Daks Over Duxford: Imperial War Museum marks 75th anniversary of D-Day
As part of the Imperial War Museum (IWM)’s events to mark 75 years since the D-Day landings on June 6, 1944, ‘Daks Over Duxford’ is bringing the extraordinary story of D-Day to life.
The event unites the greatest number of Douglas C-47 Skytrain – also known as Dakota – aircraft in one location since the Second World War.
Having played a vital role in the success of the Normandy campaign, more than 30 ‘Daks’ descended upon IWM Duxford yesterday (Tuesday) and are doing so again today. A mass parachute jump was cancelled due to the weather yesterday.
Today (Wednesday), an epic cross-channel flight is due to take place.
Ahead of the events, Rachel Powell, communications officer at IWM, said “There will be numerous flight rehearsals and displays. They’ll also be US formation displays, a couple of Spitfire displays and Dakota displays throughout the day.”
Daks Over Duxford, D-Day75 anniversary week of events at the Imperial War Museum. Picture: Keith Heppell. (11817901)
As well as the action in the sky, the 16 Air Assault Brigade, the Red Devils and a few D-Day veterans have also been on-site.
“On Wednesday, we’ll have the flight over to Normandy, with around 28 Dakotas, at around 2pm.
“Daks was the British nickname that was given to these American carrier planes,” explained Rachel, adding that some of the aircraft – which ceased to be produced at the end of the war – are painted the way they were on D-Day, with the invasion stripes and US Airforce insignia on them.
“Some have been decked out with modern seating and some have been kept as they would have been on D-Day itself,” she noted.
Rachel hoped there would be several D-Day veterans on-site, including Harry Read, who at the age of 95 is poised to complete a tandem parachute jump into Normandy today (Wednesday), flying out from Duxford.
On June 6, 1944, the greatest seaborne invasion in history began with the mission to liberate Europe from Nazi occupation. Otherwise known as ‘Operation Overlord’, secrecy was vital to the success of this highly complex land, air and sea operation. By midnight on June 6, 156,000 Allied troops had arrived in Normandy, despite challenging weather conditions and fierce German defences.
The subsequent Normandy campaign saw British and American troops fighting through France for almost two months before reaching Germany itself. D-Day was one of the most significant victories by the Western Allies during the Second World War. The eventual collapse of German resistance in France convinced German High Command that defeat was inevitable and began the process by which Allied victory was achieved in 1945.
During the latter half of the Second World War, the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) 78th Fighter Group was stationed at RAF Duxford, officially designated as USAAF Station 357 (DX). For the next two years, they played a crucial role in the air war over Europe.
Fighter aircraft served as escorts in the increasingly intense strategic bombing campaign and were heavily involved in D-Day operations in the summer of 1944 and in Operation Market Garden the following September.
All three squadrons of the 78th Fighter Group flew missions on D-Day, providing ‘area support’ by attacking railway and other transport targets inland of the invasion beaches to disrupt German attempts at a counterattack.
While these missions ran from 3.30am to 11.15pm on D-Day, ground staff based at Duxford worked a 24-hour shift providing operational support.
Personal D-Day stories can be found in IWM Duxford’s American Air Museum. These include USAAF pilot Julian ‘Bud’ Rice who flew the C-47 Skytrain on display in the museum, and Henry ‘Duke’ Boswell, a paratrooper who completed four combat jumps into action including over Sainte-Mère Église on D-Day.
IWM Duxford is holding further D-Day-related events this weekend.
“We have immersive family activities, such as D-Day jumping backpacks for kids to discover the story of D-Day,” said Rachel. “There will be activities running throughout the summer as well.”
Visit iwm.org.uk for more details.
