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| Pegasus Bridge, Normandy, France/ Geoff Sutton 2012 |
Pegasus Bridge represents an early D-Day success story for
the allies. Shortly before midnight on 5 June 1944, the 6th British Airborne
Division, under the command of Major John Howard, left Dorset in the south of
England. Halifax bombers towed the gliders over the channel and unhooked the
gliders who were able to land on time and within a few yards of each other.
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| British Glider / Geoff Sutton 2012 |
They landed early on the 6th June at 00:16. They overcame
German resistance in 10 minutes. The bridge was captured intact over six hours
before the beach landings. A message was sent back to England within 90 minutes.
The first British solider of the Normandy invasion was killed by gunfire when
they stormed the bridge, Lieutenant Den Brotheridge. The Gondrée family who
owned one of the first houses liberated in France, honoured the soldier with a
plaque in the nearby churchyard. Other soldiers are buried at a cemetery near
Ranville.
The British targeted two bridges between the Ouistreham
beach and the important city of Caen. The British troops arrived in six Horsa gliders.
Three took the Bénouville Bridge and the other three took the bridge at
Ranville.
The operation took the Germans by surprise, but the troops
had to work quickly and safely because the bridges were rigged with explosives.
The charges were disabled by the Royal Engineers.
The bridge was renamed Pegasus in honour of the winged horse
on the badge of the airmen. The old bridge was replaced in 1994 and is now in a
museum park. The old Gondrée house is now a café and museum.
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| Pegasus Bridge Lift Mechanism/ Geoff Sutton 2012 |
Pegasus Bridge, a bascule (movable) bridge, was constructed
in 1934. The bridge rolled back to lift the bridge above the water level. The
bridge is over the Caen Canal and part of a direct route between the landing
beaches and Caen. The bridge at Ranville is over the River Orne and was renamed
Horsa Bridge—for the type of glider used by the troops.
Other photos from the grounds...
There is no charge to see the museum.
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