Pathfinders went in First

Genesis - Creation of a Scout company
  Taking up quarters in Oujda in early 1943 (French Morocco), the 2/503^rd, newly renamed 509^th Parachute Infantry Battalion, drew the conclusions of its two combat jumps on 8 and 15 November 1942 in North Africa (not counting the raid by 32 of its men on El Djem on 26 December 42), and came to the natural conclusion that it was not possible to drop a significant number of troops behind enemy lines without first having marked, identified and relatively secured the area on the ground.

  Lt. Col. Doyle Yardley, in charge of the 509^th (replacing Raff and Yarborough, who were called away on other missions), decided to form a "Parachute Scout Company", composed of three platoons of two squads each, with eight men per squad. He received support from Lieutenant-Colonel Charles Billingslea, in charge of Airborne training in Oujda.
Yardley intended to use this company in future operations to precede the invading airborne forces, with the mission of marking DZs using Aldis lamps (high-powered portable lamps), flares, and smoke. He borrowed from the British 21^st Independent Parachute Company, formed in June 1942, the techniques for sending and receiving electronic signals to guide aircraft to DZs.

  A few months later, on July 9 and 11, 1943, the 504^th and 505^th Parachute Infantry Regiments of the 82^nd Airborne Division dropped onto southern Sicily as part of Operation Husky. No scouts, pathfinders, or reconnaissance units were deployed, and the drops proved disastrous, with pilots and jumpmasters having only the memory of studying maps and photographs to guide them....

Salerno - The first combat jump
  The decision to use the Pathfinders was made in the late summer of 1943, after meetings held in Comiso, Sicily between Colonel James Gavin, Commanding Officer of the 505^th Parachute Infantry Regiment, Major Bernard 'Boy' Wilson, Commanding Officer of the British 21^st Independent Parachute Company and Lt. Col. Joel L. Crouch who, by this time, was A-3 of the 52^nd Troop Carrier Wing. Initially it was conceived that they would establish and train personnel for one mission only, Normandy operations, and that all personnel would be assigned to the Pathfinder school on « temporary duty ».

  During the nights of 13 and 14 September 1943, aircraft from the 52^nd Troop Carrier Wing dropped paratroopers of the 82^nd A/B Division near Salerno to help and reinforce the Fifth Army.
Three aircraft of the 52^nd TCW Hq (4 C-47 and 1 C-53 type aircraft are assigned to the Hq by this time) were used as Pathfinder aircraft for each drop. On 13 & 14 september, Lt. Col. Joel L. Crouch was at the controls of the lead pathfinder aircraft. On the night of September 13 to 14, Colonel Harold L. Clark was co-pilot and, on the night of September 14 to 15, Lt. Col. Dick R. Petty held this position. The first night they dropped elements of the 504^th Parachute Infantry Regiment while, the second night, it was elements of the 505^th Parachute Infantry Regiment.

  It was the first time that pathfinders were used in combat and the first aircraft to drop pathfinders was Douglas C-53D #42-68810 assigned to the 52^nd Troop Carrier Wing Hq.
Her crew was :
Pilot : Lt. Col. Joel L. CROUCH
Co-Pilot : Col. Harold L. CLARK
Navigator : 1^st Lt. James W. BODDIE
Radio Operator : T/Sgt. Charles W. STUART
Crew Chief : T/Sgt. Clarence W. NIELSEN
Observer : 2^nd Lt. Cecil W. BIGGS

  In March 1944 Lt. Col. Joel L. Crouch will be in charge of the IX Troop Carrier Command Pathfinder School which was formed and established at North Witham airfield. It was from this base that the 20 Pathfinder aircraft took off during the night 5 / 6 June 1944 to deliver paratroopers from the 101^st and 82^nd A/B divisions to mark the DZs which will be used by the main force, 30 minutes later.

Operation Neptune - Missions Albany and Boston
  Published on May 2, 1944 the IX Troop Carrier Command Tactical Air Plan for Operation Neptune give the task to the IX Troop Carrier Command to deliver the two American Airborne divisions, 82^nd A/B and 101^st A/B, in the Cotentin Peninsula to protect the west flank of the landings area.

IX Troop Carrier Command Tactical Air Plan for Operation NEPTUNE

  The Order of Battle of the IX Troop Carrier Command, always in the Tactical Air Plan, include the Pathfinder unit as part of the Hq IX TCC. Pathfinders were not a separate unit and pathfinder teams were made of men who voluntered or were choosen to be part of these teams and were from the 101^st and 82^nd A/B divisions. After the jump of the main body the men of the pathfinder teams were to return to their parent unit.

  The same Tactical Air Plan for Operation Neptune explain the use and role of Pathfinder aircraft and Pathfinder teams. Field order #1, Hq IX TCC, published on May 31, 1944 confirm the use of Pathfinder aircraft and that they will be in the first serials of the invasion.

  Appendix D1 to IX T.C.C. F.O. #1 or Time schedule for the missions list also Pathfinder aircraft as the lead aircraft of the IX Troop Carrier Command for operation Neptune.

  A last minute change was made and a Serial 6a was included. Two pathfinder teams will be dropped on DZ 'C' with the task to mark the LZ 'E' which will be used by the first glider mission. Time over DZ for this serial 6a : 00:27 BDST

  Of course, on D-Day, Lt. Col. Joel L. Crouch was in the left seat of the first Pathfinder aircraft to take off, at 21:54 BDST from North Witham. After an uneventful flight over the Channel, he crossed the west coast of the Cotentin Peninsula at 00:06 BDST and dropped his troops from the 101^st A/B division at 00:16 BDST, four minutes ahead of schedule.
  This aircraft was the FIRST aircraft of the IX Troop Carrier Command to fly and drop paratroopers of the 101^st A/B division over Normandy. The Lead Aircraft !

  Aircraft flown by Lt. Col. Joel L. Crouch and his crew was C-47A-20-DK #42-93098. The aircraft, like the 19 other pathfinder aicraft and serial leaders of the main wave, was equiped with navigational aids, Radar SCR-717, British Gee and Rebecca system.

Her crew was : Pilot : Lt. Col. Joel L. CROUCH Co-pilot : Capt. Vito S. PEDONE Navigator : Capt. William K. CULP Radio Operator : Cpl. Harold E. COONROD Crew Chief : S/Sgt. Edward F. LAURENDEAU Surgeon : Capt. Edward E. CANNON

Back row, L to R : William K. Culp ( N ) – Joel L. Crouch ( P ) – Harold E. Coonrod ( RO ) – Vito S. Pedone ( CP )
Front row : Edward E. Cannon ( MC ) – Edward F. Laurendeau ( CC )

Take off of the first aircraft of the IX TCC over Normandy on D-Day

  The twenty pathfinder aircraft left the English coast at the waypoint coded Flatbush and the Channel crossing was carried out, according to David Hamilton, one of the pilots, in close formation and about fifty feet above the waves in order to avoid detection by German radar.
The SCR-717 radar was used to pass equidistant between the islands of Guernsey and Alderney and confirm the Initial Point of entry to the Normandy coast. This same radar was used by pathfinder Aircraft #4 to locate the destroyer HMS Tartar, next to which she would make her forced landing after her mission had aborted.
The aircraft also used the GEE system to guide themselves to their drop zone using hyperbolas emitted from ground stations in England. Visual confirmation was made at the time of the drop.

Check points in the Channel and details of approaches using the GEE system

  After the drop, pathfinder aicraft went back to North Witham but, you can see in the following document that, for each serial, one aircraft came back more than two hours after the two others. Each serial leader had go and land at Northolt for a debriefing before returning to North Witham.

6 June 1944 - OPREP B Pathfinder Troop Carrier Group

  After the mission, all the men of the aircrew were awarded an Air Medal by General Order #39, Hq IX Troop Carrier Command, issued July 6, 1944 except pilots who were serial leaders and were awarded a Distinguished Flying Cross by General Order #179, Hq Ninth Air Force, issued July 14, 1944.

  Concerning the paratroopers, the Pathfinders of the 82^nd and 101^st Airborne Divisions present in Normandy received a bronze star by General Order Nb. 39, Hq 82^nd Airborne Division, published on July 21, 1944 and by General Orders Nb. 19, 20 and 21, Hq 101^st Airborne Division, published on July 14, 15 and 16, 1944.

  Pathfinders were also used during following operations of WWII but their story is beyond the scope of this website.

  Documents used for this article

	IX TCC Tactical Air Plan for Operation Neptune 2 May 1944			Field Order #1 Hq IX TCC 31 May 1944			Appendix D1 to F.O.#1 - 31 May 1944 Time Schedule - Missions Albany, Boston, Chicago, Detroit
	H-Hour Minus Four & a Half			IX Trop Carrier Command Pathfinder Flash Reports			Mission summary of Gee result
	Pathfinder Troop Carrier OPREP "B"			Report on the mission of the Pathfinder Aircraft - Operation Neptune			Sea rescue - Ditching of Chalk #4
	Report on the paratroops operations of the N.A.Troop Carrier Command on the nights of 13th-14th and 14th-15th September 1943			Field Order #1 - 101st AB Division Pathfinder 31 May 1944			Training and tactical employment of Airborne Division Pathfinders
	Report of D-Day Pathfinder Activities Frank L. Lillyman 1 July 1944			Report of Pathfinder Employment for Operation Neptune Neil L. Mc Roberts 11 June 1944			D-Day Experiences of Pathfinder Charles L. Malley Chalk #4 ditched in the Channel
	Operations of a Regimental Pathfinder Unit, 507th PIR in Normandy			General Order #39 - Hq IX TCC Air medal - 6 July 1944			General Order #179 - Hq Ninth Air Force Distinguished Flying Cross - 14 July 1944
	General Order #39 - Hq 82nd A/B Div Bronze Star medal - 21 July 1944			General Order #19, 20, 21 - Hq 101st A/B Div Bronze Star medal - 14 July 1944

  Epilogue: Now you may have the opportunity, by going on the internet or during discussions among enthusiasts, to read or hear that a particular aircraft was the lead aircraft during the Normandy invasion and that she has been restored to flying condition. And the name "That's All Brother" will be put forward.
You have here all the necessary and official documentation to prove to these people that what they are saying is false and that ten C-47s of the Troop Carrier Command flew over Normandy before her. And the first one being Pathfinder aircraft #42-93098.

Thanks to Denis Van Den Brink for his participation and writing the part dedicated to genesis.

Patrick Elie    October 2025