Overlord Eighty Years On

The D-Day Squadron—a collection of restored, WWII-era C-47 Skytrain/Dakota aircraft—has announced its plan to return to Europe in 2024 to commemorate the 80th anniversary of D-Day and the 75th anniversary of the Berlin Airlift. The happy news was made public at EAA AirVenture 2022.

Inspired by the success of a 2019 mission that saw the outfit urge a fleet of 15 C-47s across the North Atlantic in observance of the 75th anniversary of the Allied invasion of Normandy, the D-Day Squadron looks to return to Europe for purpose of honoring and keeping alive the memories of the soldiers, sailors, Marines, and airmen who sacrificed so much to safeguard this world from tyranny.

D-Day Squadron director of operations and mission chief pilot Eric Zipkin states: “Having led the DC-3’s journey to Europe in 2019, the D-Day Squadron earned a global presence that’s provided our organization to grow, multiply our DC-3 presence and even launch the DC-3 Society where we actively aid operators and enthusiasts with maintenance, operations, airworthiness, and displays. We won the War because of our logistical abilities, it’s only appropriate we, as the stewards of this noble aircraft, continue to fly and maintain the very airframe that was the backbone to achieving victory.”

The business of commemoration is an expensive one. Owing largely to the dramatic increase in fuel prices since 2019, each D-Day Squadron aircraft must raise a mission operating budget of between $150,000 and $200,000. Planning the 2024 mission will be seen to by a volunteer committee of professionals whose familiarity with the C-47 and expertise in international flight-planning and fleet logistics will help ensure the greatest battle of mankind’s bloodiest conflict and the men who fought it remain vividly enshrined in humanity’s collective awareness.

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