It was the night before one of the most transcendental military invasions in human history, and hundreds of C-47 Skytrains darted across the English Channel carrying thousands of brave paratroopers about to face the darkest chapter of their lives.
The warplanes carried a group of paratroopers unlike any other, with mohawk haircuts and tribal face paint. The outfit led by the rebellious and untamed Jake 'McNasty' McNiece laughed and joked even as their aircraft was engulfed by fierce German flak fire.
As the Skytrain lost altitude, McNiece ordered his men to prepare for the jump. The lights inside the cabin then turned red, and the men scrambled to their feet amid fire and thunder. As McNiece and his comrade Willy made it to the door, flak burst through the warplane's belly, hitting Willy's backpack and unraveling his parachute inside the plane.
Now significantly damaged, the C-37 continued to lose altitude as Willy desperately tried to gather his parachute and move away from the door so other paratroopers could jump. McNiece then jumped into the flak-lit skies over France, and the Skytrain exploded in midair only a few seconds later.
There was no time to mourn, as McNiece and the rest of the notorious Filthy Thirteen outfit were now behind enemy lines in Normandy, and they had a crucial mission to finish…
- As images and footage of actual events are not always available, Dark Docs sometimes utilizes similar historical images and footage for dramatic effect. I do my best to keep it as visually accurate as possible. All content on Dark Docs is researched, produced, and presented in historical context for educational purposes. We are history enthusiasts and are not always experts in some areas, so please don't hesitate to reach out to us with corrections, additional information, or new ideas. -
