The Sainte-Mère-Église Airborne Museum is a museum in Sainte-Mère-Église, France, dedicated to the history of the U.S. airborne troops who parachuted into Normandy on D-Day, June 6, 1944. It is located near the church where paratrooper John Steele famously got caught on the steeple during the invasion.
Musée Airborne
Airborne Museum
14 Rue Eisenhower
50480 Sainte-Mère-Église
+33 2 33 41 41 35
May – August
- Daily 09:00 – 19:00
April & September
- Daily 09:30 – 18:30
October – March
- Daily 10:00 – 18:00
Closed in December and January except for Christmas vacations: this year, the museum will reopen from December 21 to January 5, 2025.
Admission fee
Gift shop
Aircraft collection
Douglas C-47B Skytrain 315159 Z-D8 USAAF
| 315159/Z-D8
624/D-39 45-17241 | Douglas C-47B Dakota
Piper L-4J Grasshopper Waco CG-4A |
Piper L-4J Grasshopper 624 D-39 US Army
Waco CG-4A 45-17241 USAAF
What to Expect:
- Exhibits: The Sainte-Mère-Église Airborne Museum features authentic uniforms, weapons, and equipment from the 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions.
- Gliders & Planes: Visitors can see a WACO CG-4 glider and a Douglas C-47 Skytrain, which were crucial for troop deployment.
- Immersive Experience: The Sainte-Mère-Église Airborne Museum includes interactive displays, such as a paratrooper drop simulation.
- Historical Context: Information about the planning, execution, and impact of the Normandy landings.
Why Visit?
The Sainte-Mère-Église Airborne Museum provides a deep historical insight into one of the most critical operations of World War II and honors the bravery of the soldiers who fought to liberate France.
The Airborne Museum (Sainte-Mère-Église Airborne Museum) is a French museum dedicated to the memory of American paratroopers of the 82nd and 101st airborne divisions who parachuted into Normandy on the night of June 5–6, 1944.
The WACO building, shaped like a large parachute shroud, contains an authentic WACO glider, the only example in France. Visitors get to see a glider with models of soldiers getting ready for their flight.
The Dakota building allows the public to “assist” in the preparations for the biggest military operation of the War in England, June 5, 1944, at the bottom of a real C-47. They can observe a diorama of the different recruits from the war with General Eisenhower before D-Day and the Battle of Normandy.
Operation Neptune building is composed of rooms with realistic scenography that allows visitors to relive the D-Day experience. The visitor is first invited to board a C-47 airplane in England on June 5, 1944. Then the Battle of Sainte-Mère-Église unfolds including fighting in the marshes and for the bridges before the battle of the hedgerows.
Photos Rob Vogelaar