An honest bit of history was parked at the Genesee County Airport for a time this afternoon. Whiskey 7, a Douglas C-47 that actually dropped paratroopers on the beaches at Normandy, June 6, 1944, stopped for refueling on its way back to Geneseo.
The aircraft "has been all over" said Naomi Wadsworth, the pilot. It's currently owned by the National Warplane Museum in Geneseo. After the war, it was sold to Capital Airlines, then Frontier Airlines, and then it was flown commercially in Alaska then South America before returning to the U.S. to be displayed in museums. The folks in Geneseo acquired it in 2006.
Wadsworth said they've actually located one of the paratroopers who jumped from the plane on D-Day.
The plane is returning to Normandy on Thursday for the 70th Anniversary of the famous battle. The crew has raised enough money for fuel to make the trip there but still needs to raise money for the return flight. Six bucks buys a gallon of gas. To find out about making a donation, visit www.rtn2014.org.
Wow. Wish I'd have known,
Wow. Wish I'd have known, I'd have been there with my camera as well.
The Hubby and I were working
The Hubby and I were working in the yard and had the privilege of watching it take off, was an awesome view!
If you want to see this plane
If you want to see this plane again, go to the Geneseo Air Show that's put on by the 1941 HAG organization... www.1941hag.org/Geneseo-Airshow. You can see this plane and many others! it's really a great show! My hubby and I try to go every year!
Great pictures. Makes you
Great pictures. Makes you think of the boys who jumped out of that plane and never made it back home. Such Heroes...
"go to the Geneseo Air Show
"go to the Geneseo Air Show that's put on by the 1941 HAG organization..."
Thanks, Elizabeth, for the info!
This is the plane that helped
This is the plane that helped win WWII. Those twin Patt and Whitney R-2800 engines made this airplane rock. I spent many an hour traveling in one of these during my 4 year stint in the USAF back in the late 60s. BTW one of these 28 cyclinder engines is in a static display at the annual steam show in Alexander. It was an engineering marvel of it's day.