The plane was a lead aircraft for the airborne invasion of Normandy on D-Day, June 6, 1944. The plane led some 800 C-47s that dropped more than 13,000 paratroopers into northeastern France.
After D-Day and other missions, the airplane returned to the United States and was sold on the civilian market in 1945, the museum said in a release Tuesday. Before it was sold, the plane also flew in operations Dragoon, Market Garden, Repulse and Varsity, according to a website devoted to the plane’s history.
Two historians from the U.S. Air Force later discovered that it was lying in a boneyard in Wisconsin.
The Commemorative Air Force, an organization that finds and preserves historic aircraft, acquired the aircraft and returned it to flying status.
Visitors can buy a ride on the plane, which lasts about 30 minutes, through the plane’s website. Tours are $10, and rides are $249.
About the Author
