The National Warplane Museum is home to several key aircraft from WWII, including a Douglas C-47 known as Whiskey 7, which flew during the Normandy battle now famously known as D-Day. Now, the craft is due to revisit Normandy for an anniversary celebration of the battle, where it flew in the 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment. Seventy years after the battle, Whiskey 7 is still capable of flight and ready to perform its duties in a much more stress-free environment than that of D-Day.
Only having resided at the National Warplane Museum for eight years, the C-47 in question has been refurbished to fly much more comfortably. The museum did not completely understand the significance of the plane they were redecorating, but once they learned more of Whiskey 7 and its service on D-Day they began assembling numerous volunteers to get the plane back to a pristine state. Now used in numerous airshows, it ranks as one of the only C-47s in existence that can still fly capably.
It cost a quarter of a million dollars to fully remodel the aircraft, but the museum considers it money well-spent. Many people were willing to help them get Whiskey 7 back into the air, and they had little trouble getting together the funds they needed. The old warplane will be honoring those who helped put it back together by carrying with it flags honoring both its home country of America as well as the state of New York. Among those flying with the plane will be Leslie Palmer Cruise, Jr., the only paratrooper still alive who was actually among those involved in D-Day, The Lamron reports.
Money given to the refurbishment of Whiskey 7 went not only to paint and parts used to bring it back to its former state, but also to gas that will be used on the trip to Normandy for the anniversary ceremony. Whether large or small, no contributions were turned away. Not only did the museum wish to accept any help offered toward getting the plane back in the air, but they also wanted all contributors to feel involved with the event.
Whiskey 7 will be making numerous stops on its way to Normandy for the ceremonies. Once it arrives, the Liberty Jump Team is scheduled to perform a jump in honor of the 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment. Cruise will then honor the resting place of those from the regiment who died in battle. After seven decades, the commemoration flight of Whiskey 7 is anticipated as one of the biggest events in the plane’s history, the first of course being its involvement in the tragedy known forevermore as D-Day.