Dakota's dropping bombs and para's !

Discussion in 'Airborne' started by redtop, Mar 9, 2019.

  1. redtop

    redtop Well-Known Member

    Lt. Richard Fry MC.
    Part of personal account
    Para Data.

    The three sections of No 3 Platoon A Company, 8th Para Bn, crossed the Normandy coast in separate Dakota aircraft each dropping a clutch of fifty pounders to suggest that they were on a bombing mission. After that the aircraft became separated, partly because of the weather, partly because of taking avoiding action from anti-aircraft fire.

    This is new to me ,heard of Rupert dummies with exploding feet but not bombs.
    Were bombs carried underslung or door bundles?
     
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  2. redtop

    redtop Well-Known Member

    Answering my own question just found this

    From Fighter Control
    'One night in June' about the 6th airborne operations on 5/6th June 1944. It mentions in one account that Dakota's carried 2 x 250lb bombs during the para dropping operations. These were pushed out of the door prior to the drop to cause disruption/confusion to axis troops on the ground. This is the first time I have come across this and wondered if anyone had any further information?
     
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  3. SDP

    SDP Incurable Cometoholic

    Brave men indeed if it really happened. Fully fused bomb ready to go rolling around in a small space full of heavily kitted up paras!

    I know the infantry and tank crew were issued with 'Bag, Vomit, Mk2' (my old friend Harry Dews always wondered what a Mk1 looked like) aka Tate and Lyle Sugar Bag.....was there a bigger version - if you see what I mean - issued to these para chaps?
     
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  4. Aeronut

    Aeronut Junior Member

    If bombs were carried and dropped surely they would have used bomb carriers, of which the Dakota had 6 under the fuselage. After all they were what were used to carry and drop the paras CLE equipment containers which were originally designed to fit in Whitley and Wellington bomb bays.
     
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  5. HighTow

    HighTow Junior Member

    Agree with Aeronut, if they were dropping live "bombs" it's more than likely they were fitted to the racks underneath.

    Just the logistics of storing, fuzing and dispatching them from the cabin without managing to set them of or knock off the tail plane makes it pretty unlikely.
     
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