Aircraft PH-DDA Data

This aircraft was built as C-47A 42-100646 and delivered to USAAF on 11/18/43, and on 3/5/44 was assigned to the U.S. 8th A.F. in Europe. It was subsequently assigned to the U.S. 9th A.F. with the 9th Troop Carrier Command for D-Day operations. Later assigned to 873rd AES, then on 5/13/45 it went to the 91st Troop Carrier Sqdn. Successive units the plane was assigned to were 47th Troop Carrier Sqdn, 155th PRS, 513th Fighter Sqdn, 42nd Air Defense Group, and back to 513th. On 12/1/45 the plane was assigned to the 86th Fighter Interceptor Group, but three months later it was back with the 42nd ADG. On 4/16/46 the plane was placed in storage in Germany as surplus. It was sold to the Finnish Government on 6/12/46, and on 10/26/46 was delivered to Finnair as OH-LCB. On 7/1/63 it was transferred to the Finnish Air Force and coded “DO-7”. During September 1976 this C-47 was one of many used in the filming of the movie, “A Bridge Too Far,” painted as “711212”. It was WFU from the Finnish Air Force in 1983, and in January 1984 sold to the Dutch Dakota Association. Completely overhauled, it ended up registered as PH-DDA. Unfortunately, on 9/25/96 the aircraft crashed into the North Sea with the loss of all six crew and 26 passengers. (Information from Arthur Pearcy's 1988 book, "Douglas DC-3 Survivors" and Joe Baugher)