Special event

D-Day 2024

Official achievement authored by JimG008.

The pre-dawn air crackled with tension, a tangible weight pressing down on the thousands of young men huddled on the churning waters of the English Channel. June 6th, 1944 – D-Day. Codenamed Operation Overlord, it was a gamble, a daring thrust against the Nazi war machine that had choked Europe for years.

On the decks of countless ships, soldiers from the United States, Great Britain, Canada, and other Allied nations made their final preparations. Paratroopers, the spearhead of the invasion, donned their harnesses, their faces grim but resolute. Below them, landing craft bobbed like corks, crammed with infantry tensely gripping their rifles.

At dawn, the sky blossomed with fire. Battleships unleashed a thunderous bombardment on the Normandy coast, churning the beaches into a maelstrom of sand and smoke. Paratroopers, scattered by wind, plunged into the darkness behind enemy lines, praying for a safe landing.

Then came the moment history would remember. The landing craft, filled with the roar of engines and the shouts of men, surged towards the shore. Codenamed Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno, and Sword, the beaches awaited their fate.

Omaha, a stretch of unforgiving cliffs, became a crucible. German machine guns raked the landing craft, turning the water crimson. Men waded onto the beach, a human tide against a storm of steel. Yet, they pressed on, inspired by the courage of their comrades. One by bloody step, they carved a foothold.

On the other beaches, the fight was no less fierce. But slowly, with grit and determination, the Allies pushed inland. Tanks rumbled through hedgerows, exchanging fire with dug-in defenders. Paratroopers, rallying in the chaos, secured vital positions. By nightfall, a precarious toehold had been established.

D-Day was far from victory. Casualties were heavy, the cost of freedom steep. But on that day, the tide began to turn. The world watched, hearts pounding, as the fate of Europe hung in the balance. Yet, from the ashes of sacrifice rose a flicker of hope. The fight was far from over, but the long road to liberation had begun. D-Day, a testament to courage, a turning point in history, a day forever etched in the annals of human bravery.

To mark this special event you will re-create a paratrooper transport flight from RAF Cottesmore Airfield (one of the last remaining airfields that participated in D-Day airlifts and which was operated by the 52nd US Troop Carrier Wing / 316th US Troop Carrier Group), you will (virtually) drop your reenactment parachutists of whom are dressed in their vintage WWII paratrooper kit and then circle around and land at the nearby French airfield (Carpiquet, Caen) to then join the festivities with the local dignitaries and veterans from all over Europe!

Criteria

Depart from EGXJ, fly to and land at LFRK (215 NM).
This event has finished and the achievement can no longer be obtained.
Date Departure Arrival Pilot Aircraft Landing rate Distance Flight time
27JUN24 1454Z EGXJ LFRK VAF121 Marco Cessna R182 Skylane RG (C82R) -86 ft/m 215 nm 01:37 View
26JUN24 1400Z EGXJ LFRK CoupeX Piper Seneca (PA34) -85 ft/m 226 nm 01:20 View
25JUN24 1809Z EGXJ LFRK Unknown Beechcraft Super King Air 350 (B350) -90 ft/m 223 nm 00:53 View
25JUN24 1638Z EGXJ LFRK Zerosignal Beechcraft Super King Air 350 (B350) -65 ft/m 225 nm 00:59 View
25JUN24 1354Z EGXJ LFRK Kulrasha Beechcraft Super King Air 350 (B350) -69 ft/m 233 nm 00:55 View
25JUN24 1327Z EGXJ LFRK David Wrede Beechcraft Super King Air 350 (B350) -282 ft/m 273 nm 01:01 View
24JUN24 1912Z EGXJ LFRK Devildude1 Grumman F-14 Tomcat (F14) -363 ft/m 217 nm 00:13 View
24JUN24 1814Z EGXJ LFRK Tigrou10160 Douglas DC-3 (DC3) -170 ft/m 264 nm 01:39 View
24JUN24 1637Z EGXJ LFRK Frank Nillies Douglas DC-3 (DC3) -106 ft/m 253 nm 00:48 View
24JUN24 0308Z EGXJ LFRK Mark Gee Socata TBM-9X0 (TBM9) -62 ft/m 231 nm 00:57 View
23JUN24 2321Z EGXJ LFRK Javier M. Cessna Caravan (C208) -211 ft/m 228 nm 01:18 View
23JUN24 1845Z EGXJ LFRK Matt Hopkins Beechcraft 58 Baron (BE58) -141 ft/m 251 nm 01:25 View
23JUN24 1626Z EGXJ LFRK Bobby Allen Pilatus PC-12 (PC12) -26 ft/m 260 nm 01:02 View
22JUN24 2058Z EGXJ LFRK Hot_Pants On-Fire Pacific Aerospace P-750 XStol (P750) -75 ft/m 250 nm 01:30 View
21JUN24 1152Z EGXJ LFRK JulMikeEcho Piper PA-24 Comanche (PA24) -113 ft/m 241 nm 01:32 View
21JUN24 0750Z EGXJ LFRK Denthibbe Beechcraft Super King Air 350 (B350) -167 ft/m 246 nm 00:53 View
21JUN24 0146Z EGXJ LFRK Krupke77 Douglas DC-3 (DC3) -143 ft/m 248 nm 01:31 View
20JUN24 1450Z EGXJ LFRK Oskvaz Embraer Phenom 100 (E50P) -47 ft/m 344 nm 01:07 View
20JUN24 1153Z EGXJ LFRK DNSFM Cessna Caravan (C208) -128 ft/m 255 nm 01:25 View
20JUN24 0521Z EGXJ LFRK Jahdoh Honda HA-420 HondaJet (HDJT) -148 ft/m 246 nm 00:50 View