82nd Airborne Division Drop Pattern 6 June 1944

The veteran 82nd Airborne Division, nicknamed ‘The All-Americans’, were tasked with defending the western approach to Utah beach, from where the heaviest German reinforcements were expected to arrive. Dropping half an hour after the 101st Airborne at 01:51 on 6 June, the 82nd Airborne experienced more variable accuracy with their drops. The scout troops dropped in DZ O were able to successfully activate their locator beacons, enabling the main wave of troops to land accurately on their drop zone, whereas the DZ N scouts were not able to as it may have alerted the nearby Germans. Glider reinforcement missions later in the day were successful in delivering two battalions of artillery support. Over all the 82nd were able to consolidate their position near the drop zones where they were mainly concentrated, however they could not push west towards their blocking objectives.