Daks over Duxford Review
Preface
Since the events at Duxford and Caen took place, there has been much talk and coverage of various issues behind the scenes during the Daks event, including resignations of positions, financial issues, flight delays, miscommunication and delegation of duty issues, as well as accommodation and luggage concerns with various parties – leaving many in difficult positions. While I feel personally that these are important factors to take into account, it would be unfair for me to write a review of an event based on things I did not see, nor experience myself (I.e: The events in France, and beyond) – therefor this review will be covering the events at IWM Duxford and Beachy Head only.
"Betsy's Biscuit Bomber" watches on as two Daks break to land overhead.
Intro
Few moments during the Second World War were as important as Operation Overlord, also known as D-Day; this huge feat of determination, ambition and courage can only be fully understood when you see the people and the machinery that made it happen. We are used to seeing vintage aircraft flying about the skies, but nothing can match the sheer numbers of that which would have been seen 75 years ago for D-Day.
The assault by Air, Sea and Land was on a scale incomprehensible, where the skies would have been full of aircraft, the sea full of ships and the beaches stormed with soldiers, in Operation Overlord. The invasion saw 150,000+ Soldiers, Airmen and Naval crews (American, Australian, Belgian, British, Canadian, Czech, Dutch, French, Greek, New Zealand, Norwegian, Rhodesian and Polish) take part on the ground, at sea, and drop from the skies above and across Normandy, whilst temporary ports were built off the coast to harbour the ships and cargo needed to keep an assault of this size going,. The aim was to stretch the Nazi’s across two fronts, forcing Hitler’s forces to fight the Soviet front, and also defend the Western front in France – a key tactical position for overall European control, which, if successful would have forced Germany on the retreat for the first time – the whole invasion was to be the biggest combined Land, Air and Sea operation in history as they stormed the Normandy beaches codenamed Sword, Juno, Gold, Omaha and Utah.
Perhaps, though, the most symbolic and emblematic sight was the large fleet of nearly one thousand Douglas C-47 Skytrain’s which flew over Normandy as troop transports and glider tugs, whilst sticks of jumpers leapt from the back, and cascaded into the battle with only those round canopies to guide their fall, whilst under heavy fire from below.
Operation Overlord was a success, but now, 75 years on, it’s becoming significantly less common to be able to hear the stories of those heroics first hand, thus, it therefore falls to the iconic aircraft and other machinery of the time, to bring this chapter of history to life once more. Whilst no easy feat to achieve this endeavour, for the 75th anniversary, a spectacular event was put in motion to bring together, for what is likely to be the final time, these pieces of history.
The Daks Over Normandy event took place across several important locations, at IWM Duxford and at Caen Carpiquet Airport primarily, bringing together a penned 37 airframes for the formation, as well as various fighters, re-enactors, and parachute teams to create the feeling of D-Day. The event promised a once in a lifetime commemoration to the historic occasion, and more importantly, to the men and women who fought for our freedom. The Daks Over Normandy schedule boasted mass formations, air displays, paradrops with round canopies, as well as air-to-air photo shoots, scenic flights, and access inside the aircraft on the ground – something I was lucky to be able to experience, giving me a great chance to meet and talk with some of the crew members of my personal favourite aircraft, that of the glorious “Miss Montana”.
Unfortunately, a few factors meant that not all the above could happen. The weather over the course of the week was historically accurate, with high winds, rain, and murky skies - this limited some flying activities, albeit not as much as it could have done, at least on the Duxford side of things. Other factors are less clear and still a matter of dispute and thus, for this review will be absent.
While these issues slightly diminish the event, it cannot overshadow the human power involved in some of the major headlines of the event. One of these was the attendance of aircraft from North America. Especially formed as the “D-Day Squadron”, these aircraft came from across America to make the journey to Europe, to be a part of the occasion. Led by the Commemorative Air Force, and their two “Daks” – C-53D N45366 “D-Day Doll” from the Inland Empire Wing, and the actual aircraft which led the airborne assault for Operation Overlord, C-47A N88874 “That’s All Brother” from the Central Texas Wing. The American crews made the trans-Atlantic crossing via Canada, Greenland, Iceland, Scotland and into Duxford.
The other American Aircraft were:
· DC-3C N25641 “Liberty” from JB Air Services LLC
· C-47 N47SJ “Betsy’s Biscuit Bomber” from the Goony Bird Corporation
· C-53D N8336C “The Spirit of Benovia” from Benovia Winery
· DC-3 N33611 “Clipper Tabitha May” from PMFG Flight Operations LLC
· C-41A N341A from Golden Age Air Tours
· C-47 N103NA “Flabob Express” from Flabob Aviation
· C-47 N62CC “Virginia Ann” from Mission Boston D-Day
· C-47 N74589 “Placid Lassie” from the Tunison Foundation
· DC-3 N877MG “Pan Am” from the Historic Flight Foundation
· DC-3 N24320 “Miss Montana” from the Museum of Mountain Flying, Missoula
· DC-3A N18121 from Blue Skies Air LLC
· C-47A N47E “Miss Virginia” from Dynamic Aviation
As well as the American contingent, European aircraft also descended on Duxford, while not on the scale of the American aircraft numbers, they still came from across Europe to partake – including the very rare Lisunov Li-2 HA-LIX “Karman Todor” from the Goldtimer Foundation in Hungary.
The European Aircraft were:
· C-47A N147DC “Mayfly” from Aces High at Dunsfold, UK
· C-47DL N150D “Rendezvous with Destiny” from Hugo Mathys in Switzerland
· DC-3A OH-LCD from Airveteran LTD in Finland
· DC-3 N431HM from Hugo Mathys in Switzerland
· C-47A OY-BPB “Gamie Dame” from Foreningen for Flyvende Museumsfly in Denmark
· DC-3 SE-CFP “Daisy” from Flying Veterans in Sweden
· DC-3 F-AZOX “Chalair” from Un Dakota sur la Normandie in France
· C-53D “LN-WND” from Dakota Norway in Norway
Other aircraft were penned to take part, but due to factors including technical issues, weather concerns or plans to head straight to France, the total number was 23, out of 37 – this was still impressive, especially being at Duxford and seeing them lined up, but was a fair shortcoming from the numbers advertised by the organisers right up to the week before. The Battle of Britain Memorial Flight were scheduled to appear with a flying display at Duxford before heading straight to France, with “Kwitcherbitchen” – their Dakota III, based at RAF Coningsby. The weather forecast was not great though, and the crew chose to head straight for France to dodge the closing-in storms. The other UK C-47 “Drag Em Oot” (at the time, as they now have a second) is operated by Aero Legends, and they chose to hold a smaller event with their two Spitfires at North Weald and left early on the 4th of June.
"Miss Montana" taxis back in to the apron flowing a mass take-off.
Duxford – June 4th, 2019
I arrived early on the 4th, ready to see this special gathering from around the world in a way which promised to be evocative, symbolic, and emotional. Duxford was a hive of activity when the gates opened, as people rushed in to get their first glimpses of the planes up close. Many would have followed the social media of some of the crews, like the steady stream of live videos from the “Miss Montana” team, the Commemorative Air Force team’s videos, and other crews who had travelled from far and wide for this historic event, but seeing them for real, together, en-mass, was somewhat breath-taking and truly humbling.
I had been lucky enough to see the formation flights for the photo shoot held off the Sussex coastline (Very close to where I live) the Friday before, which gave tantalising glimpses of sights and sounds as many of the American contingent buzzed the house, in formations, solos and chasing small camera ships which, no doubt, had very happy photographers on board – all this had set me up for the 4th and 5th, raising my excitement even more!
Back to Duxford and while it was indeed exciting to be there, it was also an unknown, with a vague plan advertised prior to the event, with a very unstructured itinerary of some flying, some formations and some paradrops, around the scheduled photo flights. The passenger flights in a DC-3 did not happen due to a paperwork delay, meaning that the opportunity which many wanted to pay to experience, could not happen. Eventually the commentary team announced the timings for the paradrops for both military and civilian jumping teams, plus the already announced solo C-47 display, a formation display and the various ground exhibits, plus some fighter displays from some Spitfires, and other warbirds which took part in D-Day – more on those later.
The ground attractions were that of a Duxford airshow, with many stands and stalls, various attractions, and, of course, the museum itself being open to the visitors. It was well laid out, with lots to see and do, including a generous portion in front of the Air and Space Hangar given to the British Army to lay out their various toys, including an AgustaWestland AH-64 Apache. Not only stands from the UK, but some of the overseas crews had brought their wares to sell as well – Duxford had really laid out a lot to do for the event, which was greatly appreciated by all in attendance.
Moving back to the aircraft, and It had been advertised that the “Daks” would be open to the public, so it was a shame to see the majority of the aircraft parked out on the airfield, fairly far away from the public, bar five aircraft which had been parked on the apron where the crowds could see them up close – these were later opened up to the public to be able to tour inside and talk with their friendly crews as well.
The aircraft which had been opened on the apron for the public to get up close to, included the Lisunov Li-2, “Miss Montana” and the Commemorative Air Force’s “D-Day Doll” - “Betsy’s Biscuit Bomber” and “Rendezvous With Destiny” made up the others which allowed public access on the 4th (they were not open on the 5th to the public unfortunately). It was remarkable to see so many types of the famous Douglas design in one location, with DC-3s, C-47s, C-53s, a C-41 and the Li-2, all born from the same design blueprint.
P-47D Thunderbolt, 2x P-51D Mustangs and Grumman FM-2 Wildcat representing the fighters.
Throughout the day, there were various photo flights, which saw a number of warbirds take-off to partake, with the photographers in the back of T-6 Texans and Harvards, flying alongside the “Daks”. During one of the flights, it became clear that the Norwegian C-53 “LN-WND” had an issue, and came back round to land on one engine, eventually coming to a stop on the runway, where it required some attention to check over and then move safely aside. It was a relief the aircraft and its crew landed down okay, with it now requiring some TLC and a new engine, at Duxford.
The weather on the 4th of June was not the best, it was typical British weather, with early sunshine which quickly turned to cloud, and then rain and higher winds. Despite this, there was a clear effort from all parties to put on a show for the thousands of people at Duxford, both on the ground, and indeed, in the air. It became clear early on that the round canopy drop looked questionable, and indeed it came to be that there wasn’t going to be a mass drop as planned, which, as that was very much the showpiece of the event, for us, and for the many jumpers as well, was a shame to hear.
Aces High C-47 “Mayfly” still took to the skies for a spirited solo display in her new paint scheme though, representing D-Day colours, with a fictional nose art, fitting to the name, with three Aces. While still in the air, she was joined by “That’s All Brother” and “Placid Lassie”, and the three-ship did a number of passes together, before breaking off to land in spectacular fashion – making these big old birds look like fighters!
Grumman FM-2 Wildcat represents a FAA Martlet with D-Day stripes.
We did still get to see a mass launch of “Daks”, put in motion by lines of paratroopers who headed out to the aircraft, dressed, prepared, as if they were going to war in 1944 for real –geared up in historically garb, it brought the entire atmosphere to life when they appeared. (Huge kudos must go to the various jumping teams who made the effort to be there – both the military teams and indeed the highly experienced civilian teams, regardless of the jump not happening that day). After they lined up, boarded a number of the aircraft and were taxied out to the runway, they took off into the murky English Skies - lead, appropriately, by “That’s All Brother” – the aircraft which headed up the airborne assault during Operation Overlord 75 years ago.
Although no jump happened, the six aircraft (That’s All Brother”, “D-Day Doll”, “Betsy’s Biscuit Bomber” “Rendezvous With Destiny”, “Miss Montana” and the Hungarian Lisunov Li-2”), gave a couple of passes down the runway before coming back in to land. It was disappointing to see that much-anticipated jump not happen– regardless, seeing the 6-ship launch in quick succession was a fantastic sight, worked to coincide with some timely voiceovers of various soundbites and clips from wartime broadcasts, alongside that radial rasp of the engines.
It can be easy to forget that there were other aircraft involved in D-Day as well, when the event focused heavily on the C-47s, but this was not overlooked by Duxford, and a flying display was put together offering a diverse range of aircraft types to experience around the “Daks”. First up, it was the Observation Aircraft with a pair of Taylorcraft Auster designs, Trevor Bailey’s T7, which was joined by Kevin Hale in his AOP6 , they were used as artillery spotters during D-Day and the pair gave a tidy routine of formation passes and solo manoeuvres.
The Brits came next, and some roaring Merlin power from the Spitfires! Supermarine Spitfire IXT ML407 took to the skies alongside Spitfire MH434. The pair were flown by Steve Jones and Richard Grace, and they certainly put them through their paces with some very nice, tight formations. The Spitfires both carried invasion stripes and gave a good account of themselves with that recognisable Merlin music soundtrack.
Invasion stripes were a theme with the fighters, as seen with the American fighters which were up next with a new formation for me, all with connections to D-Day, that of the Fighter Aviation Engineering/Ultimate Warbirds Republic P-47D Thunderbolt “Nellie B” – another of those iconic D-Day aircraft, leading North American P-51D’s “Miss Helen” and the Norwegian Spitfire Foundations “The Shark”, followed up at the rear by The Fighter Collection’s Grumman FM-2 Wildcat. The four ship made a grunt as it crossed the Duxford sky with its mix of radials and Merlin’s, before, on the 4th of June at least, breaking off for a solo by the Wildcat, piloted by Stu Goldspink, and a three ship by the Mustangs and Thunderbolt. The quartet had more to show off, but the weather closed in and the flying had to be curtailed slightly.
Following the conclusion of the flying by the American Fighters, the heavens opened, and the show fizzled out. Many left the showground, who I hope, like myself, with a humbled and grateful appreciation for both the aircraft themselves on show, but also what they and this event represents; the sacrifice that those soldiers made for our freedom, that which many fought and indeed, died for.
A handful of the Daks parked up at Duxford at this mass gathering.
Beachy Head, June 5th, 2019
The following day, instead of returning to Duxford to witness the mass launch, as the fleet of “Daks” made their way to Normandy, I opted to travel a short way up the road to Beachy Head in East Sussex to witness the flyover, as this was one of the designated flyover points. I wasn’t the only one with this idea, as people flocked to the cliff top, ready to see this historic and once in a lifetime event. I arrived early, at around 1pm, with the flyover due at around 2.40pm. The same day, a special D-Day commemoration event was happening in Portsmouth with world leaders and heads of state, this was unrelated to the Daks Over Normandy event, but there was some unintentional delays to the launch of the “Daks”, due to French President Emmanuel Macron wanting to return to France to see the aircraft flyover, departing from Portsmouth following the conclusion of activities there.
Even with the delays though, the crowds kept coming at Beachy Head, and it was easily the busiest I have ever seen it, with surely over ten thousand people lining the cliffs. Cars parked in fields, roadsides, and verges and indeed, on the roads themselves, as the traffic built up into Eastbourne – not even for the Airshow, had I seen so many people here before. So much so, were these unexpectedly large crowds, that Sussex Police dispatched no less than 5 squad cars and a fair number of officers to monitor the crowds (Or, perhaps, to catch the flyover themselves too!). It was an electric atmosphere with people having barbeques, gatherings and even a beer or two, and neither the delays, nor the weather once again closing in deterred people who patiently awaited the aircraft to appear . Some of the most special sights were those who may not know too much about aviation, especially historic aviation, who still turned up and waited with family and friends to see this, knowing it was such a historic occasion – a one off.
Due to the aforementioned delays, the flyover didn’t happen until gone 4pm, by which time it was decidedly dull and windy, but when the many specs appeared in the distance, inbound from Kent, there was immediate excitement from the hordes of people. As the formation drew closer, there was a stately appearance to them which had the crowds quieting, and a humbled silence swept across the clifftops, like the sea breeze that was gusting across Beachy Head that day. Like a flick of a switch, it went from a party atmosphere, to a respectful tribute.
You could make out that the “Daks” weren’t alone, and for their channel crossing, as would have been the case in 1944, they had their escorts. Diving away over the sea and below the cliffs, the two North American P-51D’s, “Miss Helen” and “The Shark” gave a mighty Merlin growl, while flanking the C-47s, Dc-3s, C-53s, C-41 and that Li-2 were various Harvards, Beech 18s and other types acting as the camera ships – it was the most incredible sight.
The literal Skytrain eventually rumbled overhead, and there was barely a sound on the ground, it was silent. These planes instantly commanded respect and presence, the likes of which I hadn’t seen at any special flypast before. Broken up into several waves, they kept on coming from beyond the horizon, making it feel like there was far more of them than there actually was, with groups of about 5 or 6 in a wave. The skies were very dull, and it was hard to pick out the individual aircraft in various waves, although, again fittingly, “That’s All Brother” was in the lead wave, with the total of 21 aircraft in the formation (Not including the escorts).
The final wave of aircraft eventually rumbled overhead, with a couple giving little wing waggles, which were greatly appreciated by those on the ground, as the crews gave their farewell wave to rapturous applause – the only time the crowd made a noise during the flyover, while a single T-6 broke away and gave a spirited victory roll for the spectators before it departed back for Duxford.
Symbolic, Evocative, Humbling. The words I used immediately afterwards, and I think they sum up not only the sights and sounds of this event, but also its representation. Whilst these old birds are of course important and what people came to see, the men and women and the history they represent hold deeper meaning and respect, for we wouldn’t be enjoying what we saw in this commemoration, were it not for them. For me this was a highlight, a standout event which I have fond memories of, both from what I saw on the ground and in the air. While it sadly didn’t all go to plan, more so in France, than in England, the remembrance of this impactful and history changing event that was Operation Overlord was, I hope, a success in bringing that history to life for the many thousands who went out to see these planes, and the Parachuting teams who jumped from the back of them, may they long continue to inspire and remember.
Many thanks must go to the D-Day Squadron, and the American operators and crews who made a huge effort to fly their aircraft across the Atlantic to be here, and indeed the European operators who attended and played their part in making such a special event possible. Also, to the Parachute teams, who came from across the world to take part in this once in a lifetime event, it was a brilliant sight to see them dressed in the historical gear around the planes which they would eventually jump from. Further thanks must go to IWM Duxford and indeed, the aircraft operators and pilots for putting together the bonus of a flying display of D-Day aircraft to further boost the schedule at Duxford. As I said at the start of this review, it is sad that some things have come to light since the event, which have marred it somewhat, but I hope that those mentioned above know how much their involvement and commitment is greatly appreciated by all who saw them.
Words and Photos by Matt Silvaire.
Overlooking a totally packed Beachy Head for the approaching mass formation of Daks and fighters.