| Troops of 6th Airlanding Brigade smile from the door of their Horsa glider on an RAF airfield as they prepare to fly out as part of 6th Airborne Division’s 2nd lift.” 8 United Kingdom Royal Army 6th Airborne Infantry Division paratroopers smile from the door of their Horsa glider as they prepare to fly out as part of the 2nd drop on Normandy on the night of 6th June 1944. “Angels with Dirty Faces” and the names “Margaret, Joyce, Margie, Kath, Olive and Elsie” has been chalked on the side of the Horsa. 21 hours after the initial landing by D Company of the 2nd Ox and Bucks Light Infantry at the Orne River bridges, the 6th Airlanding Brigade began Operation Mallard. 223 Horsa gliders landed on Drop Zone “W” south of Ouistreham and Drop Zone “N” east of Ranville from 1700 Hours to bring reinforcements in men and equipment. 242 gliders out of 246 total originally planned landed in Normandy. More than 5,300 British and Canadian soldiers were transported by 84 Groups of the Royal Air Force (RAF). The Brigade launched from Broadwell, Harwell, Down Ampney, Keevil, Brize Norton, Fairford, and Tarrant Rushton. Operation Mallard was launched at the same time as the Germans counter-attacked in the direction of Sword with the Panzer Division of Major Hans von Luck. Visible to all, this airborne action reinforced Allied soldiers in this area after a 1st day of fighting. Conversely, it forced the Germans to stop their counter-attack and to retreat to the south. D-Day had cost the 6th Airborne Division 821 dead, 2,709 wounded and 927 missing. Reinforcement by the 6th Airlanding Brigade strengthened the 6th Airborne Division’s weak position. Most of the parachute battalions, because of their scattered parachute drops, were well under strength. The 6th Airborne Division waited for new counter-attacks and upgraded their defensive positions overnight. The next day, June 7, the Germans attacked, using tanks and artillery. Ranville was assaulted by Major Hans-Ulrich von Luck July 1911 – August 1, 1997) at the head of the Panzer-Grenadier-Regiment 125: the Allied armada made several barrage fires that stopped these counter-offensives. The front on the east bank of the Orne river remained static until the launch of the operation Paddle on August 17, 1944. | |
| Image Filename | wwii0480.jpg |
| Image Size | 389.92 KB |
| Image Dimensions | 2476 x 1702 |
| Photographer | Edward G. Malindine |
| Photographer Title | War Office official photographer |
| Caption Author | Written or Adapted by Jason McDonald |
| Date Photographed | June 6, 1944 |
| Location | |
| City | |
| State or Province | |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Archive | Imperial War Museum |
| Record Number | H 39182 |
| Status | Caption ©2026 MFA Productions LLC Please Do Not Duplicate or Distribute Without Permission; Image in the Public Domain |
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