My favorite plane of all times.. I have at least 500 flights in a multitude of DC-3, C-47’s and a few other variants of that airframe, including a DC-2, all what could be called scheduled flights. Took what could be called my honeymoon flight with my first wife in one. I have flown in many multi-plane formations. Been in a terrible stall, super scary. Experienced 3 engine failures, (all on the left side, go figure) On one flight we clipped a tree with the right wingtip at the end of a very short soft airfield, there were 30 on board with a LOT of heavy luggage and a small dog, duh! that was dumb, about crapped my pants. My friend was given one as a gift a few years ago, and she got rated in it but does not fly it much, it can be seen in the newer Pearl Harbor movie, among others. I want my funeral flight to be in one!
My late friend, Don Orcutt, leaving Operation "Market Garden" after the first of four sorties there. Image Unavailable, Please Login
Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login The Silver one is 26Mike Alpha, circa 199o, i’m in the back row, young and dumb. The green one is D-Day Doll, a C-53, I am on the far right at Flabob, Veterans day 2019, now old but still dumb.
After Don's 4th sortie his airplane was grounded because of leaking fuel from ground fire and flak. He did the same thing on D-Day and Bastogne. These transport guys were unsung heroes. Never dumb.
You are fortunate to know someone and hear the stories first-hand, sadly and very soon, all those guys will be gone. We need to remind younger folks about why and what these guys did for us all.
Don told me that their orders after their drop over Arnhem was to make a turn to the left and depart. He said that on the approach they saw what appeared to be dark clouds ahead, something the WX guys had not predicted. As they got closer they could see that it was not clouds but heavy flak. After his drop he elected to make a diving turn to his right to get over the country side instead of the city. He continued his turn at ground level and encountered an 88 mm flak gun staring him in the face . They fired but missed and he said that he could see that the gun crew had been taken by surprise because some of them were still in their underwear. He flew right over them on his way to escape. He flew at 200-300 feet all the way to the coast. He went back three more times dropping parapacks, equipment, and supplies to support the personnel dropped on the first run. His airplane was grounded after his 4th return. He had photos(snapshots) that he took on his first run in that showed the dark cloud of flak.
Another recall. He towed Waco gliders to France on D-Day and over the English Channel the nose pulled off a glider and they watched as it stalled then pitched down to spill the the contents out, troops and a Jeep.
