June 2019 marked the 75th anniversary of the D-Day invasion, where on 6 June 1944 the United States and allies from Canada and Great Britain stormed 50 miles of heavily fortified coastline along Nazi-controlled Normandy, France to begin the liberation of Europe from Hitler's power.
Over 150,000 men on the allied side took part in D-Day. It was the largest
combined naval, air and land operation ever staged in the history of warfare, with
over 10,000 aircraft and over 7,000 seaborne vessels used on the Allied side in
what then Supreme Allied Commander Dwight D. Eisenhower called the “Great Crusade” to free Europe, and the world at large, from the grip of Nazism.
But in
the hours of darkness leading up to the main seaborne invasion, an armada of
nearly 900 C-47 transports, referred to as 'Dakotas' by the commonwealth, flew
over 20,000 paratroopers and tons of supplies from England to Normandy and
dropped them all behind enemy lines, facing heavy cloud cover and intense
enemy gunfire in an effort to capture key sites behind the beaches, cut off
German resupply routes and reinforcements, and secure the flanks of the assault
areas.
They captured vital roads and bridges allowing for rapid advance of the seaborne
troops, neutralized German artillery positions, and also provided critical
reinforcements of manpower, equipment, ammunition and other supplies. In total 14,674 sorties were flown on D-Day among the
allies, with 127 aircraft lost.
13,000 Americans jumped into Normandy. 2,500 were either killed, wounded or missing by the end of D-Day. Overall the allied side suffered 10,000 casualties, including 2,500 American and nearly 2,000 British and Canadian troop casualties on the first day, which by the end would see over 50,000 allied ground troops and air forces killed in action, with figures on the German side similar. It is believed that 15,000 - 20,000 French civilians died in the battle as well, mostly resulting from allied bombing.
To honor those who gave all on D-Day and pay tribute to the few veterans still alive, America's D-Day Squadron flew 15 restored Douglas DC-3 and C-47 Skytrains (the military version of the DC-3) from the United States to
Europe to honor the 75th anniversary, in a series of symbolic mass flyover commemorations not likely to ever be seen again.
The planes, many storied WWII and D-Day combat veterans themselves, are all privately owned by various organizations. The massive undertaking was coordinated and led by the non-profit charitable Tunison Foundation and their D- Day veteran C-47 'Placid Lassie', commanded by chief pilot Eric Zipkin. They planned it for years, coming together & beginning their journey east across the north Atlantic in mid May, retracing the original Blue Spruce route.
Their first official Normandy flyover came on June 5, where they joined Daks Over Normandy and departed the Imperial War Museum Duxford together under overcast skies, as thousands of spectators waved and cheered wishing them good luck. The formation, led by Placid Lassie, headed south for France, conducting flyovers across England first at Colchester, Southend-On-Sea, Maidstone and Eastborne. The unmistakable skyline of London's city appeared to our west as we crossed the Thames Estuary near Sheerness, before arriving over south England's legendary white cliffs and headed out over the English Channel.
The mood in the sky was palpable, you could feel the emotion and excitement and honor that it was, as the more than 30 planes pushed for the shores of France together, same as their counterparts did 75 years earlier. I was honored to fly in a Beech 18 with Phil and Allie Dunnington, piloted by Andrew Holman- West, as Harvards and Mustangs flew 'top cover' escort for the massive formation.
As the shores of Normandy came into view the excitement increased, it was almost time for years of planning to pay off, as the formation approached their first French flyover at Le Havre. Thousands of spectators lined the streets and famed Pegasus Bridge, as 250 jumpers began pouring out of the Dakotas at Sannerville Drop Zone 'K', as French locals welcomed them all with gifts, hugs, thank yous and open arms, before the planes landed in Caen to stage for several days of events, including the official 75th commemorations scheduled the following day.
Such an incredible sight of so many combat veteran Dakotas together had not been seen in the skies over Normandy since D-Day, and will probably never be seen again.
A few D-Day veterans joined the D-Day Squadron's flight to Normandy as well, including 97 year old Tom Rice, a veteran of the 101st Airborne Division who tandem-jumped into Normandy from one of the C-47s, and Lt Col Dave Hamilton, who flew as a Pathfinder pilot on D-Day, flying this time with D-Day Squadron and the Historic Flight Foundation's DC-3 'Pan-Am Airways'.
29 дек 2019
