at SDP B so that the bombers could ride along its beam to their objective. After completing the drop the bombers were to turn to the right, climb to 2,500 feet and return along the troop carrier route to Wavre. From there they would make almost a bee-line return to their bases by way of Ostend.

If you want more : contact me at Jellema104@hotmail.com

 

The picture with "dead paratroops" looks like to show white so British paratrooper parachutes. Near Am Wall only gliders and misdroped US paratroopers landed, so thes pictures might be taken over DZ B the DZ for 5th British Parachute Bde. So the burning farm near Meerhooger Strasse makes sense to me..

 

Hi.
I have this book, but only referred to it a few times.
Thanks.

 

Can’t see any trenches that long on DZ B, but happy to have another look with this in mind.

 

Hi,

Same field but don't know where - suspect the American zone as the falling bundles don't appear to be British containers. Not entirely sure as usual.



Iwingshof (grid reference 187497) sat right next to Mehrhooger Straße and some gliders should be seen nearby?

Regards ...

 

Crop

A crop from the "Dead Paratroops" pic. A descending American bundle?



Regards ...

 

Picture from Nitrowski's book (Die Luftlandung) shows B-24 making a right turn.

 

Might be SDP W with big trenches. This Defense Overprint map is dated Feb 12th 1945.

 

902995,

 

View attachment 368458

 

Most soldiers have their gun on their left shoulder... so probably going home

 

There’s no way the village of Hamminkeln can be on the left of the aircraft with the flight line in if that is near DZ B

 

The photo is IWM Reference "BU 2291" AIRBORNE TROOPS LAND EAST OF THE RHINE | Imperial War Museums (iwm.org.uk), its attributed to Sgt Christie,

BR,
SH