61 Wooden Gliders vs German Lines — The Suicide Mission That Saved Bastogne

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Title : 61 Wooden Gliders vs German Lines — The Suicide Mission That Saved Bastogne

Summary : On December 27th, 1944, Flight Officer Robert Mitchell climbed into a Waco CG-4A glider loaded with three tons of ammunition—enough explosives to erase the aircraft with a single tracer. No engine. No armor. No parachute. Just a wooden frame, fabric skin, and a nylon rope connecting him to a C-47 that would tow him straight into the most concentrated flak corridor of the Battle of the Bulge.

Bastogne was surrounded. The 101st Airborne was out of ammunition, out of medical supplies, and nearly out of time. Mitchell and 49 other glider pilots—each flying alone—were tasked with the mission that could keep the town from falling. They knew yesterday’s glider drop had already cost five tow planes and seventeen gliders. They flew anyway.

The formation crossed into German-held territory and immediately drew fire. Eighty-eight millimeter shells tore through the air. Gliders exploded midflight. Tow planes burned. Pilots died without a chance to react. Mitchell’s glider was hit repeatedly—rudder damaged, wing torn open—yet he held course as he descended through the flak, cut loose, and aimed for a snow-covered field inside the shrinking American perimeter.

His landing was brutal. Landing gear collapsed. The wing sheared off. The cockpit split. But the ammunition didn’t explode—and the 101st Airborne surged forward to unload it. Ninety-six tons of ammunition were delivered that day. It kept the line from collapsing. It kept Bastogne alive.

Mitchell then became infantry, manning foxholes at night with exhausted paratroopers until he was pulled out days later. Twenty-one glider pilots died on the mission. Mitchell survived—and flew again in Operation Varsity.

This is the story of the wooden aircraft, the pilots everyone forgot, and the day gliders saved Bastogne.



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⚠️ Disclaimer: This video is an entertainment-based retelling inspired by real World War II events, using publicly available sources. While every effort was made to ensure historical accuracy, some details may be dramatized or simplified for narrative purposes. This content is not an academic source. For verified historical research, please consult professional historians, archives, and official records.
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