Paratroopers fill skies over Normandy to recreate historic D-Day landings

Nearly 900 European and American paratroopers filled the skies over Normandy in northern France on Sunday as part of the weekend’s commemorations for the 70th anniversary of the D-Day landings.

900 paratroopers drop from the sky above Sainte-Mere-Eglise on 8/6/2014. AFP PHOTO/Jean-Sébastien Evrard

Hailing from France, the United States, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, the UK, Poland, Czech Republic and Italy, the paratroopers jumped above thousands of spectators.

During the night of 5 June 1944, close to 13,350 American soldiers on board 800 aircrafts dropped from the sky and landed in six areas nearby Sainte-Mère-Église, according to AFP news agency.

The following day, close to 4,000 soldiers arrived on gliders.

A total of 156,200 Allied soldiers landed in Normandy for the liberation of France and Europe from Nazi occupation during World War II.