My New Toy! #43-48716, a WWII Veteran!

[flight17]

Air Heritage is now the proud new owner of a World War Two Veteran, a C-47 Skytrain. Our C-47 has been sitting on the ramp at the Vietnam Huey Pilots Association’s hangar across from ours’ since November 29th, 2012 when they received it from Florida. We reached a deal with them to sell our OV-1D for their C47 and the C-47 officially became ours late last week.

 Our plane came off the production line on September 13th, 1944 and was delivered to the USAAF as a C-47B, # 43-48716. It served in the European Theatre of Operations (ETO) after arriving in Welford Park, England on the 27th of September, 1944, just missing operation Market Garden by ten days.

 It briefly served with the 8th Air force before being transferred to the 9th Air Force sometime before December of ‘44. Upon arriving with the 9th AF, it served within the 53rd Troop Carrier Wing, 435th Troop Carrier Group and 75th Troop Carrier Squadron. It flew two missions over the Battle of the Bulge resupplying the allied forces in late December ’44.

 In February of ‘45, it moved to a new home base of Bretigny, France. From there it took place in the world’s largest airborne operation in history to be conducted on a single day, Operation Varsity (March 24th, 1945); dropping over 16,000 paratroopers from several thousand aircraft to cross the River Rhine. On that day, our plane towed two Waco CG-4A Gliders full of troops.

 At this time, we don’t have any more specific history of our plane except for dates of transfers within the service. By the time it was retired in 1972, it had been converted into an executive transport, VC-47D. Upon leaving the Air Force, it was used by the state of Florida spraying for Mosquitoes out of the Miami area. From there it was acquired by the Vietnam Huey Pilots Association who got it by trading them oddball Huey parts they needed and had it ferried up here.

I might have a lead on the commander of the plane when it was in WWII as he may still be alive, but right now im trying to contact his daughter. I also have a lead on a diary made by the squad which hopefully might give us some more information on our bird.

So its in a somewhat flying condition. They were able to ferry it up here, but we will need to do some maintenance on it and get it repainted into its military colors before we can begin flying it to air shows hopefully starting next year. Mainly we just need to set up a maintenance program with our FSDO for it and get it annualed so we know what we are dealing with, but it appears to be in good condition. I havent seen anything that has caught my eye.

Its very low timed as well, only ~12,000hrs on the aircraft and recently overhauled engines (1830's i believe).

[mechanic]

That is amazing. Congratulations to you guys.

[Hajo]

In my opinin the most valuable aircraft of WWII.  Unquestioned reliability and a jack of all trades.  I remember in the 50s and later they were used by the airline industry.

It's an Icon and a truely remarkable aircraft!  Well done on the acquisition.  Take good care of her.

[icepac]

I got to ride along a few times in the mid 1970s as they sprayed key biscayne pretty much every saturday morning.

I thought most of them were later converted to pt6.



If you really want to go crazy, you could make it into the only one of THESE left in the world.

[LilMak]

Congrats on owning the greatest aircraft ever built. There are a few based at the airport where I keep my C-170. The guy in the hangar next to mine gives check outs in his D-C3.

[Maverick]

Great news. I hope she's a good bird for your group and you have tons of event free miles / hours.

[flight17]

I got to ride along a few times in the mid 1970s as they sprayed key biscayne pretty much every saturday morning.

I thought most of them were later converted to pt6.

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thanks for the photo, she actually looks proper in it!

If any of you have toured the Spirit of Freedom, a C-54 that is a traveling museum for the Berlin Airlift, who is owned by Tim chopp a good friend of our museum, I'm thinking about having our C-47 setup the same way. Having half of it looking like it would being operational in the war and the other half as a traveling museum in honor of the Battle of the Bulge and Operation Varsity, with the main focus on Varsity.

Either way, I can't wait to start working on it! As soon as our C-123 is out of the hangar from its annual, I think we are going to start on the C-47.

[Bodhi]

Good for you guys.

A word of caution.  Every former warbird converted to sprayer that I have worked on has been loaded with corrosion, especially those that were working in South Florida.  Fine tooth comb is the best advice I can give to you along with a wire camera.  You can see anything with those things.

[MarineUS]

Awesome! 

[flight17]

Good for you guys.

A word of caution.  Every former warbird converted to sprayer that I have worked on has been loaded with corrosion, especially those that were working in South Florida.  Fine tooth comb is the best advice I can give to you along with a wire camera.  You can see anything with those things.

Deffinately! As soon as we get the hangar space back, we are bringing it in and starting on it as we really need to have it flying by next year's season. It will be stripped down and given a thorough inspection, which hopefully will give good results.

[Babalonian]

Air Heritage is now the proud new owner of a World War Two Veteran, a C-47 Skytrain. Our C-47 has been sitting on the ramp at the Vietnam Huey Pilots Association’s hangar across from ours’ since November 29th, 2012 when they received it from Florida. We reached a deal with them to sell our OV-1D for their C47 and the C-47 officially became ours late last week.

 Our plane came off the production line on September 13th, 1944 and was delivered to the USAAF as a C-47B, # 43-48716. It served in the European Theatre of Operations (ETO) after arriving in Welford Park, England on the 27th of September, 1944, just missing operation Market Garden by ten days.

 It briefly served with the 8th Air force before being transferred to the 9th Air Force sometime before December of ‘44. Upon arriving with the 9th AF, it served within the 53rd Troop Carrier Wing, 435th Troop Carrier Group and 75th Troop Carrier Squadron. It flew two missions over the Battle of the Bulge resupplying the allied forces in late December ’44.

 In February of ‘45, it moved to a new home base of Bretigny, France. From there it took place in the world’s largest airborne operation in history to be conducted on a single day, Operation Varsity (March 24th, 1945); dropping over 16,000 paratroopers from several thousand aircraft to cross the River Rhine. On that day, our plane towed two Waco CG-4A Gliders full of troops.

 At this time, we don’t have any more specific history of our plane except for dates of transfers within the service. By the time it was retired in 1972, it had been converted into an executive transport, VC-47D. Upon leaving the Air Force, it was used by the state of Florida spraying for Mosquitoes out of the Miami area. From there it was acquired by the Vietnam Huey Pilots Association who got it by trading them oddball Huey parts they needed and had it ferried up here.

I might have a lead on the commander of the plane when it was in WWII as he may still be alive, but right now im trying to contact his daughter. I also have a lead on a diary made by the squad which hopefully might give us some more information on our bird.

So its in a somewhat flying condition. They were able to ferry it up here, but we will need to do some maintenance on it and get it repainted into its military colors before we can begin flying it to air shows hopefully starting next year. Mainly we just need to set up a maintenance program with our FSDO for it and get it annualed so we know what we are dealing with, but it appears to be in good condition. I havent seen anything that has caught my eye.

Its very low timed as well, only ~12,000hrs on the aircraft and recently overhauled engines (1830's i believe).

(Image removed from quote.)
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Wonderful news, grats on your new acquisition.    Hope to hear it checks out with its annual without any issues.

Our museum has a C-46, but it's been sitting on our ramp technically static for two years, FAA put out a nasty (see: expensive) AD on the props.  I'm hoping and will do my share, but probably not for another year as we wrap up the current big-plane project occupying a large chunk of real estate in our maintenance hangar (a PBJ/B25J).

[Babalonian]

Good for you guys.

A word of caution.  Every former warbird converted to sprayer that I have worked on has been loaded with corrosion, especially those that were working in South Florida.  Fine tooth comb is the best advice I can give to you along with a wire camera.  You can see anything with those things.

^ haven't had the pleasure myself, but not the first time I've heard that warning.

Also, a couple tips/headsup:
-I don't know how windy it gets at your airport, but chains to the tail if you're parking it for a while or expecting gusts.  They will walk, and we had an old wooden hangar damaged one night many years ago when it was gusting and one wing was lifted up, walked over and came to a rest ontop of the structure.
-You couldn't of waited 2-3 more months, eigh?...     Spring is fun and nice and all, but unless you park that thing inside a hangar, brace for bird nesting (and looking at your lovely airport and parking spot... lots of it), the crevaces in the wings, elevators and rudder imediatley behind the moving control surfaces particularly - but they will find many other places and make many nests and messes for those with smaller hands and nimbler limbs to constantly deal with and stay ontop of.

[icepac]

Won't have to worry about hatching wasps from florida with the cold, I would expect.

[Bodhi]

The damned Starlings seem to be the worst for that Babylonian.  Anywhere they can get in and they will.  Those are kill on sight birds around here.

[Babalonian]

The damned Starlings seem to be the worst for that Babylonian.  Anywhere they can get in and they will.  Those are kill on sight birds around here.

Yeah I think that's what we got, the european variety that are mostly jet black.  I don't love them but I don't mortaly hate them either (probabley because A: I rarely work on that plane and B: my hands are too big/gainly to even be on the top-half of the list of people who get asked to de-nest ).

You probabley don't have to deal with docenting visitors around the aircraft though, and working hard for that academy award everytime another nestling falls out dead (who knows if before or after hitting) on the concrete.