NATS Altitude
Altitude is a monthly live-streamed podcast from NATS - the UK's leading air traffic control company. Here people from across the aviation industry join our own team of experts to offer insights on a wide range of topics. Find out more about the world of air traffic control at NATS.aero.
NATS Altitude
Beyond the Beaches: The amazing aviation innovations behind D-Day
The 6th June 2024 will mark the 80th anniversary of D-Day – the Allied invasion of Western Europe during the Second World War and one of the most pivotal days in human history.
Most people will be familiar with the sight of the landings in Normandy, but fewer know the story beyond the beaches. D-Day itself saw an incredible 14,674 flights, all handled with nothing more than flare guns and signal lamps, paper and pencils, blackboard and chalk, rudimentary radio navigation and an enormous amount of pre-planning, hard work, and determination.
In this Altitude episode we tell that incredible story looking at the logistics, the innovations and the deceptions that helped make the invasion a success and laid the foundations for modern aviation and air traffic control.
Apologies for some audio issues on this episode.
You can also watch an on demand version of the livestream on our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@NatsAero