served as a diversion during the airborne phases of the D-Day landings on 6 June 1944.
“Rupert” was part of Operation Titanic, a series of deceptions carried out on 5-6 June 1944, the objective of which was to drop 400-500 para-dummies in places other than the actual D-Day drop zones, to deceive the German defenders into believing that a large airborne force had landed, drawing their troops away from the real invasion area on the Normandy coast.
At barely 3 feet tall, at night, from a distance, and descending on a small parachute, it was difficult to distinguish Rupert from live paratroopers. Each dummy was rigged with small explosives to destroy them on landing as well as a noisemaker called a “Pintail” to simulate the cracking sound of small-arms fire.
While I’m not sure of the exact origin of the name, the nickname Rupert was a derogatory term generally given to officers by the lower ranks. I’m sure many an enlisted man would’ve gotten a charge out of throwing his commanding officer out of an aircraft.
A small group of British 2nd Special Air Service (SAS) troopers were dropped with Rupert to provide some real firepower on the ground, as well as to play recordings of actua soldiers shouting and discharging heavier weapons. Eleven SAS soldiers were killed in the operation, or later executed by the Germans. Others were taken prisoner. Additional casualties were incurred when two British Short Stirling aircraft delivering their payload of decoy parachutists were shot down by German flak.
The American version, dubbed Oscar, was somewhat more realistic looking than Rupert and was cast in metal. However, Oscar was experimental and never used in combat.
In the 1962 film “The Longest Day,” the Germans refer to them as “Gummipuppen,” which roughly translates to rubber dolls, but they are depicted as extremely lifelike replicas in several scenes, one of which is captured below.
