Line-up announced for 2024 D-Day Squadron visit

A provisional list of C-47 and DC-3 aircraft has been confirmed along with an itinerary for next year’s much-anticipated tour

In a repeat of its 2019 mission the D-Day Squadron will be bringing multiple Douglas C-47 and DC-3s to Europe in 2024 to mark the 80th anniversary of D-Day and 75 years since the Berlin Airlift. The veteran type did of course make a prominent contribution to both those remarkable undertakings.

The North American flight is expected to depart Oxford-Waterbury Airport in Connecticut on May 18 and will head across the Atlantic following the original ‘Blue Spruce’ route – see below for a provisional itinerary and a list of participating aircraft. The list may change due to serviceability and logistical issues, so keep an eye on the D-Day Squadron’s website for the latest as we draw nearer to the occasion. It’s also hoped that the flight will be joined by at least three European-based C-47s hailing from Sweden, Finland and France, as well as a number of UK-based machines.

**A quintet of the DC-3/C-47 ‘breed’ in flight with the D-Day Squadron** Xavier Meal via D-Day Squadron

Speaking to the initiative’s website, operations director and chief pilot Eric Zipkin reflected on the 2019 ‘mission’ and looked forward to 2024’s undertaking: “Having led the DC-3s journey to Europe in 2019, the D-Day Squadron earned a global presence that’s provided our organisation [with the opportunity] 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 [so] 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.”