D-Day Squadron Update – Clipper Tabitha May Arrives Duxford – Others Depart Goose Bay

Clipper Tabitha May about to touch down at Duxford slightly before 3pm local time yesterday afternoon (May 21). She was the first of the fifteen Douglas transports from the D-Day Squadron to arrive in England. More will be coming in today. (photo by George Land)
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Clipper Tabitha May was the first of the fifteen Douglas transports that make up the D-Day Squadron to arrive in Duxford, England yesterday afternoon. The magnificent aircraft, resplendent in her vintage Pan American World Airways livery touched down at the historic airfield slightly before 3pm local time yesterday (May 21st).

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Clipper Tabitha May arriving overhead Duxford yesterday afternoon. (photo by George Land)

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Clipper Tabitha May on finals, passing the ancient village of Duxford. (photo by George Land)

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Touchdown at Duxford! (photo by George Land)

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Taxiing Clipper Tabitha May up to the ramp at Imperial War Museum Duxford. (photo by George Land)

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Rolling out. (photo by George Land)

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Preparing to park. (photo by George Land)

Meanwhile, the flight of five transports that have been weathered in for the past two days at Canadian Forces Base Goose Bay in Newfoundland, Canada finally managed to take off for Greenland this morning. They departed CFB Goose Bay at different times this morning, although not all for the same destination. Some of them are heading for Narsarsuaq and others to Søndre Strømfjord. Flabob Express took off first, with D-Day Doll departing fifteen minutes later at 8am ADT (Atlantic Daylight Time – 2hrs ahead of EST). At the time of writing, they were cruising along at 9,900 feet and about a quarter of the way along on their 800 mile journey to Narsarsuaq, Greenland… most of which is over the frigid open water of the North Atlantic. Virginia Ann (Narsarsuaq), Pan Am (Søndre Strømfjord) and Betsy’s Biscuit Bomber (Søndre Strømfjord) took off in intervals about an hour later and were just crossing the Canadian coast outbound for Greenland at time of writing (11:27am ADT).

The five aircraft which arrived in Iceland on Monday, including That’s All… Brother, departed Reykjavik for Prestwick, Scotland this morning.

Miss Montana, the last of the D-Day Squadron aircraft still in the U.S.A., will likely take off for Goose Bay sometime today.

About a dozen aircraft from the D-Day Squadron will be on hand at Prestwick Airport, near Glasgow, Scotland to take part in the Daks Over Prestwick event over the course of May 24/25th.


Many thanks indeed to George Land for the lovely photographs of Clipper Tabitha May’s arrival at Duxford.

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Richard Mallory Allnutt's aviation passion ignited at the 1974 Farnborough Airshow. Raised in 1970s Britain, he was immersed in WWII aviation lore. Moving to Washington DC, he frequented the Smithsonian’s National Air & Space Museum, meeting aviation legends.

After grad school, Richard worked for Lockheed-Martin but stayed devoted to aviation, volunteering at museums and honing his photography skills. In 2013, he became the founding editor of Warbirds News, now Vintage Aviation News. With around 800 articles written, he focuses on supporting grassroots aviation groups.

Richard values the connections made in the aviation community and is proud to help grow Vintage Aviation News.

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About Richard Mallory Allnutt (Chief Editor) 1060 Articles
Richard Mallory Allnutt's aviation passion ignited at the 1974 Farnborough Airshow. Raised in 1970s Britain, he was immersed in WWII aviation lore. Moving to Washington DC, he frequented the Smithsonian’s National Air & Space Museum, meeting aviation legends. After grad school, Richard worked for Lockheed-Martin but stayed devoted to aviation, volunteering at museums and honing his photography skills. In 2013, he became the founding editor of Warbirds News, now Vintage Aviation News. With around 800 articles written, he focuses on supporting grassroots aviation groups. Richard values the connections made in the aviation community and is proud to help grow Vintage Aviation News.

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