C-47 42-100846 engagé dans les missions Albany et Hackensack les 6 juin et 7 juin 1944 en Normandie.

History of Douglas C-47A Dakota III 42-100846

Douglas C-47A Dakota III 42-100846

C-47 42-100846 engaged in the Albany and Hackensack missions on 6 June and 7 June 1944 in Normandy. Photo: Marc Laurenceau
C-47 42-100846 engaged in the Albany and Hackensack missions on 6 June and 7 June 1944 in Normandy. Photo: Marc Laurenceau

Built in 1943 with registration number 42-100846, this C-47 joined the 439th Troop Carrier Group and flew to Upottery air base in England. On D-Day at 01:20, piloted by Captain Brauer, it dropped paratroopers from the 2nd Battalion (Easy or Fox Company) of the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment (101st Airborne Division) in the Hiesville sector (drop zone C) with drop serial 12, under heavy German anti-aircraft fire (two C-47s from this series were shot down).

The following day, 7 June, this C-47 returned to Normandy with serial 36, towing a Horsa glider carrying airlifted soldiers from the 82nd Airborne Division as part of the Hackensack mission. By the end of the Second World War, it had flown a total of 1,430 hours.

Purchased by Finland in 1946, it was re-registered as OH-LCD and renamed ‘Lokki’ to carry passengers. Retired from service in 1985, it made its final flight on 28 January 1986. Refurbished in 2015, it is now on display at the Finnish Aviation Museum in Helsinki.

C-47 42-100846 ‘Lokki’, currently on display at the Finnish Aviation Museum in Helsinki. Photo: Marc Laurenceau
C-47 42-100846 ‘Lokki’, currently on display at the Finnish Aviation Museum in Helsinki. Photo: Marc Laurenceau

History of Douglas C-47A Dakota III 42-100846 1 Back to drop serial 12

Author : Marc Laurenceau – Reproduction subject to authorization of the author – Contact