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Before the amphibious landing was made, paratroopers from the U.S.101st and 82nd Airborne divisions were tasked with jumping behind enemy lines to secure roads and bridges tactically imperative to the security of Omaha and Utah Beaches. British airborne divisions conducted a similar operation to secure access to the Sword, Gold, and Juno Beaches. The British divisions achieved a greater measure of success than the Americans.
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.
