Hangar Dance honors vets – evokes memories
“Rosie the Riveter” and her Sailor-boy smile for Historic City News at the St. Augustine Airport Pilots Association 2nd annual WWII “Hangar Dance” held Saturday night, November 21st.
The dance honors veterans of all wars and has as its theme, WWII.
About 150 people, most dressed in 1940’s attire and military service uniforms of both the American and Allied forces, danced to a 21 piece “swing” band, which magically put everyone present (and accounted for) “In The Mood”.
The C-47 “Tico Belle.” was the highlight of this years gathering, restored to her original glory and complete with her Normandy invasion identification stripes. 65 years ago on June 6th 1944, in the pre-dawn darkness, the Tico Belle made her way from England to the beaches of Normandy, along with hundreds of other aircraft, as part of the largest aerial invasion the world has ever seen.
On that historic day, she made two additional round trips carrying paratroopers to jump behind enemy lines. She later took part in the WWII battles of Cherbourg, Arnhern, and Bastogne. During the Cold War she flew supplies in the Berlin Airlift.
As the band played “Don’t Stand Under the Apple Tree”, the C-47 “Tico Belle” was a nostalgic sight and seemed to be right at home with the GI’s, sailors, and Victory Girls in attendance.
Photo credits: © 2009 Historic City News contributing photographer John Bacon
Category: Uncategorized
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Truly a venerable and almost unbelievably reliable aircraft!
As anyone flying commercial in the Douglas DC-3 since the 1930s, or those U.S.Army Air Corps/Air Force flyboys in their C-47s in WWII and in the U.S.A.F after it was formed after WWII, and U.S. Naval Aviation crewmembers (like me) in our R4Ds. All the same aircraft, the DC-3, C-47, R4D, Dakota! You could lose 3 or 4 feet off a wing, and she’s still fly, albeit with a bit of a yawl.
And the Tico Belle herself is a conglomeration, although officially a C-47 owned by the Valiant Air Command out of Titusville.
After a disastrous ground loop two years ago (December 2007) she was scheduled to be struck off the active list due to severe damages, but some folks came up with an old DC-3 they found down in the Keys, cannabilized her, and rebuilt the Tico Belle with half a century old parts and pieces!
The last one I flew in c. 1954 caught on fire as we were approaching the mothball fleet at Green Cove Springs (which bounched a huge radar “blip” which we used to train radar operators, pilots and navigators in using their airborne radars).
We blew the aft hatch as the pilot pushed the nose over and dived almost vertical, straight for the deck, and I was hooked up to jump (I turned to my shipmate behind me and told him to push me if I hesitated). The fire blew out during the dive, and we limped home on one engine.