Dropzone B for Operation Varsity during Worldwar 2 on 24 and 25 march 1945

Germany / Nordrhein-Westfalen / Voerde /
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For Varsity it is notable that many of the glider pilots were from the RAF. The GPR had suffered so many casualties at Arnhem that it was unable to fulfil future operational requirements. This stage of the war meant that there was too little time to train new Army pilots yet there was a surplus of RAF pilots and so to rectify the GPR's shortage some 1,500 from the RAF's reserve pool volunteered (or were volunteered) to retrain from bombers to gliders. Once on the ground the British glider pilots were active combatants trained in a range of weapons, so once attached to the Glider Pilot Regiment the RAF's pilots received small-arms instruction and field training. Wherever possible, inexperienced RAF GPs were paired as crew with experienced Army GPs.

No 1 Wing of the GPR delivered the airlanding elements of 6th Airborne Division in 'tactical' (as opposed to mass) landings in the locality of Hamminkeln, approximately 6 miles north of the 1,500 feet-wide river Rhine at Wesel (which was some 50 miles upstream from Arnhem). The airborne landings took place between 10:21 - 10:57 hrs across 6 LZs, part of the largest single-day glider lift of WW2, and occurred after that mornings successful crossing of the Rhine by river assault craft carrying infantry units.

Despite the weather being good with little cloud cover and excellent visibility, the drop and landing zones were hidden under a 300 feet thick layer of smoke which effectively hid all navigation points and obliterated the outlines of fields. This was the consequence of intense German antiaircraft fire combined with Allied aerial bombing, artillery shelling and a thick smoke screen which had preceded the earlier infantry river-crossing and advance.

The British glider release had been planned for an altitude of 2,500 feet but because of overrunning by serials further back in the air column, some gliders were released as high as 3,500 feet. Regrettably, the long, slow descent from such a high altitude made the gliders especially vulnerable to German flak. Many of the gliders that survived the anti-aircraft fire became landing casualties due to the poor visibility on approach compounded by the relative inexperience of some of the crews. Once on the ground many gliders were hit by enemy fire with 32 being destroyed before they could be unloaded. Less than 25% of the gliders that reached the assault area were undamaged.

The smoke-obscured and chaotic landings meant that the fighting in the still smoke-covered fields was confused, with airborne troopers and glider pilots struggling to find other members of their units. Much of the immediate fighting was conducted by scratch units which could well have come as a particular shock to some of the combat-inexperienced glider pilots attached from the RAF. Some of the RAF GPs wore the blue-grey beret which during the ground combat served to compound their situation, the beret as it was being easily mistaken for enemy headgear (and following Op. Varsity it was thus suggested that all RAF GPs wear the maroon beret).

As night fell, troops dug in to hold their positions before successfully linking up with the advancing infantry the next morning. Their part in the operation done, some 500 men of the GPR then escorted 2,500 prisoners back to the Rhine, where they were turned over to MPs: the pilots then crossed back over the river to where a camp had been set up with hot food and showers - the "Rhine Hotel".
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Coordinates:   51°37'47"N   6°39'58"E
This article was last modified 13 years ago