Here is another great scene to think about,this is from A Bridge To Far,again by Cornelius Ryan (the flim is based on this book)
The date is September the 18th 1944 and it is mid afternoon,and the second drop is about to take place.
The armada was gigantic,dwarfing even the spectacle of the day before.Condensed into one immense column covering mile after mile of sky,almost 4000 aircraft were layered at altitudes from 1000 to 2000 feet.
Flying wing-tip to wing-tip.1336 American C-47s and 340 British stirling bombers made up the bulk of the sky train.Others towed a staggering number of gliders—1205 Horsas,Wacos and mammoth Hamilcars.Positioned at the rear of the 100 mile long convoy,252 four-engined Liberators bombers were ferrying cargo.Protecting the formations above and on the flanks,867 fighters- ranging from squadrons of British Spitfires and rocket-firing Typhoons to American Thunderbolts and Lightnings-flew ■■■■■■.
In all, at take-off,the second lift carried 6674 airborne troops,681 vehicles plus loaded trailers,60 artillery pieces with ammunition and nearly 600 tons of supplies,including two bulldozers.
Wreathed by flak burst,the huge armada made landfall over the Dutch coast at Schouwen Island,then headed inland due east to a traffic control point south of the town of s"Hertogenbosch. There,with fighters leading the way,the column split into three sections.
With timed precision,executing difficult and dangerous manoeuvres,the American contingents swung south and east for the zones of the 101st and 82nd as the British formations headed due north for ARNHEM
CORNELIUS RYAN