MARKET GARDEN MISSION, INTERROGATION REPORT
OF F/O SYLVAN R. LUCIER
Less than a month before my uncle Sylvan Lucier’s death he was involved in a very dangerous glider mission which involved being towed across the English Channel from his 316 Troop Carrier home base of Cottesmore, England. The purpose of the airborne mission was to bring men and supplies to Holland in the arial portion of Operation Market Garden. Sylvan’s 36th Squadron towed gliders on September 18, D-Day plus one.
Sylvan’s Glider Number in this Holland mission was 43-41701. It was kindly provided by Hans den Brok of Holland, when I was designing the glider etched on my uncle’s grave marker. (See the earliest post.) I am not sure, but Hans may have also provided my uncle’s Interrogation Report.
Unlike other glider tows and missions, the one to Holland had pilots flying without a co-pilot! This required tremendous physical effort for more than three hours to keep the glider in the proper relationship to its tow plane while dealing with turbulence from the ocean and from the C-47 prop. Landing was also far more perilous than the many training landings Sylvan had made and those were perilous enough. Previously I wrote about a landing accident Sylvan had with a CG 4-A at the advanced glider training at Dalhart, Texas, in January 1943.
Below is an exact copy made of the report Sylvan gave when he returned to England nine days later. Perhaps Sylvan making a less than perfect landing during training at Dalhart was useful in handling his damaged glider in Holland. Even better experience was his “successful” landing of a Horsa glider on D-Day in Normandy three months earlier.
AFTER ACTION REPORT. MARKET GARDEN HOLLAND Auth: CO. 316th TCG
FORM G/P 1 TROOP CARRIER MISSION Date: 28 September 1944
INTERROGATION CHECK SHEET G/PILOTS Initials: JJM
A. GENERAL INFORMATION
Name: Sylvan R. Lucier Rank F/0 ASN T-120666
Group 316 SQ. 36 Glider Serial 2 Type CG-4A
F.O. No. 4 Serial A52 LZ T Take off time 12:35 18 Sept. 44
Time over target: 15.45 Time and Date Ret. To Home Station 15.15 Sept. 27
B. ENEMY ACTION ENROUTE TO TARGET:
1. Type of attack: (Air, Naval, Flak) small arms & flak
2. Enemy A/C Sighted: Where _______None_________
3. Enemy Naval Craft Sighted: Where __None___
C. ENEMY INFORMATION:
1. A/A Activity:
a. Amount of Fire: __Weak__________Moderate_____X______Intense________
b. Accuracy:____Accurate____X_________Inaccurate__________
c. Type: Heavy _____flak__________AutomaticWeapons___
Small arms____X_____What calibre_______
Location____________________________
2. Other Weapons Used by Enemy Enroute: Type______________
Accuracy______________Intensity___________Location______________
D. DETAILS OF LANDING:
1. What approach did you take:
2. Obstacles in Field: none
3. Enemy Fire on Landing: heavy fire from machine guns and 20 mm guns
4. What kind of landing did you make: good
5. Damage to Glider: left aileron almost gone due to flak
6. Personnel Casualties: none
7. Damaage to Loads: right tire and fender shot up on jeep
8. Reactions of A/B during flight and in unloading: performed duies ok although very scared
9. Number of gliders in field with you: about 15
10. Precise location of field by coordinates: 51degrees 42’ N, 6 degrees E
11. Was “T” visible: No Give its location: __________
12. Difficulties in Evacuation: There was no organization and it was very difficult to get out for that reason.
E. SUGGESTIONS AND CRITICISM OF PERSONAL EQUIPMENT:
1. Weapons; ok
2. Other equipment: “There is need for clothing with more pockets. More rations.”
3.
F. SUGGESTIONS REGARDING GLIDER OPERATIONS AND TRAINING:
G. DETAILS:
1. Locating Target: Never saw it
2.
3. Lights and Signals: OK
4. Other Operational D
5. Preflight preparation and briefing: adequate
Summary: In your own words write a narrative of your part in the operations from time of take-off till time of return to your unit.
We took off from home field at 12:35 Sept. 18 – flight was normal until we reached the coast and received small arms fire – about 50 miles from the coast we ran into Flak which tore a large hole in left aileron being off course we landed about 7 miles south of LZ (landing zone). We were pinned to ground by enemy fire but managed to get our equipment out when several B-24's flew over and draw all enemy fire. We joined a large group of other glider men at a farmhouse where we organized to walk through the German lines to our proper CP (command post). We walked from 8 PM to about 7 AM having to do a lot of patrol work. I helped to collect equipment bundles for a couple of days and later had to go to the front line as a reserve force. After much confusion we were finally relieved and on Sunday, September -24 we finally started by motor convoy to Brussels. We ran into a German ambush and had to wait for a couple days for the road to open again . We did make it to Brussels on Sept. 27 and flew back to home station.
Signature of Evacuee Sylvan R. Lucier
Signature Interrogator J. Milder
Rank 1st Lt. Section S-2
The mission known as Market Garden is probably more famous than D-Day in Normandy, due to the best seller book and movie, “A Bridge Too Far.” The tragedy of the great losses of British and Polish air borne troops in Eindhoven, due to the delay of reinforcements from either air or ground is well known. The airborne phase of the Market Garden Mission was called “Market”. It involved British (including Polish) and United States paratroopers and men brought in behind enemy lines by gliders. The airborne purpose was to secure a crossing on the Rhine River between Arnhem, Holland and Wesel, Germany. Nijmegen-Arnhem area was chosen and it was more than 50 miles behind the German front. In between were seven canals and rivers at which the Germans might be able to hold. The first flights were September 17, 1944. Sylvan’s solo trip was D-Day + 1. It was a success because he delivered the cargo and evacuated, with the 100 some other pilots, as glider pilots were expected to do, but after completing other tasks given to them.
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