Some Really Sick People Attacked Treasured Examples of Aviation History

We've been monitoring some truly heartbreaking reports about yet another tragedy that has struck our community. Apparently; some truly sick individuals have caused thousands of dollars of damage to two DC-3s with a historical pedigree.

According to Cape Cod Airfield's Instagram site, "In these difficult times we at the airfield know that more people than usual are utilizing the trails in the conservation land. We welcome this, however this increased foot traffic has started to bleed onto airfield property. Unfortunately, we made a horrible discovery recently. Both of the DC-3s on the airfield have sustained at least $15,000 worth of damages due to vandalism. These aircraft are antiques that were utilized by the Allied forces in WWII. Doing this to an aircraft is the equivalent to pushing down a World War II veteran just to watch him fall.

These two DC-3s are extremely rare and special in their own ways. One is the only Douglas Sleeper Transport (meant for overnight journeys) left flying in the world, one of eight that we know of that still exist. The other was specifically built for the US military as a C-53. Both DC-3s served the US in WWII, then became commercial aircraft. Combined, these two pieces of history have flown over 130,000 hours. Sid personally bought them and brought them here in order to save them as a labor of love. He is not a millionaire, so he cannot just send the planes away and pay for them to be fixed. These damages are not in the budget- repairing them is going to be a challenge.

We are offering a reward to anyone with any information that leads us to the person/people responsible for this vandalism. If you know of anyone who has been trespassing on the airfield, has a picture of them touching or sitting on these planes, or has mentioned touching these planes, PLEASE REACH OUT TO US - your information will be kept confidential. Tampering with an airplane is a federal offense... we’re trying to solve this problem WITHOUT pressing charges by making this plea to you.

This is an additional blow to our airfield family that we do not need in these trying times. With COVID-19, we are worried about our families’ safety, keeping our small business open, and now we have to worry about further vandalism to the property. Please share, and tell your friends to keep to the walking trails, not the airfield property."

FMI: http://www.capecodairfield.com