H-hour was the name given to the airborne assault in the Battle of Normandy

Operation Overlord

Operation Overlord was the code name for the Battle of Normandy, the operation that launched the invasion of German-occupied western Europe during World War II by Allied forces. The operation commenced on 6 June 1944 with the Normandy landings...

. It included the American 101st Airborne Division

101st Airborne Division

The 101st Airborne Division—the "Screaming Eagles"—is a U.S. Army modular light infantry division trained for air assault operations. During World War II, it was renowned for its role in Operation Overlord, the D-Day landings on 6 June 1944, in Normandy, France, Operation Market Garden, the...

 and 82nd Airborne Division With the British 6th Airborne Division. This took place about three hours before the main beach landings on the Normandy

Normandy

Normandy is a geographical region corresponding to the former Duchy of Normandy. It is in France.The continental territory covers 30,627 km² and forms the preponderant part of Normandy and roughly 5% of the territory of France. It is divided for administrative purposes into two régions:...

. The Airborne invasion consisted of over 50,000 men and around 1,200 planes and gliders. The combined assault of British and American Airborne and glider divisions would surprise the German defenders and cause enough havoc to make the beach landings go more smoothly.

Objectives of H-hour

The divisions of paratroopers that landed each had an objective:

• The 82nd Airborne would drop and take the town of Sainte-Mère-Église
  Sainte-Mère-Église
  Sainte-Mère-Église is a commune in the Manche department in Normandy in north-western France.-History:Founded in the eleventh Century, the earliest records include the name Sancte Marie Ecclesia, Latin for "Church of St. Mary", while a later document written in Norman-French mentions Saincte...
  
   and protect the right flank on the American beach landings of Omaha
  Omaha
  Omaha may refer to:*Omaha , a Native American tribe that currently resides in the northeastern part of the U.S. state of Nebraska-Places:United States* Omaha, Nebraska* Omaha, Arkansas* Omaha, Georgia* Omaha, Illinois* Omaha, Texas...
  
   and Utah
  Utah
  Utah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...
  
   beach. After doing that, they would link up with the 101st.
• The 101st Airborne Would be dropped behind Utah beach, to secure the beach exits and be prepared to exploit through the town of Carrot
  Carrot
  The carrot is a root vegetable, usually orange in colour, though purple, red, white, and yellow varieties exist. It has a crisp texture when fresh...
  
  .
• The British 6th Airborne Division would be dropped between the river Orne
  Orne
  Orne is a department in the northwest of France, named after the river Orne.- History :Orne is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution, on March 4, 1790. It was created from parts of the former provinces of Normandy and Perche.- Geography :Orne is in the region of...
  
   and some high ground of the Bois de Bavent to secure the eastern flank of the British and Canadian sector.

Dropping the troops

When the airborne divisions were dropped, there were many mis-drops. Some were dropped five miles from their target site. Some were even dropped in the English Channel

English Channel

The English Channel , often referred to simply as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates southern England from northern France, and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic. It is about long and varies in width from at its widest to in the Strait of Dover...

. These mis-drops happened for various reasons.