Watching A Bridge Too Far (I need to read the book again). Got me thinking.
The C47 planes that towed the gliders. Did they have a second mission after dropping the gliders? Did they also carry paratroopers?
since a C 47 could carry as many paratroops as a Glider...
why would it just tow the glide and be empty?
minus of course if it just carried equipment, or both
however it is fact that it was not uncommon in a combat zone, particularly in Europe
that A/C such as Transports and Bombers were operated at gross overload quite often.
to the tune of once airborne, they could only be flown on auto pilot.
even tho Gooney Birds were used in great numbers on D Day, many more of the gliders
used were towed by Bombers.. not only obsolete ones, and those with OTUs, but also
regular bomber units, particularly by the British.. as for D Day they had suspended operations
over Germany itself almost entirely....and were used for daylight bombing over Northern France.
in support of the landings...
Just Food for thought...
