Footsteps of WWII · Normandy

Sainte-Mère-Église and the Airborne Museum

Town · 6 Jun 1944

GuideFootsteps of WWII

AreaNormandy

CountryFrance

TypeTown

Time to allow2 h

LocationRight area — the exact spot is uncertain

GPS49.40825, -1.31496

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The story

Sainte-Mère-Église sat astride the main road to Cherbourg behind Utah Beach. In the early hours of 6 June 1944 paratroopers of the US 82nd Airborne Division dropped on and around the town; some landed in the square, lit by a burning house, and were shot as they came down. Men of the 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment took the town before dawn, making it one of the first places in France liberated on D-Day. Paratrooper John Steele was left hanging from the church tower by his parachute. The Airborne Museum, opened in 1964, tells the story of both American airborne divisions.

Where sources disagree: John Steele's story has been embellished over the years, and the film The Longest Day placed his parachute on the wrong side of the tower; the dummy now hangs on the side that suits the square, not necessarily where he was caught.

What to look for

In the square, a dummy paratrooper hangs from the church tower, and inside the church stained-glass windows show paratroopers. The Airborne Museum has a real Waco glider and a C-47 that flew in the 5–6 June drops, plus the walk-through 'Operation Neptune' building.

Plan your visit

Airborne Museum open daily (October hours 10:00–18:00). Adult €11.50. The town and church are free. Check the website before you go.

Official website: airborne-museum.org

Things change, so check opening times before you travel.

Nearby sites

Utah Beach Museum, Sainte-Marie-du-Mont · 10 km
La Cambe German war cemetery · 22 km
Pointe du Hoc · 24 km
Omaha Beach: Les Braves, Saint-Laurent-sur-Mer · 32 km
Normandy American Cemetery, Colleville-sur-Mer · 34 km
Overlord Museum, Colleville-sur-Mer · 34 km

All 160 sites in Footsteps of WWII →

Footsteps of WWII: Europe 1939–1945

A free field guide for your phone: the route, the maps and the stories built in, even with no signal. The whole Second World War in Europe, from the first shots at Westerplatte on 1 September 1939 to the German surrender in May 1945: Dunkirk, the Battle of Britain, Normandy, Arnhem, Bastogne, Stalingrad, Berlin and the camps, in 15 areas from Britain to Russia.

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