This past summer when I was visiting my brother in Thunder Bay, I was pleased to learn that a restored World War II DC-3 aircraft was sitting at the city’s airport. My brother lives near the airport, so it was easy for us to stop by. The plane was sitting behind a fence and could not be directly approached, but we viewed it from several angles and enjoyed seeing such a beautifully preserved old aircraft.
The plane was built by the Douglas Aircraft Company in 1944 and was purchased for the Royal Air Force in Montreal before heading overseas. It played an important role in war, having dropped paratroopers into France during the D-Day invasion. Its troops were deployed to destroy bridges, limiting the flow of the German army into the Normandy region.
Following its military service, the plane returned to Canada where it functioned as a passenger transport aircraft from 1947 until the late 1980s when it was retired. The plane sat dormant in Saint-Hubert, Que. for 27 years but was recently restored at the Ecole Nationale d’Aérotechnique in Saint-Hubert in time to return to the skies for the 75th anniversary of D-Day.
