GoDemand staff are supporting Daks over Normandy in the UK and France and helping raise sponsorship to make the event happen.
June the 6th 1944 – the date on which 160,000 Allied troops stormed the Normandy beaches to start the liberation of Nazi occupied Western-Europe. The assault was preceded by 24,000 troops who parachuted or came in by glider. The most important aircraft to support the airborne assault was formed of over 800 Douglas DC-3/C-47’s Skytrains (Dakotas). These aircraft carried the brunt of all men across the English Channel into battle and may well be called the ‘Unsung Heroes’.
June 2019 the D-Day Invasion sees its 75th anniversary – it will probably be the very last large commemoration of this historic day. Daks over Normandy will provide a unique event that will fill the skies over Normandy with up to 40 Douglas DC-3/C-47 Dakotas and hundreds of Paratroopers. For the first time since World War II this number of these magnificent aircraft is assembled in the place where they saw their finest hour. From 2 to 8 June 2019 their owners and operators will fly them from all over the globe – from Finland and France, from the United States and even from as far away as Australia – just so everyone can admire these wonderful aircraft both in the air and on the ground.
On the 5th of June 2019 we will follow in the footsteps of the D-Day assault troops! Approximately 300 men and women will board the aircraft in the United Kingdom to fly across the English Channel and to jump into the historic drop zones of Normandy. They will be wearing WWII style Allied uniforms and will jump with military round parachutes. This is an event without an equal. History in the making – just like in 1944!