D-Day ‘Dak’ arrives from the US

C-47 42-100521 en route to Coventry Airport from Southampton on 26 April.
GORDON GRAY

FOLLOWING a three-week sea crossing from Brunswick, Georgia to Southampton, the fuselage of Douglas C-47A Night Fright arrived at Coventry Airport on 26 April. The former USAAF transport, 42-100521, which flew two missions on 6 June 1944, will now be restored to fly by a team led by Ben Cox, with a target to fly it back to Normandy for the 75th anniversary of the landings in June 2019. The Skytrain was dismantled and prepared for shipment at Punta Gorda, Florida by a team from South-east London-based Edwards Brothers Aviation (see News, Aeroplane April 2017) Two further containers of parts were due to arrive at Coventry on 27 April, with the wings following the next day.

Owned by Charlie Walker, the C-47 will be based at Membury, Berkshire, the airfield from which it flew on 6 June 1944.