At the same time, in the weeks leading up to the invasion, one airborne squadron was busy flying dangerous reconnaissance missions over the Nazi-controlled beaches of Normandy, the 107th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron. They flew several hundred such missions, allowing the Allied High Command to plan the real invasion path.
They provided over 9,600 intelligence photos during those missions, which showed hundreds, perhaps even thousands, of Nazi defensive positions along Normandy’s beaches, waiting in advance of the invasion Hitler was already expecting.
Their recon work leading up to D-Day was critical to its success, and in the days following the invasion they became the first Allied reconnaissance unit to begin operations from the European mainland in WWII, basing initially from a grass field called “Airfield 4” near the town of Deux Jumeaux, where they would serve as the eyes of the U.S. 1st Army as they pushed further inland.
74 years would pass before the squadron returned.
On June 3, 2018, the storied squadron came back to the shores of Normandy for the first time since D-Day, this time as the 107th Fighter Squadron, to commemorate D-Day and honor those who sacrificed everything to defeat the evil that was sweeping across Europe, and Aviation Photojournal was honored to join them.
Based at Selfridge Air National Guard Base in Michigan, the century-old squadron, known as the “Red Devils”, was visiting Europe to participate in “Saber Strike 18”, a U.S. Army Europe-led exercise in Latvia designed to enhance partnership and collaboration among 19 countries, NATO allies and organizations. But they also took the opportunity to participate in a big D-Day flyover to commemorate the historic day 74 years ago which marked the beginning of the end of the war in Europe.
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