What kind of train could get across the English Channel sixty-nine years ago without going anywhere near the water?
(You shouldn't put the cart before the horse; but it's okay to put a Dakota before a Horsa.)
Bob Nelson
Well, Bob, since your question came out on June 6 I assume the answer has somthing to do with D-Day. That being said, I'll venture a guess that the "train" is a Douglas C-47 "Skytrain", somtimes known as a "Dakota", towing a, Airspeed A S.51 "Horsa" troop transport/glider. Heck of a way to get a free ride across the Channel, but at least your feet didn't get wet.
Great riddle!
Frank Silvia
TCA 79-14309
Well done, Frank! You got every detail right.
The Skytrain, "Dakota" to the British, and "Gooney Bird" to those who flew them, has got to be my most beloved airplane. My father flew them in WWII and all through my childhood. My first flight was in one, in 1956 from Anchorage to Fairbanks, instead of a planned ground-level train ride on the ARR. For many years, they were the almost universal airliner, whether purpose-built DC-3s or converted C-47s; and I rode them many times. Now you have to go out of your way to get a ride in one.
If someone were to ask me I'd say the greatest aircraft EVER is the Douglas DC-3/ C-47. For excellence of design, ruggedness, longevity, and it's ability to handle any job that was thrown at it it can't be beat. Not as common as they used to be, but there's still some out there doing what they were meant to do.
One of my uncles flew as a radio operator on a C-47 during WW2. He loves that bird!
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