American airborne landings in Normandy

American airborne landings in Normandy were a series of military operations carried by the United States as part of Operation Overlord, the invasion of Normandy by the Allies on June 6, 1944 during World War II. Approximately 13,100 American paratroopers from the 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions conducted parachute drops, followed by 3,937 glider infantrymen, on June 6. As the opening maneuver of the Normandy landings, the two American airborne divisions were dropped in Normandy via two parachute and six glider missions. The divisions were part of the U.S. VII Corps and provided it with support in its mission of capturing Cherbourg as soon as possible to provide the Allies with a supply port. The specific missions of the two airborne divisions were to block approaches into the vicinity of the amphibious landings at Utah Beach, to capture causeway exits off the beaches and to establish crossings over the Douve river at Carentan to assist the U.S. V Corps in merging the two American beachheads. The assault did not succeed in blocking the approaches to Utah for three days. Numerous factors played a part, most of which dealt with excessive scattering of the drops. Despite this, German forces were unable to exploit the chaos. Many German units made a tenacious defense of their strongpoints, but all were systematically overwhelmed within the week. [Except where footnoted, information in this article is from the USAF official history: Warren, Airborne Operations in World War II, European Theater] Plans for the invasion of Normandy went through several preliminary phases throughout 1943, during which the Combined Chiefs of Staff (CCS) allocated 131⁄2 U.S. troop carrier groups to an undefined airborne assault. The actual size, objectives, and details of the plan were not drawn up until after General Dwight D. Eisenhower became Supreme Allied Commander in January 1944. In mid-February Eisenhower received word from Headquarters U.S. Army Air Forces that the TO&E of the C-47 Skytrain groups would be increased from 52 to 64 aircraft (plus nine spares) by April 1 to meet his requirements.