C-47 Skytrain "Old Number 30" Airbase Arizona

“Old Number 30” is a C-47A produced by Douglas Aircraft in Long Beach, CA, and delivered to the Army Air Force in April 1943. The airplane was then assigned to the 60th Troop Carrier Group (TCG), 11th Troop Carrier Squadron (TCS), and flown to the Mediterranean Theatre in May 1943. From 1943 to 1945 it operated from numerous U.S. and British Airbases in North Africa, Sicily, and Italy. On those missions “Old Number 30” flew invasion troops into Southern Europe, towed gliders during the Invasion of Sicily, dropped spies, propaganda, and supplies for the OSS and SOE in Serbia, delivered supplies, artillery, and mules to Yugoslav Partisan forces, flew night rescue missions of partisans and war orphans in Yugoslavia, and dropped food to starving Greeks. Allied action in this region seriously weakened the ability of the Nazis to continue to control the territory. The 60th TCG and the aircrews of “Old Number 30” were awarded the Distinguished Unit Citation – the highest unit award in the military. These stories, and “Old Number 30” in particular, were lost to history until recently. A Presidential Executive Order in 1995 resulted in the declassification of long-secret military documents giving details of many of these operations. Non-fiction books such as “The Forgotten 500” (G. Freeman) and “The Secret War in the Balkans” (R. Kraemer) began to tell stories that included the exploits of the C-47 aircrews as some of the bravest and most heroic in aviation. Airbase Arizona member Col. Ben York dove into some serious research when “Old Number 30” was offered for sale locally, and what he found was breathtaking. As we continue ongoing research on “Old Number 30” and the history of the 60th TCG and its crews, we continue to learn additional details of its missions.