D-DAY’S UNSUNG HEROES
ON THE EVE OF D-DAY 75 YEARS AGO, TWO U.S. ARMY COLONELS MADE A BET. LIEUTENANT COLONEL CHARLES YOUNG, 39-YEAR-OLD COMMANDER OF THE NINTH AIR FORCE’S 439TH TROOP CARRIER GROUP, WAS CONFIDENT THAT HE COULD PUT THE PARATROOPERS OF HIS “LIFT” WITHIN 300 YARDS OF THE DESIRED LANDING ZONE IN NORMANDY.
Colonel Robert Sink, who led the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment (PIR) of the 101st Airborne Division, was skeptical. He took the bet: five British pounds.
That exchange during the final briefing for Operation Overlord represented the intimate relationship between the Army Air Forces’ Troop Carrier Command and the airborne soldiers TCC delivered to drop zones around the world.
If any World War II combat aviation unit remains unappreciated to this day, it’s Troop Carrier Command. While the Marine Corps’ “Black Sheep,” the AAF’s Tuskegee Airmen and the Women Airforce Service Pilots continue to receive accolades, TCC’s war-winning contribution is largely overlooked. Yet Troop Carrier Command fought a truly global war, and the numbers are remarkable: about 30 major combat operations by 21,800 paratroopers, not counting glider infantry or OSS agents.
TCC’s workhorse was the Douglas C-47 Skytrain, including about 380 C-53 Skytrooper personnel transports. A typical Skytrain combat load was 18 to 22 paratroopers, while C-53s accommodated 28 soldiers. Derived from the legendary 1935 DC-3 airliner, the “Gooney Bird” remains one of history’s most significant aircraft.
The U.S. Army formed a test parachute unit in May 1940 but did not establish TCC for two years. Though separate from Air Transport Command, TCC also ferried aircraft and delivered supplies alongside ATC throughout the war. Nonetheless, TCC quickly developed doctrine and methods to deliver airborne infantry behind enemy lines. Paratroopers were only half the equation, however, as
