Project to restore old warhorse starts again
LABOUR OF LOVE FOR DAKOTA WHICH FLEW OUT OF LEICESTERSHIRE
WORK to restore a Second World War transport plane which played a role in the D-Day landings has resumed after delays caused by the coronavirus lockdowns.
The C47 Dakota aircraft was based at Bottesford during the war, flying two missions on D-Day in 1944 – when it was hit more than 100 times.
The aircraft, christened Night Fright, took part in many major airborne missions in Europe during the war, dropping paratroopers, towing gliders, evacuating wounded and flying tons of much-needed supplies to the front line.
Along with the Normandy landings, the hardy aircraft also saw action during the ill-fated Operation Market Garden in September 1944, in which the Allies sought to capture a series of vital bridges, culminating in defeat at Arnhem.
In December of the same year it relieved troops in the Ardennes offensive, known as the Battle of the Bulge.
It also flew many hours in the US and Europe after the war.
The 10-year project to return the plane to its former glory was put on hold by the pandemic, but the team members are now back in the workshop. Owner Charlie Walker said: “For me it is living, breathing history.
“You can read about something in a book but there is nothing like touching it, feeling it, sitting in it and flying in it.”
In 2012, the Walker own the Membury estate in Berkshire, sought help to find Night Fright, as it had also flown from Membury airfield during the war.
Miraculously, the aircraft, which was on the verge of being scrapped, was spotted on the edge of an old airfield in Arkansas by a collector using Google Earth.
Charlie, along with dad Philip, bought the aircraft and it was taken to Florida, where restoration began.
It was eventually shipped to Coventry in 2016, where a new team continued its restoration.
Charlie said they have a lot of work ahead if they are to hit a target of flying by the end of the year.
He said: “We have to get the engines in and get the propellers turning.
“And then there is what I call the internal details, making it look like a C47 on the sixth of June 1944, which is what we are aiming for.
“It’s two things in simple terms. It is honouring veterans who fought for our freedom and it is educating future generations on how important our history is.”
Once completed, the aircraft will be a flying memorial to those men and women who served as part of Troop Carrier Command.
There is more about the project at: