JOUR-J - UNITES

9th Air Force - IX Troop Carrier Command


Lewis H. Breton

Paul L. Williams

Julian M. Chappell

Maurice Beach

Charles H. Young

Frank X. Krebs
 
IX Troop Carrier Command (TCC) was formed in October 1943 to carry out the airborne assault mission in the invasion. Brigadier General Paul T. Williams, who had commanded the troop carrier operations in Sicily and Italy, took command in February 1944. The 14 groups assigned to IX TCC were a mixture of experience ; Four had seen significant combat, Four had no combat experience but had trained together for more than a year in the US, Four others had been in existence less than nine months and arrived in the UK one month after training began, One had experience only as a transport group and the last had been recently formed.
By the end of May 1944, the IX Troop Carrier Command had available 1,207 C-47 and was one-third overstrength, creating a strong reserve. Three quarters of the planes were less than one year old on D-Day, and all were in excellent condition. Crew availability exceeded numbers of aircraft, but 40 per cent were recent-arriving crews or individual replacements who had not been present for much of the night formation training. As a result, 20 per cent of the 924 crews committed to the parachute mission on D-Day had minimum night training and fully three-fourths of all crews had never been under fire. Over 2,100 CG-4 Waco gliders had been sent to the UK, and after attrition during training operations, 1,118 were available for operations, along with 301 Horsa gliders received from the British. Trained crews sufficient to pilot 951 gliders were available, and at least five of the troop carrier groups intensively trained for glider missions.
The assault was divided into two missions, 'Albany' and 'Boston', each with three regiment-sized landings on a drop zone. The drop zones of the 101st Airborne Division were west of Sainte-Marie-du-Mont (A, C, and D). Those of the 82nd Airborne Division were west (T and O) and southwest (N) of Sainte-Mère-Église.
To achieve surprise, the parachute drops were routed to approach Normandy at low altitude from the west :
-Paratroopers of the 101st Airborne Division jumped first on June 6, between 00:48 and 01:40 British Double Summer Time. 6,928 troops were carried aboard 432 C-47s of mission 'Albany' organized into 10 serials.
-The 82nd Airborne Division's drop, mission 'Boston', began at 01:51. It was also a lift of 10 serials organized in three waves, totaling 6,420 paratroopers carried by 369 C-47s.
-Two pre-dawn glider landings, missions 'Chicago' (101st Airborne Division) and 'Detroit" (82nd Airborne Division), each by 52 CG-4 Waco gliders, landed anti-tank guns and support troops for each division.
-On the evening of D-Day two additional glider operations, mission 'Keokuk' and mission 'Elmira', brought in additional support on 208 gliders.
-Two additional glider missions ('Galveston' and 'Hackensack') were made just after daybreak on June 7, delivering the 325th Glider Infantry Regiment to the 82nd Airborne Division.
-Two supply parachute drops, mission 'Freeport' for the 82nd Airborne Division and mission 'Memphis' intended for the 101st Airborne Division, were dropped on June 7.
 
      
 
9th Air Force: Lieutenant General Lewis H. Brereton  [voir le dossier]
  IX Troop Carrier Command (Grantham): Major General Paul L. Williams  [voir le dossier]
     
    50th Troop Carrier Wing (Exeter airfield): Colonel Julian M. Chappell  [voir le dossier]
      439th Troop Carrier Group (Upottery airfield): Lt. Colonel Charles H. Young  [voir le dossier]
        91st Troop Carrier Squadron: Major Howard U. Morton  [voir le dossier]
        92nd Troop Carrier Squadron: Major Cecil E. Petty  [voir le dossier]
        93rd Troop Carrier Squadron: Major Robert A. Barrere  [voir le dossier]
        94th Troop Carrier Squadron: Major Joseph A. Beck II  [voir le dossier]
      440th Troop Carrier Group (Exeter airfield): Lt. Colonel Frank X. Krebs  [voir le dossier]
        95th Troop Carrier Squadron: Major Irvin G. Anderson  [voir le dossier]
        96th Troop Carrier Squadron: Captain William R. Cooper  [voir le dossier]
        97th Troop Carrier Squadron: Major Jack S. Southard  [voir le dossier]
        98th Troop Carrier Squadron: Major Bascome L. Neal  [voir le dossier]
      441st Troop Carrier Group (Merryfield airfield): Lt. Colonel Theodore G. Kershaw  [voir le dossier]
        99th Troop Carrier Squadron: Lt. Colonel Walter T. Fletcher  [voir le dossier]
        100th Troop Carrier Squadron: Captain James T. Cousin  [voir le dossier]
        301st Troop Carrier Squadron: Captain Lloyd G. Neblett  [voir le dossier]
        302nd Troop Carrier Squadron: Lt. Colonel Frederick Funston  [voir le dossier]
      442nd Troop Carrier Group (Fulbeck airfield): Lt. Colonel Charles M. Smith  [voir le dossier]
        303rd Troop Carrier Squadron: Major Robert O. Whittington  [voir le dossier]
        304th Troop Carrier Squadron: Major Kenneth L. Glassburn  [voir le dossier]
        305th Troop Carrier Squadron: Major John A. Crandell  [voir le dossier]
        306th Troop Carrier Squadron: Major Royal S. Thompson  [voir le dossier]
     
    52nd Troop Carrier Wing (Cottesmore airfield): Brigadier General Harold L. Clark  [voir le dossier]
      61st Troop Carrier Group (Barkston Heath airfield): Colonel Willis W. Mitchell  [voir le dossier]
        14th Troop Carrier Squadron: Major Lewis S. Frederick, Jr  [voir le dossier]
        15th Troop Carrier Squadron: Major Lawrence C. McMurtry  [voir le dossier]
        53rd Troop Carrier Squadron: Major Howard M. Betts  [voir le dossier]
        59th Troop Carrier Squadron: Major Marcus O. Owens, Jr  [voir le dossier]
      313th Troop Carrier Group (Folkingham airfield): Colonel James J. Roberts, Jr  [voir le dossier]
        29th Troop Carrier Squadron: Lt. Colonel Quinn M. Corley  [voir le dossier]
        47th Troop Carrier Squadron: Major Paul W. Stephens  [voir le dossier]
        48th Troop Carrier Squadron: Major Edgar F. Stovall, Jr  [voir le dossier]
        49th Troop Carrier Squadron: Lt. Colonel Frank J. Lumsden  [voir le dossier]
      314th Troop Carrier Group (Saltby airfield): Colonel Clayton Stiles  [voir le dossier]
        32nd Troop Carrier Squadron: Major Halac G. Wilson  [voir le dossier]
        50th Troop Carrier Squadron: Major Joseph H. McClure  [voir le dossier]
        61st Troop Carrier Squadron: Major Campbell N. Smith  [voir le dossier]
        62nd Troop Carrier Squadron: Major Arthur E. Tappan  [voir le dossier]
      315th Troop Carrier Group (Spanhoe airfield): Colonel Hamish McLelland  [voir le dossier]
        34th Troop Carrier Squadron: Lt. Colonel Donald G. Dekin  [voir le dossier]
        43rd Troop Carrier Squadron: Lt. Colonel Otto H. Peterson  [voir le dossier]
        309th Troop Carrier Squadron: Lt. Colonel Smylie C. Stark  [voir le dossier]
        310th Troop Carrier Squadron: Lt. Colonel Henry G. Hamby, Jr  [voir le dossier]
      316th Troop Carrier Group (Cottesmore airfield): Colonel Harvey A. Berger  [voir le dossier]
        36th Troop Carrier Squadron: Major James R. Roberts  [voir le dossier]
        37th Troop Carrier Squadron: Major Leonard C. Fletcher  [voir le dossier]
        44th Troop Carrier Squadron: Major Benjamin F. Kendig  [voir le dossier]
        45th Troop Carrier Squadron: Major Mars Lewis  [voir le dossier]
     
    53rd Troop Carrier Wing (Greenham Common airfield): Colonel Maurice M. Beach  [voir le dossier]
      434th Troop Carrier Group (Aldermaston airfield): Colonel William B. Whitacre  [voir le dossier]
        71st Troop Carrier Squadron: Major Glenn E. W. Man, Jr  [voir le dossier]
        72nd Troop Carrier Squadron: Major Frank W. Hansley  [voir le dossier]
        73rd Troop Carrier Squadron: Major Terry G. Hutton  [voir le dossier]
        74th Troop Carrier Squadron: Major Ralph L. Strean, Jr  [voir le dossier]
      435th Troop Carrier Group (Welford airfield): Colonel Frank J. Mac Nees  [voir le dossier]
        75th Troop Carrier Squadron: Major Lewis A. Curtis  [voir le dossier]
        76th Troop Carrier Squadron: Lt. Colonel Robert C. Lewis  [voir le dossier]
        77th Troop Carrier Squadron: Lt. Colonel Henry H. Osmer  [voir le dossier]
        78th Troop Carrier Squadron: Lt. Colonel Bertil E. Hanson  [voir le dossier]
      436th Troop Carrier Group (Membury airfield): Lt. Colonel Adriel N. Williams  [voir le dossier]
        79th Troop Carrier Squadron: Major John D. Kreyssler  [voir le dossier]
        80th Troop Carrier Squadron: Major Clarence L. Schmid  [voir le dossier]
        81st Troop Carrier Squadron: Major David W. Brack  [voir le dossier]
        82nd Troop Carrier Squadron: Captain Robert G. Johns  [voir le dossier]
      437th Troop Carrier Group (Ramsbury airfield): Colonel Cedric E. Hudgens  [voir le dossier]
        83rd Troop Carrier Squadron: Captain John White  [voir le dossier]
        84th Troop Carrier Squadron: Captain John M. Campbell  [voir le dossier]
        85th Troop Carrier Squadron: Captain Lester L. Ferguson  [voir le dossier]
        86th Troop Carrier Squadron: Major Ralph E. Lehr  [voir le dossier]
      438th Troop Carrier Group (Greenham airfield): Lt. Colonel John M. Donalson  [voir le dossier]
        87th Troop Carrier Squadron: Lt. Colonel David E. Daniel  [voir le dossier]
        88th Troop Carrier Squadron: Major Robert W. Gates  [voir le dossier]
        89th Troop Carrier Squadron: Major Clement G. Rochardson  [voir le dossier]
        90th Troop Carrier Squadron: Major Harold I. Pawlowski  [voir le dossier]