- For the Steel Division II unit see SD2:Airlanding
Airlanding is a British Infantry unit.
Overview[ | ]
The 6th Airlanding Brigade was part of the 6th Airborne Division, comprising soldiers who would be deployed into combat via gliders instead of parachutes. Although this method of deployment required landing areas and could be quite risky in Normandy's bocage, glider-borne riflemen could enter combat almost immediately after landing, as opposed to paratroopers, who needed to rally and recover their gear before becoming combat effective. During the Normandy landing, 6th Airlanding Brigade consist of 2nd Battalion, Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry, 1st Battalion, Royal Ulster Rifles and 12th Battalion, Devonshire Regiment
Each Airlanding Battalion has four Rifle Companies each with four platoons. Each Platoon along with the Platoon Headquarters with two Rifle Section of 7 along with another 5 man section. The Platoon was transported in Horsa glider. Later variants of the Horsa had a ‘pigtail’ harness that carry two extra riflemen from the Battalion’s first reinforcements to complete the 5 man section.
Airlanding infantry was crucial to the success of early Normandy landing, most notably in the taking of Pegasus Bridge and holding it against German counterattacks, preventing German counterattacks against the landing Allied forces. Due to lack of transport 12th Battalion, Devonshire Regiment except for Company A landed in Normandy by sea.
Strategy[ | ]
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