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.

David C Isby is an experienced author and pilot, and has written and edited numerous books and articles. His work on World War 2 military aviation includes 'Jane's at the Controls: How to Fly and Fight in the Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress' and the editing of two volumes of Luftwaffe accounts, 'The Luftwaffe Fighter Force: The View From the Cockpit' and 'Fighting the Bombers'. He is the son of a former USAAF C-47 navigator.

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