Airborne Museum

The C-47 aircraft on display is not a replica — it actually flew over Sainte-Mère-Église on June 6, 1944 and dropped paratroopers during the D-Day invasion. Built in Long Beach, California on December 16, 1943, it was later restored with its original "The Argonia" livery.

Private John Steele hung from the church steeple for two hours pretending to be dead after his parachute snagged on the pinnacle. He was captured by German soldiers but escaped just four hours later and rejoined his unit. The church still displays an effigy of Steele hanging from the steeple, and bullet holes from the battle remain visible in the walls.

Different colored parachute canopies had specific meanings during D-Day operations: white parachutes carried equipment and materials, while blue parachutes contained food supplies. This color-coding helped troops quickly identify and prioritize dropped cargo in the chaos of the nighttime landing.

The museum was founded through grassroots efforts by Alexandre Renaud, who served as both the town's pharmacist and mayor during the Liberation. In 1960, American authorities helped locate the wreckage of a Waco CG4A glider from 1943 — now the only example of this aircraft on display in France.