D-DAY Fiasco

[Vulcanone]

Well ZM415 is already there and both ZM414 and ZM416 are on ADSB likely on the way.

All three were probably practicing yesterday off the Devon Coast.

[Vulcanone]

RRR4264-66 by the looks of it

[Gary]

Currently at Sannerville waiting for the paradrop

[Rubberneck]

Showing as Jigsaw ZM415 followed by ZM416 then ZM414 and lastly Belgian A400 CT-05 (GRZLY01) All line astern in a holding pattern over the channel north of Bayeux.

Belgian came out of Cherbourg

[Rubberneck]

Have left the hold by the look of it a running towards the coast for the drop at around 1000ft

[Gary]

[Apollo]

Bit late but..
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wo2jnjkmdNM

[Gary]

Lost count of how many passes. The USAF did 2, Belgian 3 and the RAF keep going

[TS010]

Lost count of how many passes. The USAF did 2, Belgian 3 and the RAF keep going

I was watching the Armed Forces TV live stream and they said that the RAF A400's had 90 Paras in each aircraft, the Belgian one had 40 and the USAF C-130 had 30 on board. They were expecting the whole drop to take around 2 hours to complete as they could only drop a maximum of 10 per run per aircraft, due to the size of the drop zone. They were also struggling with the wind speed going out of jump limits, which might explain why the Brits took so long to complete the drop.

[C24]

Here is an account of what Bernard and his mates (above) got up to several hours after their photo was taken.

IMG_3527 by Charlie, on Flickr

[Nighthawke]

Why? They have landed in a foreign country without having gone through border controls.

[Pete Da Bear]

Why? They have landed in a foreign country without having gone through border controls.

Disrespectful by the French at the very least. This could have been avoided by routing aircraft through a French airport prior to the drop or officials being at the UK departure point.

[Thunder]

Why is it disrespectful?

Yes, if the British contingent operated from a French airport then they would’ve gone through immigration when they first arrived and therefore before the jump but they didn’t, was that the fault of the French?

The whole point of immigration controls is that they are carried out at point of entry to the arrival country, not at point of exit of the departure country.

[slogen51]

The British immigration inspection for the Calais to Dover Ferry route is carried out in Calais and of course by the French in Dover when going to Calais so arrangements could have been made

+1 Peter Da Bear

[Seacat192]

I went to the event at Upottery in Devon, and UK Border Force were in attendance.

[Mr Burns]

I remember 8 years ago (before any brexit naysayers get involved) when there was an exercise in the UK. Swedes, French and Germans doing para jumps into the UK.
They were given the offer of landing first and clearing immigration or being met immediately after the jump.
They chose the latter.
This is not a new concept. It's just the first time it's been seen on TV

[Steven]

Seems to have been blown out of proportion from what i've seen it was for the Paras to receive a stamp for a jump into Normandy dated 06-06-2024. Something that i'm sure would be cherished by those who took part yesterday.

[Pete Da Bear]

Seems to have been blown out of proportion from what i've seen it was for the Paras to receive a stamp for a jump into Normandy dated 06-06-2024. Something that i'm sure would be cherished by those who took part yesterday.

If that was the case I don't have any problems with it, well done and what a great idea. Main stream media, at least here in the UK, did not report this properly and once again we are left believing it's the French being darn minded and petty.

I remember 8 years ago (before any brexit naysayers get involved) when there was an exercise in the UK. Swedes, French and Germans doing para jumps into the UK.
They were given the offer of landing first and clearing immigration or being met immediately after the jump.
They chose the latter.
This is not a new concept. It's just the first time it's been seen on TV

My main gripe was that this was a high profile internationally broadcast event. I see nothing wrong in proper immigration controls being carried out. Just a pity that such procedures seem to be lacking in so many instances here in the UK.

[C24]

Big events demand media attention and lots of official participation.

Six of us kayaked from Dover to Calais in 1974. As usual we informed the Coastguard of our route.
The weather deteriorated into strong wind and we were pushed west, eventually making a landing at Sangatte. As we walked up a slipway the mayor came out of his house and greeted us. He took us into his home gave us Calvados, organised fruites de mer from the local restaurant and arranged for us to camp in the Post Office garden.
The following morning we paddled along to Calais harbour to be met by the assistant Harbour Master and a photographer from La Voix du Nord.
He arranged a free ride on the ferry, later sending a copy of the photo to our homes.
The rest is history.