The Horsa and Hamilcar gliders of the brigade landed at 21 : 00 on 6 June in a landing zone cleared of obstructions by the 5th Parachute Brigade . The primary tasks of the brigade were to bring in reinforcements and supplies , and to aid the two parachute brigades in consolidating the area held by the division ; the 6th Airborne Armoured Reconnaissance Squadron was to aid in the latter task , acting as a reconnaissance force to scout out German positions and impede the movement of German forces attempting to counter @-@ attack . The Tetrarchs of ' A ' Squadron were to play an integral part in this reconnaissance role due to their speed , but the squadron 's strength of twenty tanks was severely depleted by the time it landed in Normandy . It lost one tank before the formation landed when the Tetrarch broke loose of its shackles and crashed through the nose of the glider that was carrying it , causing both to fall into the sea mid @-@ flight . The squadron 's strength was further weakened when two gliders collided with each other in the landing zone , destroying themselves and the Tetrarchs they carried ; a third Hamilcar hit another Tetrarch as it was being unloaded and flipped the tank upside down , rendering it unusable , although the crew escaped without injury . The surviving tanks were then rendered temporarily immobile when parachute rigging lines became tangled in their suspensions , forcing their crews to cut the lines away with welding torches .