‘It was like flying a brick’ – How crucial were glider pilots during D-Day?
Two surviving members of the Second World War Glider Pilot Regiment (GPR) have stressed the importance of the wooden aircraft on D-Day, saying “it couldn’t have been done another way”.
Gliders, used to transport troops and supplies, were towed by bombers over northern France before gliding into the landing zone in Normandy.
Soldiers were then able to capture bridges over the river and canal at Benouville, hampering the
