How many gliders landed on Fort Eben-Emael?

Short answer

Nine: the remaining nine gliders carrying the troops assigned to Sturmgruppe Granit landed successfully on the roof of Fort Eben-Emael. The group, with 85 men in eleven gliders under Oberleutnant Rudolf Witzig, was tasked with storming and capturing the fortress.

Published: November 2, 2026 · Updated: November 2, 2026 · Edited by Above Ten Thousand · Editorial policy

How many gliders landed on Fort Eben-Emael?

Eben Emael Fort CasemateVincent de Groot - http://www.videgro.net (CC BY SA), vía commons

The fortress

Fort Eben-Emael measured 800 by 1,000 yards (730 by 910 m) and had been built between 1932 and 1935. Its armament comprised two 120 mm guns with a range of ten miles that could traverse 360 degrees, plus sixteen 75 mm guns.

The airborne assault

Fifty DFS 230 assault gliders were provided for the assault force. At 04:30, forty-two gliders carrying the 493 airborne troops of the assault force took off from two airfields near Cologne, and the armada of gliders and tow aircraft turned south towards their objectives. Sturmgruppe Granit, commanded by Oberleutnant Rudolf Witzig, numbered eighty-five men in eleven gliders and was tasked with storming and capturing Fort Eben-Emael.

Nine gliders on the roof

Of that contingent, the remaining nine gliders carrying the troops assigned to Sturmgruppe Granit landed successfully on the fortress's roof. The garrison, numbering only 750 men present out of a regular complement of 1,200, surrendered at 12:30 after suffering 23 dead and 59 wounded.