Description: Operation Repulse
On 26, 27 December 1944, The heroic efforts of American forces in the action at Bastogne need no retelling. However, few historians give more than a casual mention of the part that gliders and glider pilots played in this important action. Flying their frail aircraft into a hail of enemy flak and ground fire, the glider pilots who participated in this battle carried to the besieged defenders badly needed ammunition and medical supplies that enabled them to hold out and secure the ultimate victory.
The mission was termed one hundred percent effective; every glider landed with nearly all gasoline intact. Although some of the cans of gasoline had been pierced by small-arms fire, none, fortunately, had been hit by incendiary bullets. |