Airmen of Arnhem

A history of the airborne portion of Operation Market-Garden during World War II, from the perspective of the airmen fighting the battle.

Martin Bowman presents an unparalleled account of events as they unfolded in the skies above Holland during Operation Market-Garden in September 1944. Market-Garden was a heroic failure conducted at great cost; combined losses—both airborne and ground forces—in killed, wounded, and missing amounted to more than 17,000.

“Market,” the airborne part of the operation, spanned ten Allied lifts in a calamitous nine days of operations, often in foul weather. Over the course of Operation “Market,” 4,050 aircraft saw employment; most of them towed the 1,205 Hamilcar and Horsa gliders and were confronted by an unknown number of Luftwaffe aircraft.

This is narrative is punctuated with stories of individual heroism such as that of David Lord, a RAF Dakota pilot who was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross. There is no doubting the gallant and valorous contribution of the airmen of Arnhem—the RAF Dakota, Stirling, Halifax, Albemarle, Horsa, Hamilcar, and Glider Pilot Regiment crews together with those of the USAAF C-47 Troop Carrier Groups of the IX U.S. Troop Carrier Command, the Waco and Horsa gliders, and the B-24 Liberator resupply crews. All their incredible, illuminating, and often understated accounts of extraordinary courage, camaraderie, shared terror, and encounters with the enemy offer a more personalized view of “Market” and are complemented by the author’s background information that give an overall picture of each air operation.