Osprey Combat Aircraft 54 : C-47/R4D Units of the ETO and MTO

The C-47 units of the USAAF were an integral part of some of the most dramatic episodes of the European war - the airborne assaults in North Africa, Sicily, Normandy, Southern France, Operation Market Garden, and the crossing of the Rhine. The mass fratricide off Sicily, the night drop for D-Day, and the Bastogne supply missions are also covered, along with more typical accounts of training, formation flying, airdrops and casualty evacuation missions. This book details an aircraft that remains a popular favourite and an acknowledged design classic, carrying out missions every bit as strategically important and as dramatic for the aircrew as those of the fighters and bombers. Text by David Isby with illustrations by Chris Davey.

Contents

• Origins
• North Africa
• Sicily and the 'Soft Underbelly'
• D-Day and Normandy
• Airborne Invasions and Air Resupply
• Italy and the Balkans
• Decisive Battles and Victory
• A New Way of Air Warfare
• Appendix 1 - USAAF/USN C-47 Units in ETO/MTO
• Appendix 2 - The Aircraft