World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, Mission Dove ( Allies, 1944) was the

glider Glider may refer to: Aircraft and transport Aircraft * Glider (aircraft), heavier-than-air aircraft primarily intended for unpowered flight ** Glider (sailplane), a rigid-winged glider aircraft with an undercarriage, used in the sport of glidin ...

-borne assault conducted as part of the invasion of southern

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

( Operation Dragoon) on 15 August 1944. The original parachute landing, Mission Albatross comprising 396 aircraft carrying 5,600 paratroopers and 150 field guns arrived over the drop zone at 0430hrs. Fog and low cloud resulting in 600 paratroops landing 10 miles away, others were closer, but some ended up 15 miles away. Three hundred and thirty five

Waco CG-4 Waco ( ) is the county seat of McLennan County, Texas, United States. It is situated along the Brazos River and I-35, halfway between Dallas and Austin. The city had a 2020 population of 138,486, making it the 22nd-most populous city in the st ...

s carried the 55th Glider Infantry Battalion together with equipment to reinforce

paratrooper A paratrooper is a military parachutist—someone trained to parachute into a military operation, and usually functioning as part of an airborne force. Military parachutists (troops) and parachutes were first used on a large scale during Worl ...

s who had already landed, came in at 1810hrs. Dove was one of three reinforcement operations, the other two being: * Mission Bluebird - 35

Horsa Hengist and Horsa are Germanic brothers said to have led the Angles, Saxons and Jutes in their invasion of Britain in the 5th century. Tradition lists Hengist as the first of the Jutish kings of Kent. Most modern scholarly consensus now rega ...

and 40

gliders mainly carrying artillery. The Horsa's turned back because of thick fog, 33 CG-4 managed to land. Most of the gliders returned that afternoon and managed to land. * Mission Canary - A parachute reinforcement from 41 transports, landing from 1804hrs.

References

Dove Columbidae () is a bird family consisting of doves and pigeons. It is the only family in the order Columbiformes. These are stout-bodied birds with short necks and short slender bills that in some species feature fleshy ceres. They primarily ...

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