American Airborne Landings in Normandy - Aircraft Losses and Casualties

Aircraft Losses and Casualties

Forty-two C-47s were destroyed in two days of operations, although in many cases the crews survived and were returned to Allied control. Twenty-one of the losses were on D-Day during the parachute assault, 7 while towing gliders, and the remaining 14 during parachute resupply missions. Of the 517 gliders, 222 were Airspeed Horsa gliders, most of which were destroyed in landing accidents or by German fire after landing. Although a majority of the 295 Waco gliders were repairable for use in future operations, the combat situation in the beachhead did not permit the introduction of troop carrier service units, and 97 per cent of all gliders used in the operation were abandoned in the field.

D-Day casualties for the airborne divisions were calculated in August 1944 as 1,240 for the 101st Airborne Division and 1,259 for the 82nd Airborne. Of those, the 101st suffered 182 killed, 557 wounded, and 501 missing. For the 82nd, the total was 156 killed, 347 wounded, and 756 missing.

Casualties through June 30 were reported by VII Corps as 4,670 for the 101st (546 killed, 2217 wounded, and 1,907 missing), and 4,480 for the 82nd (457 killed, 1440 wounded, and 2583 missing).

German casualties, amounted to approximately 21,300 for the campaign. The 6th Parachute Regiment reported approximately 3,000 through the end of July. Divisional totals, which include combat against all VII Corps units, not just airborne, and their reporting dates were:

• 91st Luftlande Div: 2,212 (June 12), 5,000 (July 23)
• 243rd Infantry Div: 8,189 (July 11)
• 709th Infantry Div: 4,000 (June 16)
• 17th SS-Panzergrenadier Div: 1,096 (June 30)