N47TB —

Nice photo Jeff of a most historical aircraft !!

The "leading"aircraft on D-Day... now doing demo flights in Texas. I found some more details about the D-Day flight on line...

By the end of the first full day of the D-Day combat (July 6, 1944), more than 23,000 paratroopers had landed by parachute or gliders, most of them carried to war by one single aircraft type - the Douglas C-47.

Affectionately known as the "Gooney Bird," the C-47 was the primary military transport of the Allies during the Second World War. More than 10,000 were built, with most serving with the Army Air Forces as the C-47 Skytrain, the U.S. Navy as the R4D, and the Royal Air Force as the Dakota. The Soviet Union built 6,000 under license as the Lisunov Li-2, while even the Japanese foe built 400 - ironically under license - as the L2D.

The C-47 was sturdy, reliable, and rugged, and was capable of carrying 6,000 pounds of cargo over long distances. The C-47 served the nation with distinction for over 35 years in many guises and names. But perhaps its most important contribution was in the skies over Normandy on June 5 and 6, 1944.

Please don't make up aircraft codes-- this is a DC3 in the ICAO list, which is what FA seems to be using in the photos database. Yes, I know it's actually a C-47.

Sorry Samuel; everyone but you are aware of the differences 'twix DC-3 & C-47. What FA and the ICAO think is irrelavent ... life happens without either of them.

Sadly, the ICAO was created in April '47
(see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Civil_Aviation_Organization)

all type codes prior to '47 are then 'a figment of someones imagination', easpecially for airframes with several variations.
see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Douglas_DC-3_family_variants for the different types attributed to the Douglas DC-3

An original “work horse”!! Made with diligence and flown with determination!!!

lot of history with this ol' bird
https://www.aerialvisuals.ca/AirframeDossier.php?Serial=46794

The famous light signal over the Channel June 6, 1944. Dit Dit Dit DAH ! Code for "V" for Victory.
Or in France Viva La France!
My father combat engineer at Normandy after making it off the beach came across a French Citizen cheering Americans, his house was bullet and shrapnel riddled. My dad said you could have been killed here! The reply was "Yes! But we would have died free!".
All I can say is I'm grateful to all those planes and pilots that made freedom possible for so many!

AHHHH

JEff this is not a plane ! it's a part of history!!!

Jeff,
Another brilliant image perfecty exposed!

Pierre,
Thank you for the interesting history.
Thinking of D-Day and the bravery and commitment of the landing forces is hard to consider without tears of thanks for those brave souls.

don't forget the Berlin Airlift from 26 June 1948 to 30 September 1949 to carry supplies to the people of West Berlin,

see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berlin_Blockade

What a beautiful picture of this work horse that helped to end World War II!! I can still hear the sound of the engines when they flew over Holland!

Embassies and AF bases were still using them as base birds into the 70s with the Navy using the Super version (C-117) Caught rides on both on my TDYs. I remember you rode facing aft on the Navy ones.