How the Mail on Sunday saved the paratroopers' 80th anniversary D-Day jump by alerting Defence Secretary Grant Shapps of plane shortages

As they filed to their elephantine Airbus A400M transport planes, acceptable to beryllium flown to Normandy, 250 British paratroopers were walking successful the footsteps of past – acknowledgment to The Mail connected Sunday. 

Wednesday's wide parachute driblet to people the 80th day of D-Day was saved aft this paper alerted Defence Secretary Grant Shapps to the information that lone 1 level was available, alternatively than the 4 required. 

Three much were recovered – paving the mode for the poignant salute to the driblet down force lines that marked the commencement of the penetration of Nazi-occupied France. 

The MoS travelled with the paras from RAF Brize Norton, Oxfordshire, successful the pb A400M. 

Troops included Lance Corporal Addy Carter, 22, of the Royal Army Medical Corps – the archetypal pistillate worker to walk the pugnacious All Arms Pre Parachute Selection that proves unit person the abilities needed for the Airborne Forces. 

As she waited to beryllium 'dispatched' into fields adjacent Sannerville, wherever the 8th Battalion Parachute Regiment landed connected June 6, 1944, Carter said it was an 'honour' to beryllium 'part of history'. 

But dissimilar their heroic predecessors, jumpers had to amusement their passports – astatine an impromptu borderline power station successful a field. Brigadier Mark Berry, Commander of 16 Air Assault BCT, said: 'It is important we support live the representation of what was achieved connected D-Day. 

Our predecessors jumped astatine nighttime into force territory, utilizing considerably little blase instrumentality than we person now. It requires courageousness to leap retired of an aircraft, but to bash it those circumstances is hard to comprehend.'