Paratroopers re-enact historic D-Day landings

Nearly a thousand paratroopers have dropped out of the sky in Normandy, re-enacting the drama of the landings to mark the 70th anniversary of D-Day.

(AAP)

Huge crowds braved hot weather and lined the historic landing area at La Fiere.

Among the planes ferrying paratroopers for the event was a restored C-47 US military transport plane that dropped Allied troops on the village of Sainte-Mere-Eglise - a stone's throw from La Fiere - on June 6, 1944.

And the pilots who originally flew it took the controls again, 70 years later, remembering their experiences.

(AAP)