“Drag-’Em-Oot”

D-Day Veteran Konya AB, Turkey

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Army Air Corpson Display 2012

Västerås

Words: Karl Drage Images: as credited

Early June is synonymous with D-Day in Western Europe. As has now become the tradition, several Allied Nations from World War 2 commemorate the events of 6 June 1944 through a whole range of activites, with the primary purpose of acknowledging the phenomenally brave actions of those that took part. When I was invited to fly alongside Douglas C-47A Skytrain “Drag-‘Em-Oot” – herself a D-Day veteran - as she made her way to Lee-on-the-Solent at the start of her own now regular involvement in proceedings, it was an opportunity that was simply too good to miss.

Early June is synonymous with D-Day in Western Europe. As has now become the tradition, several Allied Nations from World War 2 commemorate the events of 6 June 1944 through a whole range of activites, with the primary purpose of acknowledging the phenomenally brave actions of those that took part. When I was invited to fly alongside Douglas C-47A Skytrain “Drag-‘Em-Oot” – herself a D-Day veteran - as she made her way to Lee-on-the-Solent at the start of her own now regular involvement in proceedings, it was an opportunity that was simply too good to miss.

Image Karl Drage

D28 December 1943. She was one of about 50 C-47s that were modified to carry Model 80 pick-up and winch gear for recovering assault gliders from the Normandy beaches.

The RationalePaddyPaddy Green, a businessman from Leeds, UK, is the very proud owner of “Drag-‘Em-Oot” today. He explains:

“With“With all these troop carrying gliders that were landing in the fields of Normandy, inevitably a load of them were going to be perfectly reusable – any number, obviously, were smashed to bits when they landed, but a huge number of them were perfectly good - and they

“When“When I was a kid, my dad used to take me up to what is now Leeds-Bradford Airport, which used to be Yeadon Aerodrome in those days - this is the late-‘50s – and the only things coming in were Dakotas, owned by either Aer Lingus or a North-East based company called BKS - the pre-Fokker Friendship era. The Daks were the thingsthings we used to see, and I just fell in love with Dakotas.

“My original foray was with an aircraft that was parked at Lee-on-the-Solent for a time, that was owned by Tony Holden. It was called ‘Fifi Kate’ (N47FK), and he got it from Elstree. It was this that really sparked the interest in getting my own Dak. I was on the train back to Leeds after a business day in London and I happened to have a copy of FlypastFlypast with me. In it there was a two-inch, single column about this guy who owned two DC-3s (G-DAKK being his other aircraft) and was selling them. So I got in touch with him and went down and looked at them both at Lee-on-the-Solent and thought, ‘Well ‘Fifi Kate’ is certainly a runner ‘ – I mean, I could have done a deal and bought it; it wouldwould have been a much cheaper deal for me. But then of course, the more I went into it, the more I decided if I was going to have one, I wanted one with a proper European theatre history, and, unfortunately, ‘Fifi Kate’ had only ever been on the Aleutian Islands – between Russia and Japan. So it didn’t tick the box.

Since being restored following her return to the UK, “Drag-’Em-Oot” has mixed airshow performances with particpation in commemorative events (Karl Drage)

were very expensive things to build, so both the Royal Air Force and the American military decided that they should try and recover some of them.” This is where C-47s like “Drag-‘Em-Oot” and here brethren came in. brethren came in.

Buying oneFor most people, you don’t just go out and buy a Dakota on a whim, and it was very much the same for Paddy:

ouglas C-47A Skytrain construction number 19345, was delivered from Long Beach, California, to the United States Army Air Force as 42-100882 on

“My original foray was with an aircraft that was parked at Lee-on-the-Solent for a time, that was owned by Tony Holden. It was called ‘Fifi Kate’ (N47FK), and he got it from Elstree. It was this that really sparked the interest in getting my own Dak. I was on the train back to Leeds after a business day in London and I happened to have a copy of FlypastFlypast with me. In it there was a two-inch, single column about this guy who owned two DC-3s (G-DAKK being his other aircraft) and was selling them. So I got in touch with him and went down and looked at them both at Lee-on-the-Solent and thought, ‘Well ‘Fifi Kate’ is certainly a runner ‘ – I mean, I could have done a deal and bought it; it wouldwould have been a much cheaper deal for me. But then of course, the more I went into it, the more I decided if I was going to have one, I wanted one with a proper European theatre history, and, unfortunately, ‘Fifi Kate’ had only ever been on the Aleutian Islands – between Russia and Japan. So it didn’t tick the box.

“I had met Mark Edwards by then, who was, and still is, my engineer, and set him the task of trying to source an aircraft and, after quite a few disappointments, he came across this one that was at that time in the desert at Tucson – at Marana – and so he went to see it and came back and said, ‘Yeah, this is a good one. It’s got allall you want, bullet holes, the lot!’ The more we went into the history, the more interesting it became and it turned out that it was the one to buy. I think ‘Drag-‘Em-Oot’ was probably the tenth or twelfth aircraft we looked at.“

It’s not clear exactly how 42-100882 arrived in the UK during World War 2, but Paddy has his own theories. He says the clues are there:

“We“We don’t know if it flew across or if it came across on a container ship. It joined the squadron after the first cadre of planes, in Feb ’44. There’s a tell-tale sign on C-47s that were made to be shipped, and that is a double row of rivets, aft of the main loading door and forward of the tail. They literally took the whole tail sectionsection off to enable it to be shipped. The wing outer sections came off, the tail came off, and then, of course, you could cram many more of them on the ships. Whether it was done like that or whether she flew across, we have no idea.”

Regardless, the aircraft is recorded as arriving in the UK on 9 February 1944 when she was initially stationed at RAF Langar in Nottinghamshire with the 87th Troop Carrier Squadron, 438th Troop Carrier Group, 53rd Troop Carrier Wing, under IX Troop Carrier Command. Just a few weeks later, on 16 March 1944, the unit relocated to RAF Greenham Common in Berkshire. RAF Greenham Common in Berkshire.

One man has a greater affinity with her than most. Upon her arrival at the 87th Troop Carrier Squadron she became the aircraft of 1st Lt. Bill Allin, a then 20-something year old American who had gained his wings in 1943. Paddy continues:

“Bill Allin took over the aircraft when it arrived at the squadron. He was then trained to use the pick-up gear and instructed in the UK on glider recovery. He had her from February ’44 through until about August of that year. At that time, a number of the squadron flew to Italy to take part in Operation Dragoon, which was the invasion ofof the south of France. Because this had the Model 80 pick-up gear on it, it was left behind in the UK. Dragoon was a parachute operation and ‘Drag-‘Em-Oot’ was not a parachute aircraft.”

Since being restored following her return to the UK, “Drag-’Em-Oot” has mixed airshow performances with particpation in commemorative events (Karl Drage)

1st Lt. Bill Allin

Soon after Paddy had acquired her, he received some correspondence that would really strengthen the bond he had with his new pride and joy:

“The“The first time I met Bill was when his son got in touch with me via email and said, ‘Just to let you know, I think you’ve just purchased my father’s D-Day aircraft’. He was then able to provide us with quite a lot of information, including the photograph of him with some of the crew standing in front, which he was then able to name for me.

ReunitedReunited“He said he’d like to see the plane again, so when we “He said he’d like to see the plane again, so when we flew back to the UK from Arizona, he met us at Great Falls in Montana, and at that time he was still flying his own aircraft. He and his son flew over from Washington State, near Seattle, where they lived, and they met us at the airfield. Inevitably the TV and press and everybody were there, and he was stood there, standingstanding to attention when we taxied in; VERY emotional. He’d got another army buddy of his beside him. So we said, ‘would you like to come on board and fly it?’ He came in, sat in the left-hand seat and flew the aircraft – the first time he’d been on a C-47 since 1945!

“Later, as a tribute, I invited him and his wife to come across to Normandy so that he could join us for the D-Day drops. He came over and brought his grandson and flew the aircraft over the landing zones!”

Bill, it transpired, had been involved with two missions on D-Day, one of which was in “Drag-‘Em-Oot”:

“Bill“Bill volunteered to act as co-pilot for the first operation – the para operation (Mission Albany). He knew he couldn’t fly Drag-‘Em-Oot as she was going to take part in the glider op in the afternoon (Mission Elmira). So, being a gung-ho sort of a bloke, he volunteered to fly her in the morning, which he duly did. The 87th, 3-X, which is the one we’ve got, is a very famousfamous squadron because it was the lead squadron on D-Day – the one that General Eisenhower waved off from Greenham Common. Bill wanted to be in the thick of it, so he wanted to be in the first drop.

Soon after Paddy had acquired her, he received some correspondence that would really strengthen the bond he had with his new pride and joy:

“The“The first time I met Bill was when his son got in touch with me via email and said, ‘Just to let you know, I think you’ve just purchased my father’s D-Day aircraft’. He was then able to provide us with quite a lot of information, including the photograph of him with some of the crew standing in front, which he was then able to name for me.

ReunitedReunited“He said he’d like to see the plane again, so when we “He said he’d like to see the plane again, so when we flew back to the UK from Arizona, he met us at Great Falls in Montana, and at that time he was still flying his own aircraft. He and his son flew over from Washington State, near Seattle, where they lived, and they met us at the airfield. Inevitably the TV and press and everybody were there, and he was stood there, standingstanding to attention when we taxied in; VERY emotional. He’d got another army buddy of his beside him. So we said, ‘would you like to come on board and fly it?’ He came in, sat in the left-hand seat and flew the aircraft – the first time he’d been on a C-47 since 1945!

“Later, as a tribute, I invited him and his wife to come across to Normandy so that he could join us for the D-Day drops. He came over and brought his grandson and flew the aircraft over the landing zones!”

Bill, it transpired, had been involved with two missions on D-Day, one of which was in “Drag-‘Em-Oot”:

“Bill“Bill volunteered to act as co-pilot for the first operation – the para operation (Mission Albany). He knew he couldn’t fly Drag-‘Em-Oot as she was going to take part in the glider op in the afternoon (Mission Elmira). So, being a gung-ho sort of a bloke, he volunteered to fly her in the morning, which he duly did. The 87th, 3-X, which is the one we’ve got, is a very famousfamous squadron because it was the lead squadron on D-Day – the one that General Eisenhower waved off from Greenham Common. Bill wanted to be in the thick of it, so he wanted to be in the first drop.

Above & Opposite - Some of the artwork displayed inside “Drag-’Em-Oot” today (Karl Drage)

“I asked him if he’d suffered any damage and he said ‘No, the only injuries we had were when we were flying over the DZ. There was so much tracer coming up and flak, and at one stage it was so close that both the pilot and I leaned quickly inwards towards the throttles simultaneously and we cracked heads against each other. We listenedlistened to all this tracer and flak but all we could see was stars! That was the only damage we suffered on D-Day!‘“

The ‘Snatch’The information that Paddy was able to glean from Bill, the man who had been “Drag-‘Em-Oot’s” custodian for arguably the most interesting part of her long and illustrious flying career, was just priceless. Not only was Bill able to tell Paddy about some of the operations the two were involved with together, he was also able to explain just how the Model 80 gear was used:explain just how the Model 80 gear was used:

“The snatch was a highly skilled discipline because it inevitably involved a high speed pass of about 120 knots. The pick-up of the glider itself – the WACOs that they were retrieving – then reduced the Dakota’s speed back to about 90 knots. Then, as the WACO became airborne again, the speed picked up and they were able to tool them back toto England and release them over the airfields. They glided in and the Dakota came in with its arrestor hook and everything still in place. The thing that made it all possible was this enormous bungee rope on the front of the WACO; that was the thing that allowed the acceleration at an increasing rate rather than just an instant connection,connection, which would have just smashed it in an instant.

“The general view was that if you could actually fly at the right height so that the arrestor hook connected with the goalposts, you were home and dry, because you were then applying a lot of power as you took up the strain to try and make sure it didn’t drop you below 90 knots – I think it was a bit hairy in a DC-3 below 90 knots and at just 20 feet above the ground!”20 feet above the ground!”

Above - Flying over the lush green fields in the Lee-on-the-Solent circuit (Karl Drage)

Above - The lighthouse at St. Catherine’s Point, Isle of White, provides the backdrop to this scene as we bid “Drag-’Em-Oot” a safe onward journey to France for her first D-Day event paradrop of 2012 (Karl Drage)

Bill was even able to pass on an authentic memento of this period of the aircraft’s career to Paddy:

“He“He kept one of his top secret orders - you know, all the co-ordinates, the ID colours of the day and all that sort of stuff - sending him to a place called Isigny-sur-Mer, which is near Sainte-Mère-Église – the landing ground there – to pick up a glider. He’d very kindly had it framed and gave it to me.”

Life after BillLife after BillDespiteDespite Bill’s association with “Drag-‘Em-Oot” ending in August 1944, that was not the end of the aircraft’s wartime involvement, albeit it did signal the end of her time with the USAAF. On 2 September she was transferred to the Royal Air Force as TS422, was designated as a Dakota Mk 3 in the process, and was assigned to No.1 HeavyHeavy Glider Servicing Unit at Netheravon, Wiltshire, as part of No.38 Airborne Forces Group.

As well as being utilised in the delivery of WACO, Horsa and Hadrian assault gliders to airfields around the UK ahead of Operations Market Garden (17-25 September 1944) – the first, ultimately unsuccessful attempt to cross the Rhine - and, later, Operation Varsity (24 Mach 1945) – the successful follow-up - she was also directly involved in the former operation herself. directly involved in the former operation herself.

To this very day the airframe is smattered with reminders of her active service, with some forty-odd patches where bullets pierced her skin, including one particularly noteworthy one in the back of the pilot’s seat! The holes in the nose are believed to have been caused by an attack from above – presumably a Luftwaffe fighterfighter – while those in the belly are generally of large calibre, indicating ground-based anti-aircraft fire. The majority of the damage is believed to have been inflicted during the Operation Market Garden efforts over Arnhem.

Above - Flying over the lush green fields in the Lee-on-the-Solent circuit (Karl Drage)

Above - The lighthouse at St. Catherine’s Point, Isle of White, provides the backdrop to this scene as we bid “Drag-’Em-Oot” a safe onward journey to France for her first D-Day event paradrop of 2012 (Karl Drage)

In August of 1945, “Drag-‘Em-Oot” was transferred to No.435 Squadron of the Royal Canadian Air Force, based at Down Ampney in Gloucestershire. Remaining under RAF control, she was employed in the ferrying of both troops and freight around Europe, until April 1946 when she was formally handed over to the Royal CanadianCanadian Air Force and made the lengthy trek back across the Atlantic.

Despite no longer operating over the European battlefields, the roles that TS422 was tasked to perform continued to be both varied and interesting. Amongst the most exciting were search and rescue and medevac missions, with the aircraft modified to carry skis and rocket packs for jet-assisted take-offs above the Arctic CircleCircle in Canada’s far north. Indeed, it was whilst employed in the latter roles that the aircraft was fitted with a ‘sun compass’, due to the close proximity of its area of operations to the North Pole.

TS422 continued to serve admirably until 1966 when she was released from Royal Canadian Air Force service and made available for purchase on the civil market.

Civilian OwnershipReclassifiedReclassified as a Douglas DC-3C, she was registered as CF-KAZ (which was later modified to C-FKAZ), and operated a variety of passenger and freight services for a whole host of operators until February 1985 when she was sold to an American buyer, Air Siesta Inc of McAllen, Texas, and placed on the US register as N5831B.N5831B. Less than four months later she changed hands again before being placed into storage at the same location for a decade.

When her flying career was finally resurrected in 1995, it was as a pure freighter, flying cargo around the southern States for McNeely Air Charter until 2001. She passed through one more set of hands before Paddy bought her in 2004.

Mark Edwards of AirVenture Ltd restored her to flying condition in Tucson, Arizona, before N5831B embarked upon a 5,500 mile journey back across the Atlantic in May 2005, landing at Liverpool after some 34 and a half hours of flight time.

ThatThat year, Paddy, her new owner, decided to re-register her, initially reserving N747PG, before settling upon something he felt was a lot more appropriate: N473DC, on account of the fact that she was a C-47, became a DC-3 and she was a Douglas Commercial product.

So,So, after further periods of restoration at North Weald and later RAF Church Fenton, “Drag-‘Em-Oot” started to appear at airshows and take part in commemorative World War 2 events. I asked Paddy if the latter had been part of the plan all along:

AirAir Force colours, with the lightning stripes down the side, which would have looked fantastic. But, anyway, because I’d met Bill and I had all the details and the photograph, it became really a bit of a no-brainer to go back into D-Day colours.

“Once“Once I’d gone down that route, it became apparent that there were groups that wished to jump out of it. Tony Holden, who I mentioned earlier, had done a huge amount of parachute re-enactment during the time he’d had ‘Fifi-Kate’, and I came across a pilot called Peter Kuypers who got in touch with us and said, ‘Look,‘Look, I think this is something, if you’d like, that you’d be able to get involved in.’ He’d done a lot of flying for Tony and so he came on board, and the groups started to come out of the woodwork, and then, before you knew it, you

“It wasn’t something I’d really thought about when I bought the Dakota. First of all we’d obviously got to decide what livery to put it in, from a wide choice. Of course, I could have gone D-Day, I could have gone for the Royal Air Force, or I could havehave really had a flyer and put it in the lovely post-War, Royal Canadian

Main - Not the beaches of Normandy, but those on the departure track from Lee-on-the-Solent as “Drag-’Em-Oot” routes out towards the Isle of White (Karl Drage)

were flying to Normandy and then to Arnhem!“

ParachutingHubertHubert Achten is a Dutchman living in France. As well as being President of the Round Canopy Parachuting Team, he acted as Jump-Master for some of this year’s commemorations and, I’m told, was the driving force in ensuring all permissions were granted from the relevant authorities ahead of the event – something which proved to be no small undertaking:which proved to be no small undertaking:

“It has been a very complicated task to get the authorisation to make this flight. In fact the most difficult part was to get the ‘airwork permit’ from the French authorities so that we were authorised to drop parachutists. The rules have

straightened up including airworthiness certificates, annuals, insurances, confirmation of pilots’ FAA licenses by the French aeronautical authorities, rewriting and approvals of our 74 pages of SOPs (Standard Operating Procedures) etc.

“Amid“Amid all this administrative puzzling, it became clear that being considered as a US team was the most convenient way to be accepted as an “operator” requesting this Exceptional Operation Permit.”

WithWith eight nationalities on board, there was also the small matter of clearing customs and

immigration from the para-drop on the leg of the journey from Lee-on-the-Solent, with special dispensation required to parachute into France without formally passing through the border controls first:

“The“The customs part was only a minor detail in comparison to the troubles mentioned before. From the very beginning of my project I visited the customs authorities to submit my plan, and I got the formal authorisation pretty fast. The only condition was that we needed to submit copies of all passports and IDs a few weeks before the jumps, along with the operations permit. jumps, along with the operations permit.

“From time to time I called the customs authorities to remind them that the permits still hadn’t been issued, and I finally received the authorisations just one week before the jumps.

“Due to my numerous contacts with the customs, they started liking the challenge and shared the same suspense that I did! When I finally got the authorisations, I met them halfway from their office at Cherbourg Airport where they stamped and signed the authorisation. Amusingly, one of the customs officers is now actuallyactually considering jumping with the team in the future!”

Jump-Master, Peter Braun, peers out of the para-door in anticipation as the drop zone approaches (Lyle Jansma / AeroCapture Images)

Main - Not the beaches of Normandy, but those on the departure track from Lee-on-the-Solent as “Drag-’Em-Oot” routes out towards the Isle of White (Karl Drage)

recently changed in France regarding authorisations. Since we use an American-registered aircraft, I needed to obtain the Aircraft Operation Permit. Operation Permit.

“I’ve been working hard for months (planning started in June 2011) to get all the paperwork

Above - One of the post-sunset para-drops (Lyle Jansma / AeroCapture Images)

Above - Peter orchestrates proceedings as the re-enactors sit patiently in anticipation of what’s to follow (Lyle Jansma / AeroCapture Images)

Hubert is quite clear about his motivation for getting involved with such events, and his views are shared almost unanimously by his fellow re-enactors:

“We“We perform World War 2 parachuting activities to honour the paratroopers who fought and died to restore Europe’s freedom. We do this to humbly reinforce the memory of the priceless deeds of valour so many made in order to restore peace.”

ClearlyClearly the conditions of 2012 are very different from those “Drag-‘Em-Oot” would have encountered in 1944, but just how easy is to immerse yourself in the re-enactment para-drops and imagine what it must have been like to be doing it for real, in wartime?

“At“At the very moment when they start to evacuate the aircraft, and the parachute light goes from red to green, yes; as that happens, you are back in a wartime environment. Almost,” Paddy says. “And it is exactly as it would have been except for the fact that there are nobullets coming at you, and no flak. The rest is re-enactment. A bit like saying, you’re driving your restoredrestored Jeep around the fields of Normandy; is it like it was? No, it’s not, but it gives you an attractive representation of how it looked, even if it wasn’t precisely how it was, thank God. “

Not content with mimicking the daytime jumps of almost 70 years ago, the teams jumping from aircraft like “Drag-‘Em-Oot” also do so at night and from relatively low altitudes, for that really authentic feel. Paddy continues:

“The“The night drops are good fun. That is the nearest you’re going to get to how it was. These lads are good when they do their re-enactments. They do drop low – typically around a thousand feet, though we have gone down as low as 750/800. It still doesn’t give you a lot of hang time, which of course was the whole point of doing it.”

ForFor Hubert and the parachutists, the experience is even more intense and really messes with the senses:

“We try to recreate, as closely as possible, the jumps performed during World War 2. Most of those in Normandy were after dark. My feeling about them? You don’t see much and you smell the ground approaching, instead of seeing it!

A truly breathtaking sight as this particular batch of re-enactors departs “Drag-’Em-Oot” (Lyle Jansma / AeroCapture Images)

Hubert is quite clear about his motivation for getting involved with such events, and his views are shared almost unanimously by his fellow re-enactors:

“We“We perform World War 2 parachuting activities to honour the paratroopers who fought and died to restore Europe’s freedom. We do this to humbly reinforce the memory of the priceless deeds of valour so many made in order to restore peace.”

ClearlyClearly the conditions of 2012 are very different from those “Drag-‘Em-Oot” would have encountered in 1944, but just how easy is to immerse yourself in the re-enactment para-drops and imagine what it must have been like to be doing it for real, in wartime?

“At“At the very moment when they start to evacuate the aircraft, and the parachute light goes from red to green, yes; as that happens, you are back in a wartime environment. Almost,” Paddy says. “And it is exactly as it would have been except for the fact that there are nobullets coming at you, and no flak. The rest is re-enactment. A bit like saying, you’re driving your restoredrestored Jeep around the fields of Normandy; is it like it was? No, it’s not, but it gives you an attractive representation of how it looked, even if it wasn’t precisely how it was, thank God. “

Not content with mimicking the daytime jumps of almost 70 years ago, the teams jumping from aircraft like “Drag-‘Em-Oot” also do so at night and from relatively low altitudes, for that really authentic feel. Paddy continues:

“The“The night drops are good fun. That is the nearest you’re going to get to how it was. These lads are good when they do their re-enactments. They do drop low – typically around a thousand feet, though we have gone down as low as 750/800. It still doesn’t give you a lot of hang time, which of course was the whole point of doing it.”

ForFor Hubert and the parachutists, the experience is even more intense and really messes with the senses:

“We try to recreate, as closely as possible, the jumps performed during World War 2. Most of those in Normandy were after dark. My feeling about them? You don’t see much and you smell the ground approaching, instead of seeing it!

Below - the work of the Loadmaster is never done! Geoff Pell MBE carries out one of his many duties on the ground at Lee (Karl Drage)

“Of course, no one is shooting at us, and as such, except for recreating the jumps, our actions are never to be compared with the valorous actions of the paratroopers during World War 2.”

Dispatcher and LoadmasterGeoffGeoff Pell MBE operated as the Dispatcher and Loadmaster during “Drag-‘Em-Oot’s” 2012 travels to France for D-Day. In his previous life, Geoff spent 32 years with the Royal Navy before retiring as a Commander. His specialisation was missiles and gunnery, so how did a man whose primary association with aviation was concerned trying to shoot them down end up on the crew operating a Dakota?

“I“I became involved with C-47s in general in about 2002 when we had the two that Paddy mentioned come into Lee-on-the- Solent for storage. I started my parachuting time with “Fifi Kate” (N47FK) in 2004, and then, when Tony Holden decided to sell her, we ferried her across the Atlantic. We flew her to John Wayne International in Los Angeles in May 2006, via Reykjavik, and all the other points, from Lelystad in Holland.Holland. Also in 2006, we prepared G-DAKK for a ferry flight and flew her to Lelystad, where she is now.

“I had a year off in 2007 and then, in 2008, I was asked to meet Paddy up at Duxford, at the September Show, and he asked me to fly with him, and I’ve been doing so ever since, doing the same job.”

...and Below - the same static lines prior to the jump (Both images - Lyle Jansma / AeroCapture Images)

Above - Geoff wrestles with the static lines trailing the aircraft after a successful dispatch of parachutists

Having spotted Geoff fiddling with the airframe at Lee-on-the-Solent and then overseeing the engine starts, I was intrigued to hear exactly what his role entails:

“General“General Dogsbody would best sum it up!! I am only joking...... Strictly speaking I am the link between the Jumpmaster and the cockpit. Initially I assist with the loading of the paras and also brief them on emergency drills prior to take-off. Once in flight, I relay requests/orders between Jumpmaster and Cockpit and, in the final stages of a jump, pass course changes and height changes to the cockpit. I also give the cockpit a running commentary of what is going on down the back end!end! They know when we are standing up (as the aircraft moves noticeably), hooking up, when gear checks are complete, when we are in the doorway, standing by and then jumping, as at this stage the change of weight distribution and the buffeting caused by the jumpers exiting the door affects the aircraft handling. I then inform them when they are clear to manoeuvre the aircraft after each stick. Our first priority before we start to bank is to recover the static lines and also check that we have no hang-ups. I am also responsible for managing check that we have no hang-ups. I am also responsible for managing (along with the jumpmaster) any emergencies whether they be aircraft-generated (fire, control problems etc) or para-generated (chutes deploying inside the aircraft, paras caught on the tail etc).

“In addition, in a more general role, I do the fuel and oil dips, check for water in the fuel (and then brief the pilot-in-command of his quantities and so on), secure any cargo/baggage, brief passengers, assist with gust locks, gear pins etc and also supervise engine starts from outside the aircraft. When things die down to a dull roar I also pick up a rag and clean the thing! Additionally, I maintain the flight log - times, POB, defects etc. During the down season, I help with the 'annual' as well!”

...and Below - the same static lines prior to the jump (Both images - Lyle Jansma / AeroCapture Images)

Above - Geoff wrestles with the static lines trailing the aircraft after a successful dispatch of parachutists

Below - Hubert’s Round Canopy Parachute Team lines up prior to boarding the aircraft ahead of their “Operation Flatbush” jump (Karl Drage)

Despite the lack of incoming projectiles from both above and below during the re-enactment flights, safety is of course still paramount, as Geoff explains:

“Once“Once you start the parachuting runs, although it is a very enjoyable experience for all of us – we love doing it – it’s a privilege to be able to do it from that particular aircraft – or any aircraft of that vintage – but things are run on a very tight, extremely professional basis. We all know our jobs, we all know what we’ve got to do, and, once lives are involved, it really concentratesconcentrates the mind. We have to be careful and follow the drills – and we practice our emergency drills as well – but once the guys start going out, you realise how serious a business it is.”

D-Day Commemorations 2012I asked Geoff to tell me about the events that “Drag-‘Em-Oot” participated in during this year’s D-Day commemorations:

“When“When we left you at Lee-on-the-Solent (1 June), we took the original route, more or less, that they’d used in 1944 over the Channel Islands. Then we turned eastwards over the Cherbourg peninsula, dropped these people at a dropzone called Hiesville (where the 101st Airborne Division had landed), which is just to the south east of Sainte-Mère-Église – the first town liberatedliberated by the allies on 6 June 1944 – and we then recovered into Cherbourg, which was our base.

“Later on the Friday night, at 2200, we did another drop using the same group (Hubert’s Round Canopy Parachute Team). On the Saturday morning we flew down to Caen; we did two sorties out of there with the British Pathfinders. We then flew back to Cherbourg and did two jumps with the Liberty Jump Team, and then on Sunday we did another one around lunchtime upup at Cherbourg and another one in the evening with the Liberty Jump Team again. We did one on Monday night, Tuesday was cancelled because the weather was on the deck, same on Wednesday morning, so we flew back across the Channel and into Lee again, did a circuit and bumps, and then another circuit and bumps at Duxford, before carrying on back up to East Kirkby, where she is now. Kirkby, where she is now.

A very proud group of re-enactors pose in front of “Drag-’Em-Oot” prior to making a commemorative jump (Lyle Jansma / AeroCapture Images)

“Weather aside it was a good week. We did nine drops out of the planned 12. Serviceability was fine - the aircraft ran like a sewing machine. She had a lot of work done on her in the winter, and we’re a team that has been working together for a long time. We use two Dutch pilots, a couple of UK pilots as well, and they mix and match, as you know; people like John Dodd,Dodd, Jon Corley, Peter Kuypers who flies the B-17 and Chris (Goezinne), who was flying with us this time. We’ve all been working for about eight or nine years together, so we know how each other operates.”

As well as paying meticulous attention to detail with regard to the authorisation process, Hubert’s Round Canopy Parachuting Team gave similar consideration to the locations of their jumps:

1 June Operation “Flatbush” Cross channel flight & drop U.K – DZ C Hiesville This is for a limited number of jumpers (20); ForFor the first time in history, RCPT will take off from the U.K and will follow the exact route as flown the 5 June 1944 by the troop carrier stream prior to their drops on Normandy. TakeTake off: Lee-on-the-Solent Airfield, UK, fly south to assembly point code-named “Flatbush” fly southwest over the channel, make a sharp left turn to the southeast and fly between the Channel Islands Guernsey and Alderney, approach the Cotentin coast at Portbail and turn to Drop Zone C.

A very proud group of re-enactors pose in front of “Drag-’Em-Oot” prior to making a commemorative jump (Lyle Jansma / AeroCapture Images)

“Weather aside it was a good week. We did nine drops out of the planned 12. Serviceability was fine - the aircraft ran like a sewing machine. She had a lot of work done on her in the winter, and we’re a team that has been working together for a long time. We use two Dutch pilots, a couple of UK pilots as well, and they mix and match, as you know; people like John Dodd,Dodd, Jon Corley, Peter Kuypers who flies the B-17 and Chris (Goezinne), who was flying with us this time. We’ve all been working for about eight or nine years together, so we know how each other operates.”

As well as paying meticulous attention to detail with regard to the authorisation process, Hubert’s Round Canopy Parachuting Team gave similar consideration to the locations of their jumps:

1 June Operation “Maxwell Taylor” Hiesville Jump (from Maupertus/Cherbourg) After 2200DZ C Hiesville

After watching the Cross channel drop, second load will depart by bus from the Hiesville DZ to Maupertus Airport and embark the aircraft for the second drop on DZ “C”.

HistoryHistory: The tiny little village of Hiesville is found right in the middle of the American 101st Airborne Division Drop Zone and was to become the main hub of operations for the 101st Airborne Division. The area was easily secured early on D-Day morning against light German resistance. However once General Taylor was informed that there was no contact with his units designated to secure Exits 1 and 2, the two southernmost roads leading inland from Utah Beach, he gathered the fighting troops that had assembled near his Head Quarters area.

4 June Operation “Timmes Orchard”Amfreville Jump 1600 local DZ “T”

JumpJump commemorating the fierce fighting of beleaguered elements of the 507th PIR, 508th PIR and 325th GIR of the 82nd Airborne Division landed west of the river Merderet. Our jump will be especially dedicated to the commander of the 507th’s 2nd Battalion, Lt. Col. Charles Timmes. Jump on invite of the U.S Normandy Assn.

History: Lt. Col. Charles Timmes was dropped about 02.30 hours on D-Day and nearly drowned in the flooded meadow between some orchards nearby the town of Amfreville, but managed to hold his position amid of attacking Germans for four days.”

3 June Operation “Meehan“Beuzeville au Plain Jump 1930 local

These jumps will be performed in memory of those aboard the downed C-47 at Beuzeville au Plain. A ceremony will be held at the Beuzeville au Plain memorial after the jumps, with the Mayor and town council.

HistoryHistory: The transfer of Captain Sobel created a leadership void in “Easy Company” and the higher-ups choose First Lieutenant Meehan to assume command. On the evening of June 5th, 1944, 1st LT Thomas Meehan boarded the C-47 of their formation, plane #66 along with the company’s staff made up of 16 paratroopers and the flew crew of five. The plane was hit by German ground fire near St Mère Eglise and crashed into the ground at Beuzeville au Plain.

A Difficult JobOneOne thing Paddy has had affirmed from witnessing the re-enactment drops first hand, both from the air and on the ground, is a genuine sense of respect for both the troops who would launch themselves from aircraft such as “Drag-‘Em-Oot” and the crews charged with flying them to their targets, despite the fact that they received much criticism at the time:

“Unquestionably,“Unquestionably, these chaps were immensely brave, just jumping out into the night. Of course, the Troop Carrier Command pilots did get a lot of stick at the time because of the fact that there was this wide disbursement of the troops, but there were so many reasons for it; weather, ground attack and the appalling problem of not having enough transmitters on the ground to tell the aircraft wherewhere to fly to. The Pathfinders were supposed to go in with their Eureka sets to guide the main airborne force to within the optimum visual range for an accurate delivery. If you look at the DC-3, they’ve got these rows of like TV aerials, known as Rebecca, on the front; they’re to receive the signals from the ground to tell them where to drop. These weren’t, unfortunately, nearly as effective as theythey should have been, so if you think about it, you’re flying in absolute pitch black, in appalling weather, you have no idea of where your other aircraft are or if you’re still in an echelon, and you know you’re going over the French Coast and you’re desperately just trying to get rid of your load. Inevitably, with conditions as they were, a lot of chaps were dropped in the wrong place. The boys werewere pretty bitter about this and there was a belief that the troop carrier pilots should have stayed on course and known better where they were, but it wasn’t nearly as easy as that.”

One of Paddy’s regular pilots, Chris Goezinne, captained the aircraft on its 2012 D-Day commemoration adventure, and I asked him how navigation in “Drag-‘Em-Oot” today compared with back in the 1940s:

“When“When flying the DC-3 today I use my Garmin GPS programmed with the waypoints for the route to be flown and the co-ordinates of the drop-zone. When we departed Lee-on Solent on 1 June it took one and a half hours to get to the drop zone, following a shortened version of the original ‘Elmira’ route. With GPS you just go on; the GPS keeps you on track.

All images this page and opposite Lyle Jansma / AeroCapture Images

A Difficult JobOneOne thing Paddy has had affirmed from witnessing the re-enactment drops first hand, both from the air and on the ground, is a genuine sense of respect for both the troops who would launch themselves from aircraft such as “Drag-‘Em-Oot” and the crews charged with flying them to their targets, despite the fact that they received much criticism at the time:

“Unquestionably,“Unquestionably, these chaps were immensely brave, just jumping out into the night. Of course, the Troop Carrier Command pilots did get a lot of stick at the time because of the fact that there was this wide disbursement of the troops, but there were so many reasons for it; weather, ground attack and the appalling problem of not having enough transmitters on the ground to tell the aircraft wherewhere to fly to. The Pathfinders were supposed to go in with their Eureka sets to guide the main airborne force to within the optimum visual range for an accurate delivery. If you look at the DC-3, they’ve got these rows of like TV aerials, known as Rebecca, on the front; they’re to receive the signals from the ground to tell them where to drop. These weren’t, unfortunately, nearly as effective as theythey should have been, so if you think about it, you’re flying in absolute pitch black, in appalling weather, you have no idea of where your other aircraft are or if you’re still in an echelon, and you know you’re going over the French Coast and you’re desperately just trying to get rid of your load. Inevitably, with conditions as they were, a lot of chaps were dropped in the wrong place. The boys werewere pretty bitter about this and there was a belief that the troop carrier pilots should have stayed on course and known better where they were, but it wasn’t nearly as easy as that.”

One of Paddy’s regular pilots, Chris Goezinne, captained the aircraft on its 2012 D-Day commemoration adventure, and I asked him how navigation in “Drag-‘Em-Oot” today compared with back in the 1940s:

“When“When flying the DC-3 today I use my Garmin GPS programmed with the waypoints for the route to be flown and the co-ordinates of the drop-zone. When we departed Lee-on Solent on 1 June it took one and a half hours to get to the drop zone, following a shortened version of the original ‘Elmira’ route. With GPS you just go on; the GPS keeps you on track.

A view that would have been particularly familiar to the glider pilots of World War 2 (Karl Drage)

“Back in 1944 over the sea, or blacked out Europe for that matter, they had to accurately fly heading and time versus distance in order to get to the target. That many aeroplanes found or got very near their target at all is a remarkable navigational achievement.

“It“It is also known that basically due to weather quite a few times aeroplanes strayed from their route. That wasn’t a problem in 1940 or 1945, but if we stray off our route with “Drag-‘Em-Oot” we might unknowingly get into controlled airspace which is not greatly appreciated! So for us, as well as making life much simpler, using GPS adds to the safety of the flight.”flight.”

Interestingly, Chris tells me that he thinks the ‘glider snatch’ task that “Drag-‘Em-Oot” performed would have been popular among the pilots of the time:

“Back here in Holland I used to do a lot of banner towing. Picking up a banner is a manoeuvre I enjoyed and I think that the snatch role Paddys DC-3 did must have been a joy for the pilots who flew it.”

Pride and SatisfactionThroughoutThroughout my chat with Paddy, the one thing I can’t get away from is the sense of pride he clearly feels about owning this piece of living history, and who can blame him? It’s very evident that he derives an enormous sense of satisfaction from his involvement with the aircraft:

“You“You don’t do it lightly, irrespective of the finance involved. One of the things you get from the DC-3 is the number of people that have got Dakota stories. That is people looking around her that first flew in a Dakota to Jersey in 1965 – that sort of stuff – to people whose dads and granddads flew them. I had an air stewardess on recently who, if I rememberremember rightly, she was Derby Airways and started on Dakotas. You had that curious thing of walking uphill to your seat! That’s the pleasure, and the veterans, sadly there’s increasingly few of them, so all that side, yes, it’s actually quite emotional to see what the DC-3 means to a lot of people.”

A veteran is welcomed on-board (Lyle Jansma / AeroCapture Images)

Geoff interjects: “We flew a veteran out of Cherbourg who was 95 – a guy called Jack Womer – he dropped from a C-47 on 6 June 1944, I think I’m right in saying, he flew out of Greenham Common – as did ‘Drag-‘Em-Oot’ on that day. But no, it’s a great privilege to welcome these guys on board and just listen toto their stories. Some will just hold you in awe for 15 or 20 minutes. Then you suddenly realise, you know, it’s a great privilege to be doing this but I think all of us would acknowledge that it must have been awful to be shot at, to have aircraft dropping out of the sky, being dropped at 400ft instead of 600, and so on.” 600, and so on.”

Staying in the SkiesFortunately for lovers of “Drag-‘Em-Oot” and Dakotas in general, spares still exist in fairly plentiful supply, and so robustly was the type designed that there are few maintenance issues that could force her from the skies any time soon, as Paddy explains:

“The“The Dakota has only had one major airworthiness directive (AD) in 75 years - a spar issue - where there had been some cracking on an early one. You had to put a wing doubler in, but it’s amazing that’s the only AD it’s got. Other than that, it’ll fly indefinitely!

“I“I bought two new engines two or three years ago – we blew an engine in Holland, luckily withonly the crew on board , though they’ll fly along quite happily on one engine so long as there’s not too much weight in them – so I bought two new, and when I say that I mean completely overhauled, engines. Normally theythey cost about £27-28,000 each. To put that into context, a Merlin will cost £125,000. So 27 or 28 grand for an overhauled ‘1820 is really not big bucks – and you get a lot of bangs for your bucks! As for other spares, they built ten and a half thousand of these things, and they were flying around in quite large numbers untiluntil a few years ago, so spares are not a problem.“

A view that would have been particularly familiar to the glider pilots of World War 2 (Karl Drage)

Above - The flightdeck of “Drag-’Em-Oot” today

Below - The aircraft’s military career (both Karl Drage)

As with seemingly everything else, though, external intervention is increasing:

“Red-tape“Red-tape is making it more difficult, without a doubt, and the cost of running it is going up dramatically too, because of course, you’re now paying £2 per litre for fuel,” Paddy says. “We burn 400 litres an hour, so you’ve got £800 an hour just to put some avgas in it, without the cost of maintenance and everything else. InsuranceInsurance is up to £17-18,000 per year now, so it is a very expensive beast, and I’m sure there will come a time where I have to say, ‘you know, I can’t afford to keep doing it’. We’re not there yet!“

Lincolnshire Aviation Heritage CentreSinceSince 2009 “Drag-‘Em-Oot” has shared the home of Avro Lancaster NX611, “Just Jane”, that we featured in Issue 7 of Global Aviation Magazine. Paddy’s very appreciative of the hangar space she’s afforded there:

“I’ve“I’ve been very lucky in terms of where she lives at the Lincolnshire Aviation Heritage Centre at East Kirkby. They’re a wonderful custodian for her. She’s very much part of the furniture there now and it is a great place to have it. We were at Liverpool initially and then at Humberside,

and we’ve always then had to find hangarage for the winter. And, of course, it was extremely difficult for anybody to get access to her, whereas at Lincolnshire’, if you visit the museum you’ll be able to wander around ‘Drag-‘Em-Oot’. And it complements the Lancaster there perfectly.“

Remaining Dates for 2012Remaining Dates for 2012

There are still plenty of opportunities to see “Drag-‘Em-Oot” out and about in 2012, as Geoff points out:

“At the moment our programme is that we’re doing Cosby Airshow (8/9 September), Duxford’s September Show (the same days as Cosby) and then we’re off to Arnhem – based at Eindhoven – on 13 September for five days, to do the 68th commemoration of Market Garden.”

The rolling green fields of the Isle of Wight, as “Drag-’Em-Oot” makes her way towards France (Karl Drage)

Geoff sums things up nicely:

“It’s a great thing, we love doing it and we’re fortunate in having someone like Paddy who has got the wherewithal to be able to put the aircraft on display and to allow us to fly in it.”

The author extends his sincere thanks to Paddy Green, Geoff Pell MBE, Chris Goezinne, Hubert Achten, Lyle Jansma and last but not least, Jon Butts, for flying the photoship and without whom the opportunity would never have arisen to begin with. Image Karl Drage