The 313th TCG glider pilots based out of Folkingham, England had an amazing story to tell after taking part in Operation MARKET, the airborne portion of MARKET GARDEN. I have copies of the 313th Glider Pilots Interrogation Reports I gathered many years ago. Many contain hand written narratives of their experiences on the ground after they landed their gliders, some were pages long.
On the heels of the action the 313th TCG glider pilots saw in MARKET came a scathing review of glider pilots in general by Gen. Gavin. This criticism has been repeated throughout the years as a general commentary on all glider pilots.
I then found the command records dissecting the mission of the 313th TCG glider pilots. What became immediately apparent to me is that Gavin’s comments have been repeated completely out of context to the chain of events these glider pilots were involved in and which Gavin may, or may not have been aware of at the time.
I think any serious historian has to at least question the circumstances surrounding Gavin’s statement before preserving it, standing outside of the circumstances it may have been written in, before republishing it. So let’s go there and eight decades after the action took place let’s take a look at what transpired that may have led to Gavin’s comments.
I will follow up in the next week with the written reports of the 313th TCG glider pilots.
Photo courtesy of Fold 3
