Just ONE aircraft out there for D-Day eightieth anniversary parachute drop

Plans for a mass parachute drop over Normandy to commemorate the 80th anniversary of D-Day have had to be scaled back – because cutbacks have left the MoD without enough planes.

The Parachute Regiment had expected to honour its wartime heroes by sending over 450 men in four aircraft – but was told that only one was available. The decision was blamed on ‘shameful, short-sighted cost cutting’ by a senior source in the regiment.

Last night, Defence Secretary Grant Shapps was scrambling to secure additional planes after being confronted about the debacle by The Mail on Sunday.

Members of the Parachute Regiment have privately warned that the UK’s contribution to the events commemorating the D-Day operations of June 6, 1944, could look feeble compared to those of other nations.

And a senior source in the regiment said the lack of aircraft was ‘an insult to those who made the ultimate sacrifice’. 

Critics blamed the Government rather than the RAF for the fiasco because Ministers decided to retire the last of Britain’s 14 Hercules C-130 transport planes despite warnings that the fleet of Airbus A400Ms that replace them would not fully match the Hercules’s parachute drop capabilities until 2025.

Writing for this newspaper, former Defence Minister Tobias Ellwood said: ‘As things stand, the Paras’ hopes of putting on a large-scale multi-plane parachute drop has been limited to a single aircraft and just 100 of them jumping out…

‘The issue demonstrates a sad and simple truth – today’s RAF lacks heavy lift transport capacity after all Hercules transport fleet, which served our nation so well for more than 50 years, was scrapped to save money.’

Former Armed Forces Minister Mark Francois, whose father fought at D-Day, said: ‘Given the Parachute Regiment’s crucial role on D-Day, it would be a great shame if we had to curtail a commemorative airborne drop, because of lack of suitable RAF aircraft.

‘That generation of heroes defended our freedom against Nazi Germany and they deserve to be properly commemorated in return. This just shows what a chronic mistake it was to retire the C-130, which performed this role successfully, for decades.’

Labour MP Kevan Jones, a former Defence Minister, said: ‘Veterans who took part in the historic operation on the blood-soaked Normandy beaches and the Nazi-infested territory beyond it will rightly be furious that 80 years on, the MoD can’t provide enough planes. Grant Shapps should pull his finger out and sort this immediately.’

A Parachute Regiment source, said: ‘While we don’t put on a big show every year, the 80th anniversary is being seen as special as it’s probably the last milestone for surviving veterans.’

He said that the regiment wanted four of the RAF’s A400M to be provided to allow about 450 paratroopers to take part. But to the Paras’ anger, only one aircraft – which can accommodate 116 Paras – was made available. 

In contrast, America is expected to send at least six C-130s, with Poland and Canada also understood to be supplying planes for paracute drops.

This year’s D-Day commemorations will be attended by dignitaries from across the world, showing their gratitude to the heroes who took part in the unprecedented sea and air assault that changed the course of the Second World War. King Charles, who completed the Army’s parachute training course on being appointed Colonel-in-Chief of the Parachute Regiment in June 1977, will join American President Joe Biden, Armed Forces personnel and the last remaining D-Day veterans.

Members of the UK’s 16 Air Assault Brigade Combat Team will jump on June 5 in tribute to the 18,000 men from the Allied powers who landed in Normandy shortly after midnight on June 6, 1944, to secure key sites ahead of the main invasion.

The Red Devils Parachute Display Team will also jump into Normandy, while the RAF’s Battle of Britain Memorial Flight will mark the anniversary with a flypast.

French president Emmanuel Macron will host the ceremonies along the beaches of the Normandy landings. Events also include church services, firework displays and concerts, with VIPs protected by a defensive ‘ring of steel’ involving 5,000 officers.

The Paras’ source blamed last year’s highly controversial decision to axe the Hercules for Britain’s muted contributions. They said: ‘Quite frankly, the politicians need to give the military the resources they need to do what is asked of them but they have let us down.

‘The C-130 Hercules should have been retained in service – instead all 14 were retired and are now awaiting sale for a foreign customer. We are seeing cuts in every area of the military and that is not helping our national defence policy and is impacting on recruiting.’

Last night, retired Para Paul Biddiss – who took part in a parachute drop on the 50th anniversary of D-Day – said: ‘It was a great mistake to get rid of the Hercules. Obviously, we got rid of them for cost reasons but we could have carried on using them for years. Then they would have been available for this D-Day commemoration event.’

Earlier this year – shortly after the Mail started its Don’t Leave Britain Defenceless campaign – Prime Minister Rishi Sunak promised billions more for defence, pledging that UK military spending would rise to 2.5 per cent of national income by 2030.

In a statement, the MoD said the ‘comprehensive programme of tributes from today’s Armed Forces to their forebears’ would include a ‘commemorative jump by UK paratroopers from an A400M on June 5 alongside Allied counterparts’.

But later, sources close to the Defence Secretary said that he had ordered an urgent review into the issue. Mr Shapps is understood to be trying to secure at least one more plane for the Paras.

A source close to the Minister said: ‘We will make sure we have what we need to mark D-Day in the way it deserves. This is a special anniversary and the UK will play a full part in the commemorations with a significant military representation.’

However, he also made clear the RAF’s A400M fleet was busy on ‘a wide range of complex operations, including Nato missions and aid drops to Gaza’.

An MoD source added that the A400M was a ‘more modern and capable aircraft which offers many advantages over the C-130, including a greater range and payload capacity’.