C47 in waiting
One of the most classic and recognizable warbirds, the Douglas C47 was used as a jack of all trades aircraft. In WWII, this plane was used as a personnel transport, cargo plane and as a means to drop a “stick” of paratroopers behind enemy lines. This plane is all decked out in invasion stripes – the black and white stripes you can make out near the tail and there were more sets of stripes on both wings as an aid to identify friend or foe during the course of the D-Day invasion.
Puff
A highly reliable and useful airframe, the C47 was still in use into the Vietnam War. Set up as a gunship, they were given the nickname Puff the Magic Dragon and I’ve been told that the stream of tracers descending from the sky looked like a laser beam.
This warbird was spotted at the Vintage Flying Museum in Fort Worth…. waiting to take a load of passengers into the air once more.
Unaffected Photography 
There are still many of these planes flying. And they are more than 60 years old. Great post, Derrick. I am a fan of all the old warbirds.
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Thank you Bob! Ope you get to feeling better soon!
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I was able to take a trip in a caro plane (C147, I think? Don’t be too hard on me, please) when one of the people that worked for me, who was a member of the National Guard, invited me along for “Boss LIft”, The whole idea was to educate the employers of National Guard members as to what the Guard endures in the service of their country. It was the most awesome plane trip I have ever taken. We took off from Bowling Green, Ky flew to Fort Benning in Georgia, drove to some location on the fort, watched a tank demonstration, ate MRE’s and then flew back all in the same day. All that part was amazing. But what I remember most is the take off, when the pilot revved the propellor-driven engines whie the brakes were held, then released the brakes. The result was the plane being pushed forward as if shot out of a cannon. Then, came the landing, when not long after the plane touched down, the pilot reversed the angle of the propellers and a sudden braking force was applied to the plane. It felt like running into a wall. In each case, all of us that were not military, those of us not expecting it, were tossed around a bit in the plane. More than a few of us “civilians” let out screams. But they were excited, even giddy screams. We all knew we were getting to be part of something special.
Tim
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Probably a C130! Thanks for stopping by!
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What a magnificent sight!
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Indeed!
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I particularly like how ‘natural’ the surroundings the are! Museums are such fascinating places, but sometimes creating an image that looks… well… ‘upstaged’ (if that’s the right word) can be a real trick. You’ve done just that here, Mr. B… awesome!
🙂
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thanks Inky! I had to hold my monopod up over and through a chain link/barbed wire fence, compose the shot in Live View and hope the wind didn’t rattle me around enough to mess up the shot! 🙂
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