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Churchill inspects the 101st Airborne Division:

March 23, 1944, just two-and-a-half months before the invasion of fortress Europe, British prime minister Winston Churchill visits a show of force

of the 101st Airborne Division in England. The 101st Airborne Division is ready for action!

This practice jump was meant for the brass to see what an airborne division was capable of. Just weeks before this practice jump, the commander

of the 101st Airborne Division, Major-General Bill Lee, was struck by a heart attack. Their new commander, Maxwell D. Taylor, ordered Brigadier-

General Anthony McAuliffe to organise the practice jump for Churchill and explain the ins and outs of the division to the British prime minister.

The practice jump was made by regimental HQ company, second and third battalion of the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment and the 377th

Parachute Field Artillery Battalion. The rest of the division had to look at the jump from the side of the field.