DDA Dakota Market Garden flight

[Joris]

This saturday me and some friends flew in one of the C-47s of theDutch Dakota Association. It was the PH-PBA which was delivered in january 1944 and flew in all the Airborne missions, Normandy, Market Garden, Bastogne (resupply) and Varsity. After the war it was our Royal prince Bernhards private plane and in that state it's still airborne.

 

We took of from Eindhoven Airport, flow to Best, Veghel, Uden, Grave, Nijmegen, Driel, Arnhem and back across the same path. It was absolutely fantastic, I reccomend it to anybody!

 

By the way, the Ph-DDA another DDA - Dakota is the old plane in which Dick Winters and a part of E-Co 506PIR took off from Upottery and flew to Normandy!!!! :schocked:

 

Will post pictures in this thread during the day, work permitting...

[Tony B]

How times change. In my day we used to fly Dakotas out of Jersey belonging to Cambrian airways, BIA also had Pionairs, which look similar.

We were glad when Viscount's and Vanguards came along. Intra also flew Daks out of the Islands in the 1970's. my memory is of NB November Bravo, if I remember correctly 1944. Evil old bitch, all the radio gear was valves, forever giving grief that and the 28 volt inverters.

[Joris]

The dakota

http://nieuwint.net/ww2/gallery2/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=3677&g2_serialNumber=1[/img]

 

Me in front of the Dakota

http://nieuwint.net/ww2/gallery2/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=3680&g2_serialNumber=1[/img]

 

My view of the engine

http://nieuwint.net/ww2/gallery2/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=3690&g2_serialNumber=1[/img]

 

Pilots at work

http://nieuwint.net/ww2/gallery2/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=3696&g2_serialNumber=1[/img]

 

Town of Best for which the 101st A/B fought extremly hard, the bridge (not visible at this photo) was one of the secondary objectives in case the bridge as Son was blown (which it was). Unfortunantly the bridge as Best was blown as well.

http://nieuwint.net/ww2/gallery2/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=3700&g2_serialNumber=1[/img]

 

At the big buildings in the foreground was dropzone A where the 501st PIR landed. If you follow Zuid Willemsvaart at the treeline in the middle of the picture to the left you see a big viadiuct, just in front of it (not very visible) is the sluice where the bridge used to be.

http://nieuwint.net/ww2/gallery2/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=3708&g2_serialNumber=1[/img]

 

[Joris]

Grave bridge as seen through the cockpit and the rain

http://nieuwint.net/ww2/gallery2/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=3732&g2_serialNumber=1[/img]

 

Grave bridge as seen from a side window

http://nieuwint.net/ww2/gallery2/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=3734&g2_serialNumber=1[/img]

 

Location of the 504th PIR, 82nd Airborne Waal river crossing. They trained with the boats in the canal at the right and crossed right under the powercables.

http://nieuwint.net/ww2/gallery2/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=3740&g2_serialNumber=1[/img]

 

Best shot I currently have of the John Frost Bridge or Arnhem roadbridge. The plane made a turn to the right and I was on the wrong side of the airplane. On the extreme left you can see the ramp to the bridge. I live in the triangle of houses just to the right/below the ramp of the bridge. The Polish forces were scheduled to jump roughly in the center of the picture but their dropzone was later changed to Driel. Also visible but not WWII related is the Gelredome stadium.

http://nieuwint.net/ww2/gallery2/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=3758&g2_serialNumber=1[/img]

 

Nijmegen Roadbridge

http://nieuwint.net/ww2/gallery2/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=3764&g2_serialNumber=1[/img]

 

Site of waalcrossing:

http://nieuwint.net/ww2/gallery2/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=3766&g2_serialNumber=1[/img]

 

Honinghutte road and railbridge which was the the objective of the 82nd airborne div. The main route from the Grave bridge to the Nijmegen roadbridge was over this bridge. After a heavy fight this bridge was captured but the Germans blew it. After the dust had cleared the bridge was still standing but considered too weak to be used by XXXcorps. All traffic crossed the Heumen lock-bridge, not visible on this picture).

http://nieuwint.net/ww2/gallery2/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=3768&g2_serialNumber=1[/img]

 

Another shot of the Grave bridge, the dropzone used was on the left of the picture.

http://nieuwint.net/ww2/gallery2/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=3772&g2_serialNumber=1[/img]

 

Dropzone A (101st airborne) again:

http://nieuwint.net/ww2/gallery2/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=3792&g2_serialNumber=1[/img]

 

Nice shot of the cockpit

http://nieuwint.net/ww2/gallery2/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=3794&g2_serialNumber=1[/img]

 

This pictures I took totally by chance, it's a view from the cockpit of the 101st airborne main dropzone. It was here that easy company landed amongst the main part of the 101st A/B. On the left you see the "Zoensche" forest the attack on which has been vividly described by Don Burgett.

http://nieuwint.net/ww2/gallery2/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=3796&g2_serialNumber=1[/img]

 

http://nieuwint.net/ww2/gallery2/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=3798&g2_serialNumber=1[/img]

 

Interior of the plane:

http://nieuwint.net/ww2/gallery2/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=3800&g2_serialNumber=1[/img]

 

We then made a wide turn over the Best bridge (missed it) and landed at the airport.

http://nieuwint.net/ww2/gallery2/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=3804&g2_serialNumber=1[/img]

 

Down on the ground again

http://nieuwint.net/ww2/gallery2/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=3810&g2_serialNumber=1[/img]

 

http://nieuwint.net/ww2/gallery2/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=3812&g2_serialNumber=1[/img]

 

The pictures were not what I expected of it, I hoped they would be a lot better but you need a very good camera to take pictures from a moving plane and a plexiglas window.

 

That about wraps it up.

[Enigma]

Must have been a great flight!!!

Thanks for sharing the pics.

 

[Mark]

That was totally brill, what a great experience Joris.

[Great War truck]

Outstanding. Loveley to see such nice pictures.

 

Tim (too)

[martylee]

You lucky bastard... :tongue:

 

 

Marty

[Joris]

It really was fantastic! I've uploaded some vids to http://www.hmvftv.com Search for Dakota!