D-Day 75th C-47's

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Went to go see 10 C-47's at a local airport this past weekend. They were staging for their flight to Normandy for the 75 anniversary.

[Joe Gopan]

They were going to make a stop at the former Presque Isle ME Air Force Base May 19. Not sure if they did, tho. Presque Isle Army Air Field was a WWII jumping off point for much of the WWII ferry flights to the ETO.

[Av8er]

They were going to make a stop at the former Presque Isle ME Air Force Base May 19. Not sure if they did, tho. Presque Isle Army Air Field was a WWII jumping off point for much of the WWII ferry flights to the ETO.

Yes, they did stop for refueling in Presque Isle and they received an extremely warm welcome that they weren’t expecting because it was just a quick fuel stop. They are traveling out of Goose Bay Labrador with at least half the aircraft already in Greenland. Placid Lassie has ferry tanks installed, they bypassed Greenland and headed right to Iceland today. You can track their progress on FlightAware or several other flight tracking apps. They are also posting updates on Facebook through their ‘D-Day Squadron’ Facebook page.

[philipgslattery]

Recently I read that something of the order of 42 C47 / DC3 will be taking off from Duxford UK on 6th June.
Would love to be there.

[Joe Gopan]

Hopefully one will stray into Dow Field on the way back I can wear my Summer Flight coveralls that were worn during the drop over Corregidor.

[Hammerhead]

THAT is so cool! Wish I could be there too! These old War Horses are amazing! Thanks for posting these pictures!

[Joe Gopan]

There is nothing more relaxing than a ride in the bucket seats of a C-47, the takeoff with its' unique C-47 associated noises is unforgetable.

[jeepfinger]

Recently I read that something of the order of 42 C47 / DC3 will be taking off from Duxford UK on 6th June.
Would love to be there.

Hi Phil,

They are setting off at 13.40 on Weds the 5 June from Duxford to Normandy. Not too sure how many will be there, but I do know one that will be there, ME Lets hope the weather is good.

Dave

[wrenchguy]

I'm proud to help with the work done on C-47 "The SNAFU Special" in a very small way. All because of a "swapmeet", its "odd shape", and the "internet". I had no idea what it was that cost $1.

[jeepfinger]

I was there, and had a great day. I don't think they got as many as they hoped for. I think that 21 set of for Normandy, 10 had airborne troops in them for the Jump in Normandy

Wrenchguy, so please tell what the part is?

Dave

[wrenchguy]

"WT-7-A Antenna Weight" I posted it on a whatsit forum using the only markings found on the object, "WT-7-A" The guy found the post using google 4 years after i posted it.

Antenna weight, used in the trailing antenna wire system.
This system was used by many aircraft during WWII. Bombers, cargo's. It was reeled out when needed then reeled back.

[Joe Gopan]

The original Trailing Antenna on the B-17 can be seen on the lower fuselage just behind the port wing and in front of the left waist gunner position. It has at least 100' of cable and can give another B-17 a headache.

[Joe Gopan]

The DC-3 is at DOW tonite, it's on the way back.
I forgot to mention that a 352nd Group painted P-51 stopped at Dow fr fuel a day or so after the C-47s stopped. It had the cowling seams all taped up just in case the propeller seal decide d to leak.
Pilot appeared to be from Stallion 51, but not the P-51.
Wrong DC3, this is the one in Pan American markings.

[Tim Shanteler]

I was at this event in Oxford, you can see me standing in back of my jeep in the second photo on the right. I was an amazing weekend. On Saturday, eleven of the planes left for their flight down the Hudson. They were all airborne in under 3 minutes! I've been to a lot of airshows, but that was an incredible sight. Most of the time there are long gaps between takeoffs. I taped it and from the first plane, each time the gear was up I turned back and the next plane's tailwheel was off the ground and roaring down the runway. It's was probably the closest thing to actually being there to witness the start of an WWII mission, much like in the original Catch-22 movie with all those B-25's taking off at once. And lastly, one of the guest speakers (he was 104) at the dinner had an incredible reunion. One of the DC-3's there, was "the" plane that he picked up in Florida and flew to India in 1944.