July-Aug Web 2019 WEB

Daks Over Duxford
The Douglas Dakota, the name it was given
by the RAF, otherwise the C47 Skytrain is a
military derivative of the iconic DC3
airliner - the aircraft that shrunk the States.
It is a twin engined workhorse transport and
troop carrier that saw service in all theatres
during WW2, and beyond.
Built in thousands, at the height of production at a rate of one per hour (yes
it's true!) it was considered to be pivotal to the Allied war effort. General
Eisenhower famously put it amongst the most important of contributing
factors to success, alongside the Sherman tank and Willys Jeep. So good is
the design that there are still around 2,000 flying and operating.
During the night preceding the main amphibious landing on 6th June 1944,
D Day, some 20,000 paratroops were carried over to Normandy by 1,200
aircraft and towed gliders. They were to be dropped inland with the task of
securing the important strategic points that would enable the main landing
force to break out of the beachhead without delay. There were some
famous actions carried-out by the Airborne Divisions; units of the British
6th Division held what became known as Pegasus Bridge a crossing of
vital importance; the American 101st Division 'The Sceaming Eagles'
(Band of Brothers) had to secure the exits from Utah beach and beyond.
So it was that on the 4th and 5th of June at IWM Duxford we witnessed
one of the largest gatherings of Dakotas/C47s/DC3 seen since 1945, as
around 30 flew in from America and all parts of Europe in honour of the
brave paratroopers and aircrew that
took part in the airborne invasion
75 years ago. Two days of flying,
ground exhibitions and events
culminated in a crossing by two
waves of these old aircraft from
Duxford to Normandy to carry out
a re-enacted 'round chute' drop. A
fitting commemoration of the
gallant action of 1944. Bill Jones
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