The Mighty Fifteen of the D-Day Squadron

C-47A-40-DL Skytrain, 42-24064, Placid Lassie, N74589
Placid Lassie was built at Douglas Aircraft’s plant in Long Beach, Calif., and delivered to the U.S. Army Air Forces in early 1943. They assigned her to the 74th Squadron, 434th Troop Carrier Group of 9th Troop Carrier Command in England in preparation for D-Day.

On that fateful day, June 6, 1944, Placid Lassie, along with 832 other C-47s towed WACO CG-4A and AirCo Hadrian gliders and dropped more than 24,000 paratroopers over Normandy.

Placid Lassie participated in additional WWII combat engagements including: Operation MARKET GARDEN in the Netherlands (September 17- 25 1944), Operation REPULSE – the relief of Bastogne during the Battle of the Bulge (December 23-25, 1944), Operation VARSITY (March 23, 1945).

Like many of her brethren following WWII, the aircraft went through a number of civilian owners, plying her trade as a cargo plane. This historic C-47 is now owned and operated by the Tunison Foundation, a nonprofit organization. Placid Lassie is still equipped to drop paratroopers and she carries her original wartime name. Lassie and her crew appear at aviation events across the United States each year, including EAA AirVenture Oshkosh. Charitable gifts to the foundation keep this aircraft flying as a living-history tribute to the greatest generation.

C-53-DO Skytrooper, 42-47371, Spirit of Benovia, N8336C
Spirit of Benovia, was built at Douglas Aircraft’s plant in Santa Monica, Calif., and accepted by the U.S. Army Air Forces on June 29, 1942. The C-53 was primarily designed to drop paratroopers and tow gliders, and differs from the C-47 in having a lighter strength floor and no double cargo door. She flew out to Karachi, India, (now Pakistan) in August 1942, initially for service with the Royal Air Force as serial FJ712, but transferred to the 1st Troop Carrier Squadron, 10th Air Force, USAAF in late December 1942, serving the rest of the war in the CBI Theatre. She went into civilian ownership in India, then China right after WWII, being owned for a while by Gen. Claire Chennault, reportedly flying Chiang Kai-shek in the Civil Air Transport Co. out of Taipei, Formosa (now Taiwan). During the mid-1950s, the aircraft received a luxurious VIP interior and an AiResearch Maximizer speed kit. She passed through several other owners over the years, including the Kalamazoo Aviation History Museum during the 1980s. The aircraft is currently owned and lovingly cared for by Joe Anderson and Mary Dewane, owners of Benovia Winery in California.

C-53-DO Skytrooper, 42-68830, D-Day Doll, N45366
D-Day Doll was built at Douglas Aircraft’s plant in Santa Monica, California in July 1943 and delivered to the U.S. Army Air Corps soon afterwards. She was assigned to the 434th Troop Carrier Group, 72nd Troop Carrier Squadron at RAF Aldermaston, England, and is a veteran of Operations OVERLORD (D-Day, Normandy France), MARKET GARDEN (Holland), REPULSE (Bastogne, Belgium) and VARSITY (the crossing of the Rhine, Germany). The aircraft . . .