Book Info
In September 1944, the largest airborne operation ever, took place over and on Dutch territory: Operation Market Garden.
The scope of “Green On!” concentrates on the involvement of the Royal Air Force and the Royal Army Service Corps Air Despatchers and their parachute
re-supply sorties, flown during Operation Market.
The RAF provided the flying expertise to bring the RASC air despatchers to their ordered re-supply drop points and these air despatchers were tasked to swiftly drop their panniers over the Drop Zone in the shortest possible time.
Both depended on the other; none could do his job without the other. In order to get the supplies where they were needed most, both trades did their utmost to supply the airborne troops which had jumped or landed by glider behind the enemy lines.
Between 18 and 25 September 1944, Stirlings and Dakotas of Nos. 38 and 46 Group flew 628 re-supply sorties to the Arnhem/Oosterbeek area.
Of these, 89 aircraft did not return to base, most of these crashed or belly-landed in enemy-occupied territory and many of their aircrew, flying personnel and air despatchers alike, paid the ultimate price.
With the help of Dutch people and their resistance movement, many RAF and RASC air crew (and sometimes a passenger) were able to escape and evade capture. Others had to endure captivity in a German prisoner of war camp. Their stories will be told in this book.
Extensive research has brought to light that many authors have reproduced statistics without properly checking the data behind these statistics.
The author’s findings on the retrieval percentage show that the ground troops were able to collect more re-supply tonnage than previously indicated.
Nevertheless, the saddening fact remains that most of the re-supply goods still fell into enemy hands.
The reasons for this have been elaborately described in this book.
In addition to this the author has tried to shed light on the aspect of Air Support.
An often read remark in books on Operation Market Garden is that “Air Support was poor”. This was certainly not the case.
Given the circumstances the little friends of the US 8th Army Air Force, Air Defence of Great Britain, and 2nd Tactical Air Force did their utmost to bomb and strafe the German troops in the path of the air armadas and to provide the lumbering transport aircraft with sufficient escort and area cover.
As “Green On!” will show, the German Air Force was able to penetrate the protective fighter screen on one single day only.
However, when able to hit back, the German Luftwaffe hit back hard.
Lieutenant-Colonel Michael St.John Packe, the Commanding Officer RASC
of the 1 Airborne Division, who had landed by glider west of Arnhem, witnessed
the re-supply drops from below and he described his feelings as follows:
“My most poignant memory will always be the time I spent watching the supply aircraft coming over and dropping their containers on an area not under our control….
They were met by a screen of flak, and it was awe-inspiring to see them fly straight into it, straight into a flaming hell.
We thought that some would not face it and would jettison their cargoes, in which case we should get them, for they would fall short and therefore in our lines; but they all stuck to their course and went on, nor did they hesitate”.
This book is dedicated to the brave men of the Allied Air Forces and to the Air Despatchers from the Royal Army Service Corps.
During Operation Market, 151 RAF crew, 80 Air Despatchers and 2 passengers, paid the ultimate price. “We Will Remember Them”.
ISBN 90-806808-2-6