DC-3s / C-47s from the 75th anniversary D-Day Squadron
Sep 28, 2019 07:10:23 #
The Douglas Aircraft Company DC-3 revolutionized air transport in the 1930s and '40s. The 21-seat planes had a lasting effect on the airline industry and contributed to the Allied victory in World War II. The plane is one of the most significant transport aircraft ever produced.
American Airlines Flagship Detroit by Paul Sager, on Flickr
Flagship Detroit is the oldest DC-3 still flying, being aircraft #43 off the Santa Monica production line and delivered to American Airlines on March 2, 1937.
Liberty was built by Douglas Aircraft in Long Beach in 1943. She towed gliders of the 82nd Airborne into France on D-Day. Sold as surplus after the war, she was upgraded from military freighter to corporate executive aircraft and served in luxury for the next 25-years.
Legend Airways "Liberty"
Early U.S. airlines like American, United, TWA, Delta, and Eastern ordered over 400 DC-3s. These fleets paved the way for the modern American air travel industry, which eventually replaced trains as the favored means of long-distance travel across the United States.
C-47 Skytrain "Duchess of Dakota"
Civil DC-3 production ended in 1942 at 607 aircraft. Military versions, including the C-47 "Skytrain", C-53 "Skytrooper", R4D - US Navy designation, and Dakota - British Commonwealth designation, brought total production to over 16,000 within the Allies' Arsenal of Democracy.
The Virginia Ann was built at the Douglas Aircraft factory in Long Beach, California in 1943. On D-Day she was the lead plane of 4 squadrons of C-47s (74 total planes) carrying parachute infantry of the 82nd Airborne into France. The plane was involved in resupply and injured evacuation operations in the days following the June 6th invasion, and went on to participate in operations Market Garden and Varsity.
C-47 Skytrain "Virginia Ann"
This year marked the 75th anniversary of June 6, 1944. Prior to the almost 160,000 Allied troops storming the beaches at Normandy on D-Day, nearly 24,000 troops were parachuted into France or came by glider. Over 800 Douglas C-47 Skytrains (Dakotas) brought these airborne troops. To commemorate this important date in modern history, many of the remaining airworthy aircraft gathered in England in late May 2019 to recreate the flight over the channel to France. If you couldn't make it to France, here are some of the planes that did.
D-Day Doll was built at the Douglas factory in Santa Monica, California in 1943. The plane brought troops of the 101st Airborne into France and went on to participate in operation Market Garden and the resupply of Bastogne in the Battle of the Bulge.
C-53 Skytrooper "D-Day Doll"
Plane N43XX was built in Santa Monica in 1943 and served in Africa, Sicily, and England during WWII.
C-53D Skytrooper "Thunderbird Flying Service"
Placid Lassie was built as a C-47 Skytrain in Santa Monica in 1943. She towed Waco gliders of the 101st Airborne into France and went on to participate in Operation Market Garden.
C-47 Skytrain "Placid Lassie"
This Douglas C-47D Skytrain was built in 1945 and has been repainted to represent Hairless Joe of the 1st Air Commando in the China-Burma-India Theatre. The plane honors 1st Commando pilot Lt.Col. Dick Cole, who is also the last surviving member of the 'Doolittle Raid' and was Jimmy Doolittle’s co-pilot during the famous April 1942 mission over Tokyo.
C-47 Skytrain "Hairless Joe"
Miss Virginia was built in 1943 and served state-side during the war.
C-47 Skytrain "Miss Virginia"
After World War II, thousands of surplus C-47s were converted to civil airline use. An estimated 2,000 DC-3s and military derivatives are still in flying condition.
C-47 Skytrain "Miss Virginia"
Following WWII, Virginia Ann went on to a life in the civilian sector as a transport.
C-47 Skytrain "Virginia Ann"
Images shared in this post merge digital and film work from two Canon EOS cameras and a variety of EF lenses. The technical data, including the film, camera, lens and exposure, are available from the host Flickr pages via the url link that is the title of each image.
These images are sized to fill your wide-screen display. Try using <F11> to maximize your browser window for the full effect. If the images overshoot your display, such as a laptop, just click on the image or the URL link and they'll resize to your screen from the host Flickr site. You can click a bit further into the image details on the Flickr page, if desired. EXIF data is available from the host Flickr pages as well. On the Flickr site, use your <L>key for Large and the <F11> for the full-screen.
If the images are not filling your widescreen display due to recent UHH changes, follow this link and update your UHH profile: https://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-572300-1.html
American Airlines Flagship Detroit by Paul Sager, on Flickr
Flagship Detroit is the oldest DC-3 still flying, being aircraft #43 off the Santa Monica production line and delivered to American Airlines on March 2, 1937.
Liberty was built by Douglas Aircraft in Long Beach in 1943. She towed gliders of the 82nd Airborne into France on D-Day. Sold as surplus after the war, she was upgraded from military freighter to corporate executive aircraft and served in luxury for the next 25-years.
Legend Airways "Liberty"
Early U.S. airlines like American, United, TWA, Delta, and Eastern ordered over 400 DC-3s. These fleets paved the way for the modern American air travel industry, which eventually replaced trains as the favored means of long-distance travel across the United States.
C-47 Skytrain "Duchess of Dakota"
Civil DC-3 production ended in 1942 at 607 aircraft. Military versions, including the C-47 "Skytrain", C-53 "Skytrooper", R4D - US Navy designation, and Dakota - British Commonwealth designation, brought total production to over 16,000 within the Allies' Arsenal of Democracy.
The Virginia Ann was built at the Douglas Aircraft factory in Long Beach, California in 1943. On D-Day she was the lead plane of 4 squadrons of C-47s (74 total planes) carrying parachute infantry of the 82nd Airborne into France. The plane was involved in resupply and injured evacuation operations in the days following the June 6th invasion, and went on to participate in operations Market Garden and Varsity.
C-47 Skytrain "Virginia Ann"
This year marked the 75th anniversary of June 6, 1944. Prior to the almost 160,000 Allied troops storming the beaches at Normandy on D-Day, nearly 24,000 troops were parachuted into France or came by glider. Over 800 Douglas C-47 Skytrains (Dakotas) brought these airborne troops. To commemorate this important date in modern history, many of the remaining airworthy aircraft gathered in England in late May 2019 to recreate the flight over the channel to France. If you couldn't make it to France, here are some of the planes that did.
D-Day Doll was built at the Douglas factory in Santa Monica, California in 1943. The plane brought troops of the 101st Airborne into France and went on to participate in operation Market Garden and the resupply of Bastogne in the Battle of the Bulge.
C-53 Skytrooper "D-Day Doll"
Plane N43XX was built in Santa Monica in 1943 and served in Africa, Sicily, and England during WWII.
C-53D Skytrooper "Thunderbird Flying Service"
Placid Lassie was built as a C-47 Skytrain in Santa Monica in 1943. She towed Waco gliders of the 101st Airborne into France and went on to participate in Operation Market Garden.
C-47 Skytrain "Placid Lassie"
This Douglas C-47D Skytrain was built in 1945 and has been repainted to represent Hairless Joe of the 1st Air Commando in the China-Burma-India Theatre. The plane honors 1st Commando pilot Lt.Col. Dick Cole, who is also the last surviving member of the 'Doolittle Raid' and was Jimmy Doolittle’s co-pilot during the famous April 1942 mission over Tokyo.
C-47 Skytrain "Hairless Joe"
Miss Virginia was built in 1943 and served state-side during the war.
C-47 Skytrain "Miss Virginia"
After World War II, thousands of surplus C-47s were converted to civil airline use. An estimated 2,000 DC-3s and military derivatives are still in flying condition.
C-47 Skytrain "Miss Virginia"
Following WWII, Virginia Ann went on to a life in the civilian sector as a transport.
C-47 Skytrain "Virginia Ann"
Images shared in this post merge digital and film work from two Canon EOS cameras and a variety of EF lenses. The technical data, including the film, camera, lens and exposure, are available from the host Flickr pages via the url link that is the title of each image.
These images are sized to fill your wide-screen display. Try using <F11> to maximize your browser window for the full effect. If the images overshoot your display, such as a laptop, just click on the image or the URL link and they'll resize to your screen from the host Flickr site. You can click a bit further into the image details on the Flickr page, if desired. EXIF data is available from the host Flickr pages as well. On the Flickr site, use your <L>key for Large and the <F11> for the full-screen.
If the images are not filling your widescreen display due to recent UHH changes, follow this link and update your UHH profile: https://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-572300-1.html
Sep 28, 2019 07:28:04 #
Sep 28, 2019 07:28:59 #
Awesome photos of historic planes! I flew in one when it was still part of a commercial fleet out of Miami in the late 70's. Never forget the roar of those engines all the way to Sarasota...
Sep 28, 2019 07:36:20 #
CHG_CANON wrote:
The Douglas Aircraft Company DC-3 revolutionized a... (show quote)
Fine series and info!
Sep 28, 2019 07:38:54 #
Great photos of a great plane! I flew in one back in the 60s, in Ethiopia. There were goats in the back and chickens in the overhead netting. It was bumpy but somehow felt quite safe with the steady thrumming of those two Pratt/Whitney rotary engines.
Sep 28, 2019 07:58:30 #
Sep 28, 2019 08:01:00 #
I was a passenger several times on Ariana Airlines' DC-3s while a Peace Corps Volunteer in Afghanistan in the 60s. In the late 70s I flew along Florida's west coast in DC3s that I think were in PBAs fleet (Provincetown-Boston Airline). I always felt as if I were in the final scene of "Casablanca". The Afghan planes were piloted by Afghans who were trained by PanAm and PanAm owned 50 per cent of the airline. Great memories.
Sep 28, 2019 08:20:34 #
Wow - what a great set! I feel privileged to have flown several times in one of these aircraft. One of the most utilitarian craft ever built - some have called it "the Volkswagen of the aircraft industry"...
Sep 28, 2019 08:24:12 #
An amazing set Paul to say the least. It must have been quite the show. Excellent work.
-Doc
-Doc
Sep 28, 2019 08:26:36 #
Thank you Jerry, ELNikkor, Karin, kpsk_sony, Toment, Nancysc, Steve, Doc! I didn't board any of these planes this summer at Oshkosh. Last year I remember one of the planes restored to the D-Day configuration had done research into the seating order of the soldiers dropped the night before D-Day. In reading about the planes, some were found in junkyards and interest and research into the airframe revealed their stories and generated interest for their restoration. As you can tell from some of their configurations, the planes moved onto other 'lives' in civilian life after their military service. Glad you enjoyed.
Sep 28, 2019 08:30:08 #
Sep 28, 2019 09:08:10 #
Another fabulous presentation. Thank you Paul . You really know your aircraft and your images are stunning. I always look forward to seeing your specials.
Thank you again sir.
Thank you again sir.
Sep 28, 2019 09:09:40 #
Sep 28, 2019 10:55:04 #
The DC-3 is one of my favorite aircraft. See a few pictures below:
ELNikkor wrote:
Awesome photos of historic planes! I flew in one when it was still part of a commercial fleet out of Miami in the late 70's. Never forget the roar of those engines all the way to Sarasota...
DC-3 at Hemet-Ryan Airport
DC-3 at Hemet-Ryan Airport
DC-3 at Palm Springs Air Museum
Sep 28, 2019 11:33:57 #
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