MODEL AIRPLANES / SCALE 1:72 / CORGI | DOUGLAS C-47A SKYTRAIN 'NIGHT FLIGHT' 5TH/6TH JUNE 1944 LIM. ED. | 1:72
Douglas C-47A Skytrain, 'Night Fright', 5th/6th June 1944
| FABRIKANT | SCHAAL |
| CORGI | 1:72 |
| Type vliegtuig | Militair transportvliegtuig |
| Periode | 1944 Tweede Wereldoorlog |
| Krijgsmacht | USAAF (United States Army Air Force) |
| Afmetingen | Lengte 27 cm spanwijdte 40.4 cm hoogte 6.4 cm |
| Materiaal | Die-cast metaal model met enkele kunststof onderdelen |
| Gelimiteerd | Ja tot 1000 stuks met genummerd certificaat |
| Bijzonderheden | Inclusief Piloten figuren en standaard / landingsgestel in of uit |
With the long-awaited invasion of Europe imminent, several new arrivals appeared at US Station 466 Membury Airfield in the final days of May 1944, the paratroopers of the famed 101st Airborne Division "Screaming Eagles," members of the 377th Parachute Field Artillery Battalion and a detachment of the 326th Airborne Medical Company.
These men would put their lives in the hands of the crews of the home-based Douglas C-47, but had trained exhaustively for the historic mission ahead. Many would participate in detailed briefings to give them information on flight paths, times, drop zones and known locations of enemy anti-aircraft fire, and on June 3, base personnel were ordered to paint black and white stripes around the rear fuselage and wings of all their aircraft.
With so many aircraft in the air at the same time and with the potential for casualties from their own fire, not only from attacking aircraft, but also from anti-aircraft fire on the ground and at sea, Allied D-Day planners called for "invasion stripes" to be painted on most Allied aircraft in an effort to clearly identify them to other friendly units. For everyone involved in this momentous day, the situation was now crystal clear - "if it doesn't have stripes, shoot it down.
On June 5, shortly before leaving for "Mission Albany," General Eisenhower and 101st Airborne Division Commander General Maxwell Taylor visited Membury Airfield and the troops about to begin their "Great Crusade. Eisenhower visited all five airfields of the 53rd TCW that day to gather the troops, but when he saw their determined, blackened faces and the number of weapons and knives each paratrooper was carrying, he knew the men of the Screaming Eagles were ready for the coming battle. C-47A 42-100521 'Night Fright' flew as Chalk No. 20 in the first of two series that took off from Membury at 11 p.m. on the night of June 5 with elements of the 1st Battalion, 502nd Parachute Infantry Regiment, and arrived over the DZ 'A' near Saint-Germain-de-Varreville at approximately 01:08 a.m. on June 6, 1944. The crew on that night consisted of pilot; William Watson, co-pilot; James Hardt, radio operator; Robert McKnight, navigator; Arthur E. Thornton and Crew Chief, Owen Voss.
Upon reaching the west coast of the Cherbourg Peninsula, low clouds made it difficult for the C-47 crews to stay in tight formation, especially as German anti-aircraft fire became heavier and more accurate the closer they got to their drop zone. The navigators aboard the lead aircraft skillfully directed the formation and they successfully dropped the paratroopers over their intended primary drop zone, before turning around and heading home and what proved to be a relatively quiet return flight to Membury, where they landed just before 4 a.m.
All the C-47s of the 436th TCG made it back to Membury, although many suffered damage from the intense ground fire they encountered - 'Night Fright' itself received about a hundred separate bullet and shrapnel impacts, putting her out of service for four days while she underwent repairs. The group's glider pilots were less fortunate, and several men were killed or wounded during landing operations. Between June 9 and 13, the 436th conducted several more sorties, using CG-4A gliders loaded with supplies in an attempt to resupply troops in the St. Mere Eglise area. After repairs, "Night Fright" returned to post-D-Day operations and conducted supply missions, medical evacuations and cargo flights during the remainder of this historic month.
These men would put their lives in the hands of the crews of the home-based Douglas C-47, but had trained exhaustively for the historic mission ahead. Many would participate in detailed briefings to give them information on flight paths, times, drop zones and known locations of enemy anti-aircraft fire, and on June 3, base personnel were ordered to paint black and white stripes around the rear fuselage and wings of all their aircraft.
With so many aircraft in the air at the same time and with the potential for casualties from their own fire, not only from attacking aircraft, but also from anti-aircraft fire on the ground and at sea, Allied D-Day planners called for "invasion stripes" to be painted on most Allied aircraft in an effort to clearly identify them to other friendly units. For everyone involved in this momentous day, the situation was now crystal clear - "if it doesn't have stripes, shoot it down.
On June 5, shortly before leaving for "Mission Albany," General Eisenhower and 101st Airborne Division Commander General Maxwell Taylor visited Membury Airfield and the troops about to begin their "Great Crusade. Eisenhower visited all five airfields of the 53rd TCW that day to gather the troops, but when he saw their determined, blackened faces and the number of weapons and knives each paratrooper was carrying, he knew the men of the Screaming Eagles were ready for the coming battle. C-47A 42-100521 'Night Fright' flew as Chalk No. 20 in the first of two series that took off from Membury at 11 p.m. on the night of June 5 with elements of the 1st Battalion, 502nd Parachute Infantry Regiment, and arrived over the DZ 'A' near Saint-Germain-de-Varreville at approximately 01:08 a.m. on June 6, 1944. The crew on that night consisted of pilot; William Watson, co-pilot; James Hardt, radio operator; Robert McKnight, navigator; Arthur E. Thornton and Crew Chief, Owen Voss.
Upon reaching the west coast of the Cherbourg Peninsula, low clouds made it difficult for the C-47 crews to stay in tight formation, especially as German anti-aircraft fire became heavier and more accurate the closer they got to their drop zone. The navigators aboard the lead aircraft skillfully directed the formation and they successfully dropped the paratroopers over their intended primary drop zone, before turning around and heading home and what proved to be a relatively quiet return flight to Membury, where they landed just before 4 a.m.
All the C-47s of the 436th TCG made it back to Membury, although many suffered damage from the intense ground fire they encountered - 'Night Fright' itself received about a hundred separate bullet and shrapnel impacts, putting her out of service for four days while she underwent repairs. The group's glider pilots were less fortunate, and several men were killed or wounded during landing operations. Between June 9 and 13, the 436th conducted several more sorties, using CG-4A gliders loaded with supplies in an attempt to resupply troops in the St. Mere Eglise area. After repairs, "Night Fright" returned to post-D-Day operations and conducted supply missions, medical evacuations and cargo flights during the remainder of this historic month.
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