16 November 2023
At least ten Douglas DC-3 and C-47 transport aircraft will take part in a 2024 rerun of the D-Day Squadron flight so successful in 2019.
This time, the Legacy Tour is to commemorate both the 80th anniversay of D-day and 75th anniversary of the Berlin Airlift.
On 18 May 2024, the D-Day Squadron is expected to depart Oxford-Waterbury Airport in Connecticut and head across the Northern Atlantic along the original Blue Spruce route. They will join four aircraft based in Europe, including two from Aero Legends, UK.
A statement from the Squadron says the list of aircraft taking part is changing regularly, “understandable when juggling such a monumental challenge. Some teams are working to get their aircraft ready to take part, but the complexity of the mission, the logistical challenges and the enormous costs involved inevitably will keep their participation on hold until months shy of the launch”.
Some pilots go to great lengths to get the period feel just right. Photos: D-Day Squadron
Eric Zipkin, director of operations and mission chief pilot for the D-Day Squadron, said, “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 connections and even launch the DC-3 Society where we actively aid operators, crews 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.”
