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Andrew Wheale discusses the development of British glider assault capability culminating in Operations DEADSTICK, TONGA and MALLARD during the Normandy Landings.

Inter-service rivalry, the scarcity of resources and the development of doctrine will all be discussed.

How did the development of Airborne Forces and the glider build programme fit into the wider war strategy set by Churchill in 1941?

What impact did the airborne landings have on the German defenders on D-Day?

As the Western Allies emerged from the bitter cold winter of 1944-45 victory over Hitler’s Third Reich seemed tantalizingly close. Just one last major barrier stood in their path before the anticipated final battles before Berlin: The formidable River Rhine.

Field Marshal Montgomery planned to bounce the Rhine with a combined Anglo-Canadian-US assault. Pushed on by an increasingly impatient Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, he planned to cross the Rhine on 24 March with the meticulously planned Operation Plunder.

A key component of Plunder was Operation Varsity, an Airborne landing involving British, Canadian and American Airborne formations. The British 6th Airborne Division, including the glider-borne troops of 6th (Airlanding) Brigade, would cross the Rhine alongside the recently formed US 17th Airborne Division. Varsity took place just 5 months after the disastrous Battle of Arnhem. Many of the lessons of Operation Market Garden were incorporated into the Varsity plan, however, for the Glider Pilot Regiment crossing the Rhine so soon after Arnhem presented significant challenges.

The ferocious fighting in Arnhem and around Oosterbeek had decimated the Glider Pilot Regiment. The GPR was at peak strength before Arnhem and it had committed over 1300 Glider Pilots to Market Garden. After 9 days of fighting the Regiment’s two Wings had suffered 90% casualties. These men were simply irreplaceable. If British Airborne forces were to deploy gliders in meaningful numbers again a radical solution had to be found, and quickly.

In ‘Bouncing the Rhine’ Military Historian, Mike Peters joins us to talk about the lessons learned after Arnhem, the reconstitution of the Glider Pilot Regiment in the winter of 1944-45 and the key role played by the men of the Glider Pilot Regiment on Op VARSITY.

The introduction of Airborne Forces early in 1940, changed the face of the battlefield forever. The invasion of the Low Countries in May 1940 by the German Army and the success they achieved with troops being deployed from Gliders onto the Belgium defences of Fort Ében-Émael, convinced Winston Churchill that the British must develop an Airborne as soon as possible.

From then this new concept of warfare was to play an increasing role across the world by the Allies and the Axis powers, from the ice slopes of Norway, Burma, Crete, Sicily, Normandy Arnhem, to the crossing of the Rhine in 1945.

However, the cost was high in men, gliders and equipment. The role of the glider soldier was a dangerous and difficult one, but their achievements to land troops ahead of the main forces had an enormous effect on the enemy.

Join Lt. Col (Retd) Derek Armitage in the Museum at 10am on Thursday 27th March to hear their story.

We are now so used to the sight of aircraft flying over our towns and cities that it’s hard for us to imagine the impact that the first Zeppelins had. These huge silver, cigar-shaped aircraft, quietly purring along, at about 1000 feet above ground level, must have looked like something from another planet.

For the privileged few, they ushered in the golden age of air travel. Cruising along gently, enjoying all the comfort and luxuries of the finest hotels, they gave their passengers a truly unique experience.

Join Tony Bray in the Museum for a fascinating daytime talk to find out about the early days of Graf von Zeppelin, as he created his first airships, many of which were lost to sudden changes of weather over the Bodensee. The peace of Europe was shattered in 1914 when the First World War erupted. Quickly the Zeppelins were adapted for military purposes, becoming the first strategic bombers, and giving the German navy an inexpensive force-multiplier over the Royal Navy.

After 1918 the Zeppelin organisation was forced to share with the victors the many production and design secrets it had developed over the years. But the British and American copies were not as successful as hoped. Later the Zeppelin organisation was allowed to build and put into service two new, huge aircraft – the Graf Zeppelin and the Hindenburg. Tony will explore the history of these aircraft and look at how the Nazi Party used Graf Zeppelin for propaganda after they'd come to power. 

 Tony will also cover the brief histories of the R100 and R101, two British built airships, and the huge hangars constructed at Cardington to house them. He will also share the stories of the two US Navy airships, U.S.S. Akron (ZRS-4) and U.S.S. Macon (ZRS-5) which were designed for long-range scouting in support of fleet operations.

Operation PLUTO - Pipeline under the ocean - was an ambitious and top-secret operation to lay a series of pipelines across the English Channel from the south coast of England to France following the D-Day landings in order to supply fuel to the advancing Allied forces. 

Described by Eisenhower, ''It was second in daring only to the artificial (Mulberry) Harbours'', and in the words of Winston Churchill, ''Operation Pluto was a remarkable feat of British engineering, distinguished in its originality, pursued with tenacity and crowned by complete success. This creative energy helped to win the war.''

Find out more by joining Ivor Ivor Ellis in the Museum for this fascinating daytime talk at 10:30am on Saturday 6th June. There is the option to pre-book a lunch of Quiche, Salad and Fries in our Apache Café after the daytime talk.