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The American Airborne transported its paratroopers via C-47 transport planes, which were neither armed nor armored. These aircraft and their crews had no means by which to defend themselves once the German anti-aircraft guns began to fire. Further, since they were not armor-plated, due to weight, being hit by flak or shrapnel in an engine or fuel tank was catastrophic for the aircraft and crew. After the tight V formation of planes crossed the English Channel, German guns opened fire and immediately began to cause irreparable damage to the 101st and 82nd aircraft.<ref>Stephen Toth, "Total War and Crisis" (lecture, Arizona State University, Glendale, November 17, 2011).</ref> [[File:Paratroopers_just_before_They_Took_off_for_the_Initial_Assault_of_D-Day 101st.jpg|thumbnail|250px|left|Paratroopers aboard a C-47 waiting to take-off, June 6, 1944, 0100 hours.]]The American C-47 pilots were relatively inexperienced in combat flying. The lack of experience, combined with the fact that the crews were ordered to fly under radio silence, compounded an already perilous situation. Some of the pilots ordered the jump too soon while others waited too long. As a result of the ill-timed jumps, scores of paratroopers were dropped at an altitude too low for success.  Many were dropped at sea while others jumped into flooded fields. Other companies jumped into heavily defended towns and were either shot down while descending or captured once they hit the ground. Some paratroopers never got to jump at all as several aircraft were damaged in flight to the extent that they crash-landed or exploded while still in flight; the aircraft carrying their crews and full complements of paratroopers were casualties of war. One such aircraft crashed into a hedgerow and immediately burst into flames.

*[[What were the goals of the Axis powers and the Soviet Union during {{#dpl:category=World War Two?]]*[[How Did the German Military Develop Blitzkrieg?]]*[[Why did Operation Market Garden in 1944 fail?]]*[[D-Day: What Factors Were Considered When Planning Operation Overlord?]]*[[How did Adolf Hitler become the Fuhrer of Germany?]]*[[Why was France defeated in 1940?]]History|ordermethod=firstedit|order=descending|count=12}}