CAF Inland Empire Wing Hosts 80th Birthday Bash for C-53 "D-Day Doll"

Riverside, California (May 12, 2023) - The CAF Inland Empire Wing is hosting a birthday celebration for the C-53 D-Day Doll to highlight the rich history of the aircraft.

There were only 159 C-53 Skytrain D Models built, D-Day Doll was number 139. This aircraft was built at the Douglas Aircraft Company Plant in Santa Monica, California. She was delivered to the U.S. Army Air Force in July 1943. She was assigned to the 434th Troop Carrier Group (TCG) and stationed at various locations before arriving at Royal Air Force (RAF) Aldermaston, UK in March 1944. There she was designated “Aircraft 830.”

The 434th TCG's D-Day mission was to tow gliders carrying reinforcements to 101st Division troops who had been dropped earlier in the night near Utah Beach. At 0119, June 6, 1944, 52 of the Group's airplanes, each towing a Waco glider, took off from RAF Aldermaston Airfield for Normandy. Aircraft 830/ D-Day Doll flew three missions on D-Day and the next day.

While in the European Theater, in addition to the invasion of Normandy, D-Day Doll participated in Operation Market Garden in Holland, the re-supply of Bastogne, and the crossing of the Rhine.

The CAF Inland Empire Wing will host D-Day Doll’s Birthday Bash on July 8, 2023.

When: July 8, 2023, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Where: CAF Inland Empire Wing at Riverside Municipal Airport, Riverside, California

Who: Bring the whole family, fly in, or drive your hot-rod

To purchase warbird rides at this event, click here.

Check out this video of D-Day Doll taking a World War II paratrooper for a jump on his 100th birthday.