Some 80 years ago today.
How about this great period color photo of British paratroopers sitting in the fuselage of an aircraft while awaiting their order to jump, on 22 April 1944. Note their characteristic Denison smocks, para wing sleeve insignia, and HSAT (Helmet Steel Airborne Troops) lids. One member even still has his “cherry berry” on.
Photo by Capt. E.G. Malindine, No. 5 Army Film and Photo Section, Army Film and Photographic Unit. IWM (TR 1662)
Less than six weeks from when the above image was snapped, these men were almost surely involved in Operation Tonga, the airborne drop of some 8,500 men of the British 6th Airborne Division into Normandy as part of the Overlord landings.
Pegasus Bridge by Gerald LaCoste who was with British 6th Airborne Division HQ in Normandy. Via The Parachute Regiment Museum.
They would suffer over 800 casualties in the first 72 hours of the operation, roughly meeting the old Roman legion benchmark for decimation.