Operation Tonga
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Operation Tonga was the codename given to the airborne operation undertaken by the British 6th Airborne Division between 5 June and 7 June 1944 as a part of Operation Overlord and the D-Day landings during World War II.
British pathfinders of the 22nd Independent Parachute Company synchronising their watches in front of an Armstrong Whitworth Albemarle
Lieutenant-General Frederick E. Morgan, the original planner of Operation Overlord.
Major-General Richard Gale, commanding the 6th Airborne Division, addresses his men (4–5 June 1944)
Men of 22nd Independent Parachute Company being briefed, in preparation for Tonga
6th Airborne Division (United Kingdom)
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The 6th Airborne Division was an airborne infantry division of the British Army during the Second World War. Despite its name, the 6th was actually the second of two airborne divisions raised by the British Army during the war, the other being the 1st Airborne Division. The 6th Airborne Division was formed in the Second World War, in mid-1943, and was commanded by Major-General Richard N. Gale. The division consisted of the 3rd and 5th Parachute Brigades along with the 6th Airlanding Brigade and supporting units.
Glider infantry of D Company, 2nd Battalion, Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry, of the 6th Airlanding Brigade, 6th Airborne Division, in Normandy 1944.
The division's first GOC, Major-General Richard Nelson "Windy" Gale.
Men from the 22nd Independent Parachute Company, the division's pathfinders, prior to take off for Normandy 5 June 1944.
Paratroopers of the 6th Airborne Division climbing into an RAF Albemarle aircraft at RAF Harwell, 5 June 1944.