Astonishing moment British parachutists are forced to show PASSPORTS to French officials on landing in Normandy after historic D-Day jump
British paratroopers were met by French customs officials as they landed in Normandy to mark the 80th anniversary of D-Day.
Footage shows the troops landing in a French field with their heavy bags, but then being forced to show their passports and documents to waiting officers.
Swarms of other paratroopers can be seen landing after jumping from a plane to commemorate the Normandy landings, as a queue forms for French customs officials.
It is a markedly different reception than that of their ancestors, who came north France prior to the D-Day landings on June 6, 1944.
About 320 British, Belgian and American paratroopers took part in the jump, descending into a historic D-Day drop zone to recreate the events of 1944.
British paratroopers were met by French customs officials as they landed in Normandy to mark the 80th anniversary of D-Day
Swarms of other paratroopers are seen landing after jumping from a plane to commemorate the Normandy landings, as a line forms for French customs officials
It is a markedly different reception than that of their ancestors, who invaded northern France before the D-Day landings on June 6, 1944.
About 320 British, Belgian and American paratroopers took part in the jump, descending into a historic D-Day drop zone to recreate the events of 1944.
The 250 British paratroopers took off from RAF Brize Norton, Oxfordshire, before jumping into the drop zone at Sannerville to commemorate the air invasion 80 years ago.
About 30 American and 40 Belgian troops also took part in the jump, although the American troops were not checked because they were already in France.
At 1:00 p.m., the paratroopers launched themselves from an Airbus A400M and landed about eight minutes later on fields near Sannerville – designated as drop zone K on 6 June 1944.
The British Army’s 16 Air Assault Brigade sent 250 paratroopers to the event, including Sergeant Danny Mawson, who wore a smock worn by D-Day paratrooper Color Sergeant Tommy Alderson.
The 8th Battalion Parachute Regiment had jumped behind enemy lines into the fields just west of Sannerville in the early hours of June 6, 1944.
Eighty years later, the paratroopers received a much warmer welcome. The Royal British Legion Band of Wales, from Llanelli, played Vera Lynn’s We’ll Meet Again as the drop began, as paratroopers filled the air.
The 250 British paratroopers took off from RAF Brize Norton, Oxfordshire, before jumping into the drop zone at Sannerville to commemorate the airborne invasion 80 years ago
At 1:00 p.m., the paratroopers launched themselves from an Airbus A400M and landed about eight minutes later on fields near Sannerville – designated as drop zone K on 6 June 1944.
The Royal British Legion Band of Wales, from Llanelli, were playing Vera Lynn’s We’ll Meet Again as the drop began
The wind caused some to fall straight over the seated dignitaries and one had to shout at the watching crowd as he landed among them.
After landing and collecting their parachutes, they headed to a border point in the corner of a farmer’s field to show their passports.
Brigadier Mark Berry, the paratroop commander, told the Sun: ‘It’s something we’ve never experienced before.
“But considering the royal welcome we received from every other part, it seems a very small price to pay to come to France.”
Brigadier General Berry paid tribute to the 23,000 airborne troops from Britain, America, the Commonwealth and Canada who parachuted behind enemy lines in the early hours of June 6, 1944 as part of Operation Tonga.
They landed after midnight, just hours before the beach landings began, with orders to destroy a gun battery and secure control of four important bridges, two of which they captured and two destroyed.
A fifth of the troops in Operation Tonga were injured and 821 were killed that day.
