An American plane which led hundreds of allied forced aircraft into Normandy during the Second World War has taken to the skies once again after being all but forgotten.
The plane, a twin-engine C-47 called That’s All, Brother, had been languishing in an aircraft boneyard in Wisconsin.
It carried American paratroopers into German-occupied France on June 6, 1944, D-Day.
This Douglas C-47 airplane led the mass paratroop drop on D-Day in June 1944. It has now been restored to its former glory, pictured
The plane, called That’s All, Brother, carried the first paratroopers into Normandy in June 1944
The aircraft led the more than 800 other C-47s also carrying paratroopers. This picture was taken in 1944
A last-minute check of equipment is made just before American paratroopers leave their English base for an airborne assault on Nazi defenses on the north coast of France. This picture was taken on D-Day itself – June 6, 1944
After the war was over, like many other planes that were involved in the conflict, it was sold to be used privately.
Then, eleven years ago, a couple of historians decided to track the old and by now abandoned aircraft down.
Matt Scales, a member of the Air National Guard, was looking into the story of the pilot who took part on the day it flew over the Normandy beaches.
A second historian in the Air Force Reserve, Ken Tilley, looked up its tail number and found that the plane had ended up in Arizona, complete with a new camouflage paint job.
Archive footage exsits of the moment the A C-47 transport plane towing a glider load of US, infantry takes off from a 9th US, Air Force Troop Carrier Command station in England to support of allied paratroopers dropped behind enemy lines in Normandy, June 6, 1944
71 years after D-Day it was discovered lying in an aircraft boneyard in Wisconsin
A kickstarter campaign helped to get the aircraft restored to fully-working order
‘The airplane is much more than an aircraft. It’s a time machine,’ said Keegan Chetwynd, the curator for the Commemorative Air Force
Employees at Basler Turbo Conversations have spent more than 22,000 hours on the plane, restoring it piece by original piece
The plane is is now ready to take to the skies once again and may even travel to Normandy
‘It’s so rare to have a plane that was actually there and did what it did,’ Scales said to the Tampa Bay Times. ‘This airplane has been a fighter its entire life.’
‘We were amazed to find it in Arizona and that it was for sale,’ Tilley said. ‘We immediately contacted every museum and major aircraft organization to try to save the plane, to no avail at the time.’
At the time, there were no takers but a couple of years later, Scales looked up the plane again and found that it had moved to Oshkosh, Wisconsin and was about to be dismantled.
Scales contacted the new owner to tell him what he knew about the plane’s history.
Paratroopers prepare for D-Day invasion as they board the C-47 – June 6, 1944
Normandy was overcast on D-Day — terrible weather for the operation — but That’s All, Brother emerged largely unscathed
The antics of these brave airmen and women made it into the history books and the plane is once again airworthy
That’s All Brother is seen during restorations at Basler Turbo Conversions in Wisconsin
A Kickstarter campaign that raised $380,000 in 30 days to help fund the restoration
The hope is to fly the aircraft over Normandy in 2019 for the 75th anniversary of D-Day
Those working on the plane have said it’s an honor, especially showing it to military members
A historian found the plane at the Basler Turbo Conversions junkyard in Oshkosh in 2015. That’s when the Commemorative Air Force Decided to save it
In World War II, C-47s, a military version of the civilian DC-3, transported cargo and troops
By 2015 the Commemorative Air Force, an organization based in Dallas that collects and restores historical aircraft for flight, had managed to raised hundreds of thousands of dollars.
A Kickstarter campaign saw them raise enough money to be able to buy the aircraft and begin a restoration that would see it retain as much of its original structure as possible.
The campaign managed to raised $380,000 in 30 days. Specialists even managed to use parts from other old C-47s.
‘The airplane is much more than an aircraft. It’s a time machine,’ said Keegan Chetwynd, the curator for the Commemorative Air Force to Fox11.
‘It’s unfathomable what this war really did and what the invasion of Normandy really was all about,’ added Paul Rice, an aviation maintenance technician for Basler Turbo Conversions.
Last month the plane had a successful engine test and will be taking to the skies on Wednesday.
The ultimate goal would be to fly the plane over Normandy in 2019 for the 75th anniversary of D-Day.
‘It’s so cool for me that this will be another way for the story to continue to be told,’ Scaled said. ‘It’ll hopefully continue the legacy of these guys and the sacrifice they made.’
The planes were indispensable on D-Day even though many were shot down in the battle
Much of the aircraft was restored using old parts in order for it to retain its authenticity
The name of the plane, inspired by a song by Mae West, was intended as a message for Hitler
The plane made several runs during the course of the invasion before returning to the U.S.