World War II aircraft donated by BiH goes on display in France

19/06/2008

A group of French aviation enthusiasts restored a World War II C-47 troop transport donated by BiH and displayed it at the D-Day memorial in Normandy.

By Antonio Prlenda for Southeast European Times in Merville, France – 19/06/08

More than 3,000 people attended the presentation of the restored C-47 troop transport in Normandy. [Antonio Prlenda]

A day after the 64th anniversary of the Allied invasion of Normandy, a group of aviation enthusiasts officially presented a C-47 troop transport donated by Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) to the French town of Merville.

The BiH authorities gave the relic to France at the end of November 2007 as a sign of gratitude for French peacekeeping efforts during and after the 1992-1995 conflict. The aviation buffs, led by Merville Mayor Olivier Paz, restored the plane and the US Army Air Forces colours that adorned it when it participated in the June 6th D-Day invasion.

"The people of Normandy will never forget the Allied landing in 1944 and the liberation of Europe. ... [the plane] will symbolise the friendship among France, the US and BiH," said Paz at the June 7th ceremony.

BiH presidency member Zeljko Komsic attended the ceremony with more than 3,000 spectators from all over Europe. Two members of the C-47's World War II crew and their families also attended.

Komsic said the plane would be a "symbol of joint resistance to fascism and the fight of the people of BiH and Tito's Yugoslavia for liberty".

The Douglas factory in Long Beach, California, produced the aircraft in January 1944. It became part of the US Army 9th Air Force and took part in Allied offensives, including D-Day and a September 1944 operation over Arnhem, Holland. Enemy fire hit the plane several times, nearly downing it at least once.

At the end of the war, the US sold it to a Czech airline, which refitted it for civilian use. The French air force purchased it in 1960 but sold it in 1973 to the Yugoslav air force -- its last operator. After the plane finished its flying service, it went on display at the Rajlovac military base near Sarajevo.

French aviation buffs learned about its existence after the 1990s conflict in BiH. With the assistance of French authorities, they obtained approval from the BiH presidency to restore and permanently display the plane in France.