Memorial Pegasus

14860 Ranville, Francia (Normandie)

The Memorial Pegasus
is dedicated to the men of 6th British Airborne Division, “the Red Berets”. The various missions for the division on June 6th 1944 are presented in the museum.

The division, commanded by Major General Richard Gale, was composed of parachutists and glider borne troops  transported in Horsa or Hamilcar gliders.

The principal mission of the division was to hold the eastern flank of the invasion forces in order to prevent German counter attacks coming from the east.

The Bridge of the Longest Day - Pegasus Bridge

The capture of the River Orne bridge at Ranville and the bridge across the Caen Canal at Bénouville is the most famous mission of the airborne division. 180 troops of the Ox and Bucks Light Infantry, commanded by Major John Howard, captured the bridges after landing in Horsa gliders only metres from their objectives.
In less than ten minutes both bridges had been captured intact.

On June 26th 1944, the Caen Canal bridge was baptised Pegasus Bridge as a tribute to the British troops. Pegasus, the winged horse, was the emblem worn on the sleeves of the men of the airborne division.

Replaced in 1994 by a new bridge the original Pegasus Bridge is now on display in the park of the museum.

Bailey Bridge

With the introduction, in 1940, of heavier armoured vehicles, such as the forty ton Churchill tank, a new type of bridge was required.

The bridge had to meet three criteria;
Be capable of supporting loads of up to 70 tons.
Simple in design, for rapid construction.
To be built without the requirements for heavy equipment such as a crane.

No heavy lifting equipment being required meant that the elements of the bridge could be lifted by hand. The heaviest piece of the bridge weighed 280 kilos enabling it to be carried by 6 men. No welding was involved in the construction. The bridge was assembled using bolts, clamps and steel pins. It was a full size Mecanno kit which had to fit into a truck.
On May 1st 1940, a 70 feet section was assembled in 36 minutes!

By December 1941, the first elements were coming off the construction line. 650 companies were involved in its manufacture.
In Tunisia, in 1942, the first bridge, in a combat zone, was installed by the Royal Engineers. During the Mediterranean campaign over 2000 bridges were built with a further 1500 being constructed during the campaign in North Western Europe. From 1942-45, 500,000 tons of Bailey Bridge were manufactured, put end to end the elements would cover a distance of 2,500 kilometres, London to Moscow!

An original element of Bailey Bridge, installed in Normandy by the Allies in 1944 and used until 2000 is on display in the park of the museum.

Sir Donald Bailey retired in 1966, living in Christchurch until his death in 1985.
Today, throughout the world, Bailey Bridges are still in use from as far a field as Australia, South Africa, Hawaii, Africa and Normandy. What more could this modest man have wanted as a tribute to his genius.

Horsa gliders

In Normandy, 6th Airborne Division used more than three hundred Horsa gliders to transport the infantry and equipment. Each aircraft could carry 28 soldiers or a jeep and trailer or a Jeep and 6 pounder anti gun. Fully loaded a Horsa glider weighed almost 7 tons.

A full size copy of a Horsa glider displayed in the park of the museum was constructed for 60th anniversary of D-Day in 2004.

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