Daks Over Normandy started to gain traction, and the ambitious plan
was beginning to come together. During 2017 and 2018, many aircraft
in Europe and the United States were committing to the event. It was
during this time that the ‘D-Day Squadron’, the US contingent of aircraft
to Normandy, was also formed. One by one, the US and European jump
teams signed on, and the number of parachutists began to climb. By
June 5, 2019, the day of the cross-channel flight and jump, there were
22 C-47/DC-3 variant aircraft and 200 parachutists crossing the channel
toward France. ADT accounted for 39 of those jumpers, the largest
group in attendance.
Note: On June 5th at Duxford, there were 23 C-47/DC-3 variant aircraft
on the field: 16 C-47s*, four C-53s*, one C-41*, one C-49* and even a Lis-
unov Li-2, a Russian licensed version built in 1949. One aircraft, the C-
Skytrooper Little Egypt, had an engine failure on June 4. This meant only
22 aircraft would be available to make the cross-channel flight. The loss
of this aircraft caused 22 out of the 222 parachutists on the manifest
to be cut from the jump. ADT had four team members cut. (*Original
factory-built configuration.)June 5th was a cold, grey day. But, the ceilings were high and the wind
on the Sannerville drop zone were calm so the flight and jump were aGary Daniels