Eighty-two years and three days after Operation Overlord, D-Day veteran C-47 Night Fright returned to the skies wearing its wartime color scheme for the first time since the end of WWII. Piloted by Ben Cox and the aircraft’s owner, Charlie Walker, the first flight marked the completion of one of the most painstaking warbird restorations undertaken in recent years.
(Image credit: Aviation Highlights)
In the early 2010s, C-47A Skytrain serial number 42-100521, now registered as N308SF, was sitting at Walnut Ridge, Arkansas, facing an uncertain future that could easily have ended in scrapping. After the Walker family confirmed the aircraft’s wartime service history in 2012, the decision was made to save and restore the veteran transport. The aircraft was dismantled, packed into shipping containers, and transported to the United Kingdom with a single objective: to return it to airworthy condition in its original wartime Night Fright configuration. The aircraft was moved to Coventry Airport in Warwickshire, where a dedicated restoration team began the monumental task of returning the C-47 to the skies. More than a decade later, following extensive structural inspections and repairs, the rebuilding and overhaul of numerous systems, and a meticulous restoration to its wartime configuration, the veteran transport finally flew again.
(Image credit: Aviation Highlights)
At 7:19 p.m. BST on Tuesday, June 9th, 2026, Night Fright lifted off from Coventry Airport for its first post-restoration flight, completing several local circuits over the airfield. With all systems performing as expected, attention quickly turned to the aircraft’s second flight: a ferry trip to Sywell Aerodrome in Northamptonshire. Engineers and pilots from Air Leasing, one of the companies involved in the aircraft’s restoration and ongoing maintenance, remained at the airfield to witness Night Fright’s historic arrival. The crew was greeted with celebratory beers after shutting down at Sywell. The timing was particularly significant, as Coventry Airport was scheduled to close just two days later. The team had successfully beaten the clock and flown the aircraft out before the runway ceased operations.
(Image credit: Aviation Highlights)
The restoration team’s objective extended far beyond simply returning the aircraft to flying condition. Throughout the project, considerable effort was devoted to restoring Night Fright as accurately as possible to its June 1944 D-Day configuration. Drawing upon wartime records, photographs, and surviving documentation, the team recreated the aircraft’s appearance and equipment as it would have been when operating from RAF Membury with the 436th Troop Carrier Group during the Allied invasion of Normandy. The result is one of the most authentic flying C-47 restorations completed in recent years, preserving not only the aircraft itself but also the story of the crews who flew it into combat.
(Image credit: Aviation Highlights)
During WWII, Night Fright served with the 436th Troop Carrier Group at RAF Membury. Most notably, the aircraft carried paratroopers of the 101st Airborne Division during the D-Day airborne assault on Normandy on June 6th, 1944. The aircraft later participated in Operation Market Garden and Operation Varsity, undertaking a variety of missions that included dropping paratroopers, towing gliders, carrying supplies, and evacuating wounded personnel. Following the war, the aircraft entered civilian service as an airliner and cargo transport before joining the French Navy (Aéronavale) in 1963, where it served as a navigation trainer and logistical support aircraft.
Following the successful flight, owner Charlie Walker shared his thoughts on The Night Fright C-47 Restoration Project Facebook page: “It’s hard to find words to do this moment justice. I’ve dreamt about it for fourteen years — but on June 9th, 2026, it finally became reality. To climb aboard Night Fright and sit in a cockpit just as it would have been on June 6th, 1944, alongside Ben, knowing we were about to fulfill a long-held dream by flying her again — what a feeling. Accelerating down the runway, watching her respond flawlessly after such a meticulous restoration, and lifting into the air in her wartime colors for the first time since the end of WWII was incredible. What a team effort. This was never the original plan. Back in November 2012, my father and I set out to find a C-47 that had flown from Membury, my childhood home. The idea was a gate guardian — but that quickly wasn’t enough. She needed to fly. That’s when Neil Jones joined the team, bringing expertise that has been vital ever since. Work began in Florida with the Moss family. From 2017 onward, she was based at Coventry under Heritage Air Services, led by Ben Cox, with one ambition: to make Night Fright the finest and most authentic C-47 in the world. We’ve achieved that. But this has always been about more than one aircraft — it’s about living history: honoring the past and inspiring future generations alongside our museum at Membury. There have been moments of excitement, despair, and tears — and I wouldn’t change one of them. I’ve had the privilege of working with incredible people: engineers, volunteers, original aircrew and their families, and USAF and RAF personnel. Thank you. To those too many to name — you know who you are. Special thanks to Neil Jones, Tom Woodhouse, Roger Day, Ben Cox, Mark Young, Heritage Air Services, Air Leasing, all volunteers, and Walker Logistics. None of this would have happened without you. Thanks also to Indestructible Paints and everyone who backed our vision, and to Joe Harvey for capturing it all. This isn’t the end — it’s just the beginning.” For more information on the project, visit: www.night-fright.com.
