American Paratrooper and Destroyed French Tankette near Neuville-au-Plain

June 8, 2025 - Reading time: 4 minutes

American paratrooper near a destroyed French tankette and crashed Waco CG-4 glider, Normandy, August 1944.

Captured in the chaotic days of August 1944, this rare wartime photo shows an American airborne soldier standing near the ruins of a battlefield near Neuville-au-Plain, a small commune in Normandy that became a flashpoint during the Allied push inland from the D-Day beaches.

In the foreground lies the shattered carcass of a Renault 31R tankette, a relic of the French army of 1940, likely captured and repurposed by the German Luftwaffe or security forces to guard airfields or key installations. Lightweight and poorly armed, these tankettes were no match for the wrath of Allied firepower.

Behind the paratrooper stands the wreck of a Waco CG-4 glider, the silent workhorse of American airborne operations. These gliders delivered men, jeeps, and supplies into hostile territory — landing without engines, without mercy, and often with brutal crash-landings. Every glider landing was a gamble between bravery and blood.

The paratrooper in the photo embodies the spirit of the airborne: alert, mobile, and dropped deep behind enemy lines. He’s standing in the wreckage of old wars — French machines turned German, now reduced to smoldering debris under American boots.

Neuville-au-Plain itself was one of the first towns to be contested during the D-Day airborne drops. Its capture helped seal off German reinforcements and opened the path for the Utah Beach landings to succeed.

This image tells a layered story — of fallen empires, shattered machines, and men dropped from the sky into the jaws of war.

🖼️ Technical photo data:

• 📸 Photographer: Unknown (U.S. Army Signal Corps or airborne unit)

• 🌐 Source: dday-overlord.com, cz.pinterest.com

• 📅 Date: August 1944

• 📍 Location: Neuville-au-Plain, Manche, France