Existing comment:
D-DAY INVASION DUMMY
One of the least-known episodes of the Allied invasion of Europe on D-Day, June 6, 1944, was the use of straw-filled and inflatable rubber dummy parachutists for deception and diversionary tactics. They were fitted with explosive devices fused to detonate near the ground, thus giving the illusion of gunfire and confusing German defenders. Dummies were dropped at night in the area of Marigny, France. They were successful in diverting the German 915th Infantry Regiment toward the fake drop zone to counter what the Germans thought was an airborne landing. This temporarily weakened the defenses in the actual paratroop drop area.
The maker and donor of this replica straw-filled dummy manufactured 5,000 of the inflatable rubber dummies for the U.S. government in one month, in the spring of 1944. He did not know just how they had been used until several years after D-Day.
Although a few original dummy parachutists are displayed in Europe, no original specimens exist in museums in the U.S. The National Museum of the U.S. Air Force is still seeking an original. |