To the skies: Historic WWII aircraft touches down in Clarksville, delights visitors with flights

History lovers and airplane enthusiasts were given a chance to step inside a piece of living history this week at the Clarksville Regional Airport.

The plane known as That's All, Brother was nearly lost forever after serving on D-Day, and in operations Dragoon, Market Garden, Repulse and Varsity, during World War 2, according to the Commemorative Air Force website.

Earlier this week, it could be spotted in the skies over Montgomery County.

“You're about to fly on the most historically significant World War II airplane in the United States,” Dave Berrio told airport guests before their flights over Clarksville and Fort Campbell. “This C-47 was the lead aircraft on the Airborne invasion of Normandy on June 6, 1944 - D Day. It led 821 other C-47's, and 13,000 paratroopers from the 101st and the 82nd Airborne Divisions.”

After the war, That's All, Brother was sold to the civilian market in 1945.

Eventually, the airplane was scrapped, but fortunately, two historians from the United States Air Force discovered it in a Wisconsin boneyard.

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The Commemorative Air Force was able to acquire the airplane, and through a large group of donors and volunteers, it was restored to flying status.

Further restoration ensued, and today, That's All, Brother appears as it had in 1944, including its D-Day paint scheme.

The aircraft is now in the care of the CAF's Central Texas Wing.

In 2019, That's All, Brother joined 14 other C-47/DC-3 airplanes to make the journey back over the Atlantic. CAF members and volunteers retraced the classic ferry path from the United States to Canada, Greenland, Iceland, Scotland and England to join up with over 30 C-47/DC-3 airplanes in Duxford, England, according to the Commemorative Air Force website.

On June 5, 2019, That's All Brother flew with 18 re-enactor paratroops who boarded the plane in England, flew over the English Channel and made a successful paradrop flight over Normandy, the site said, noting that one day later, on June 6, 2019, the aircraft flew with 12 others in formation to close out the D-Day commemoration over the US Cemetery in Normandy, continued on to Germany for the 70th commemoration of the Berlin Airlift, then flew back to France for the Paris Airshow.

After its Clarksville visit, That's All Brother moved on to an engagement in Cincinnati, Ohio.

It's next stops were set for Columbus, Ohio and Virginia Beach, Virginia.

For more information about the aircraft, where it will be, and how to take a tour or flight, visit www.thatsallbrother.org.

For more information about the Clarksville Regional Airport, including any upcoming events, visit www.clarksvilleregional.com.

This article originally appeared on Clarksville Leaf-Chronicle: Historic WWII aircraft That's All, Brother touches down in Clarksville