Pegasus Bridge (Operation Deadstick) (28mm)

The Bénouville bridge, named after the neighbouring village, was renamed Pegasus Bridge in honour of the 6th Airborne Division during Operation Deadstick, one essential part of the Allied invasion of Normandy.

Operation Deadstick

In the early hours of 6 June 1944 members of D Company, 2nd (Airborne) Battalion Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry, descending on silent wings. Their targets were Bénouville Bridge and the nearby Ranville Bridge (later renamed Horsa Bridge).

Pegasus Bridge was a vital road crossing over the Caen Canal between Caen and Ouistreham in Normandy. The successful capture of the bridges was to play an important role in limiting the effectiveness of the German counter-attacks.

Under the command of Major John Howard, D Company landed within 50 yards of the bridges in five AS 51 Horsa gliders and, in a coup-de-main operation, took both bridges intact. The Ox and Bucks were reinforced at 03.00hrs by Lieutenant Colonel Pine-Coffin's 7th Parachute Battalion and went on to hold them until relieved by Lord Lovat's Commandos.

Did you know? One of the members of the 7th Battalion reinforcements was Captain Richard Todd, a young actor, who would, nearly two decades later, play Major Howard in the film The Longest Day.