COPY OF LETTER FROM DAVID MANDERS FOLLOWING A REQUEST FROM ME ABOUT THE INVASION OVER SICILY.

Usually I do not reply to letters such as yours because the past is the past and the modern preoccupation with re-writing history and criticising people with hindsight is one I deplore. However for the sake of your father I will try to give you my limited ideas -because I wasn't there from the books I have read; the discussions in the army and my brother-in- laws talks.

First I must say that if your father was in the Airborne forces, he was a volunteer who knew the hazardous risks of glider warfare. The pilots had to find a place, under fire usually, and land a huge aeroplane without engines. If they did not hit a tree, barn or wall, there were mines and obstacles to overcome. The soldiers in the rear could not look out, knew nothing of what went on, endured the nerve-racking wait, the terrible noises of gun fire and were usually too cold, too hot and terribly uncomfortable. You should be very proud of your father for volunteering

for such perils. They were a wonderful lot of chaps- probably the cream of the army- both pilots and passengers.

Sicily was a huge risk for an Airborne assault. There was a sea to cross, strong defences, rocky countryside. Landing areas were few and known to the enemy, who were brave, well trained and fully equipped.

The Allied Airborne Troops had trained hard and such men needed action - they soon went stale. The bulk of the gliders were American WACO's and the British pilots had little training on them. 130 gliders carried 1200 soldiers of lst Airlanding Brigade over 300 miles to Sicily in dusk or darkness. None of the pilots had flown an Assault before. It was essential to gain experience if 'D' Day Normandy was to be successful.

The American Air Crews had been trained for transport duty only. Their unarmed and unarmoured Dakotas had not even got self sealing fuel tanks. They had not flown at night and only had a few hours training anyway. They had been trained to fly in formation with navigation done by a specialist navigator in the front plane. Now they had to fly for hours over water in darkness, towing gliders. The whole plan was hazardous even crazy but the planners at Army Headquarters were inexperienced and the Airborne had to prove themselves. The Airborne Colonel Chatterton, a trained glider pilot threatened to resign, but was forced to agree to the plan in the end. The wind was strong and the air bumpy from the intense heat of the day, which made glider flying very difficult and many were sick inside the dark, airless fuselages of the gliders. Some engines overheated and some aircraft and gliders had to be released to turn back. The aircraft flew in fours hugging the waves of the sea to avoid radar detection. Over Malta searchlights shone to guide them on to Sicily. The troops ate barley-sugar sweets, talked, slept and sweated out the long wait.

The release height was 1800 feet. Often the telephones between plane and glider broke under the strain. Nearly 25% could not communicate. Many

planes became lost, cast off gliders and were never seen again. Anti- Aircraft fire sprang up and was very frightening in the darkness.

Planes and gliders started milling about, not knowing how far off shore they were. The wind was gusting and Tug Planes started to release gliders in the belief they could reach land. Colonel Chatterton confessed later "I could not see a damned thing". Half the glider pilots could not see land. It was a terrible responsibility for them. Many gliders came down in the sea and many drowned. 68 Gliders out of 130 landed in the sea that wild night; most disappeared without trace- pilots and soldiers drowned. Some separated too far from the shore to reach it; others might have made it but for the very strong off-shore wind. -

Many gliders were on fire and others wrecked by the impact of landing. Gliders fell over miles, crashing on rocky beaches and tiny walled fields.

I hope my poor description will make you see the wild night with wind lashing against the fuselages of the gliders as wings rocking madly, they tried to gain the landing zones -few did.

You cannot blame anyone especially as by war standards it was a success. Men plan to the last detail but things never go exactly to plan. If's a very big -little word -If the Tug Plane Pilots had been better trained;

If the glider pilots had more time to learn their American gliders; if the wind had not been so strong and so on. The lessons learnt were well learnt and the Airborne Assault at Normandy was a success as a r4esult although it still did not go to plan.

Let your father rest in peace whether he drowned or was shot or died in a rest camp he was one of many who did their 'bit' for their County. I hope I have given you some idea of what it was like and the problems one faces in war.

My best regards to a family historian. If you need more -get in touch with Airborne Forces Museum, Aldershot, Hants.

D. Manders.

21st June 1994.

Note.

Mr Manders wrote an article for Bucks Family History Journal June 1994 in which he mentioned how proud he was of his brother-in-law who had served in The Airborne, in gliders, in Sicily.

i

.,