American paratroopers of the 101st Airborne Division sit shoulder to shoulder aboard a C-47 Skytrain transport, fully rigged with parachutes, weapons, and equipment moments before a combat jump. Photographs like this one, often taken for press or unit records, captured the tense anticipation troopers faced before descending into enemy territory during operations such as the Normandy invasion or Market Garden in 1944. Project: 218246