War-time memories fly into Villeneuve
Vintage aircraft touches down while retracing route to Russia
A piece of Edmonton’s history touched down Tuesday at the Villeneuve Airport when a vintage Second World War transport plane arrived just before the 70th anniversary of Victory-in-Europe Day.
The 71-year-old DC-3 — known during the war as a C-47 — landed near Edmonton as part of a trip along the North West Staging Route used to transport North American-built aircraft to the Soviet Union during the war.
“They were used for just about everything in the Second World War,” said Rod Mcleod, historian and volunteer at the Alberta Aviation Museum. “They were the workhorse transport aircraft of the Allied armies.”
The route, which includes stops in Whitehorse and Fairbanks, Alaska, was travelled by nearly 8,000 aircraft delivered to the Soviet Union during the war in an effort to fight the Axis powers.
In 1943 and 1944, Edmonton’s City Centre Airport — then known as Blatchford Field — was the busiest airport in the world.
For some, the old DC-3 is a relic of Edmonton’s rich history in aviation.
“It’s a reminder of what things used to be like,” said Phil Vere, a volunteer at the Alberta Aviation Museum. “It was the Gateway to the North. So much bush flying went on here. It’s just astounding.”
Vere joined a crowd of other aviation enthusiasts who looked skyward as the aircraft made its descent Tuesday.
Seeing a group interested in the DC-3 held significance for owner and co-pilot Dwayne King.
“I got a little emotional there,” said King. “I’m very humbled.”
King is the director of Kingdom Air Corps, and is flying the DC-3 to Russia to do missionary work.
The plane is not one of the aircraft to originally fly the North West Staging Route, but it’s in rare condition, with original interior and engines intact.
“The Russians said, ‘Bring a plane that’s just like the original,’ ” said King. “So that’s what we’re going to do.”