Paso Robles, CA USA — Because of their advancing ages, World War II veterans are getting harder and harder to find, but one of them is resting quietly in a hangar at ArtCraft Paint at the Santa Maria Public Airport. A Douglas C-47 is awaiting a new coat of paint, and the volunteers who are helping with the restoration are looking to reunite the venerable plane with troops she might have carried.
“We know it’s a combat drop veteran of the European theater,” said Hector Camacho, a former Nipomo resident and current resident of Benton, Kan., who is assisting in the restoration. “We’re trying to restore it to its original state.”
The plane’s home base is the Estrella Warbird Museum in Paso Robles and ArtCraft is stripping and preparing to paint it in its original wartime colors.
It’s the latest in a number of restoration projects the company has participated in, ArtCraft owner Teresa Arredondo said.
What’s unusual about this particular plane is that it still has nearly all of its original equipment, Camacho said.
“That’s very unique, because most of them were stripped out and used for civilian purposes,” he said.
One of the reasons this plane still has so much of its original military equipment is that is almost never left military service. After it was used by the Army Air Corps, it also served the air forces of Belgium, France and Israel before finally being discharged into private ownership.
During World War II, the versatile plane with twin 1,200 horsepower Pratt & Whitney engines had a range of over 1,500 miles and a maximum speed of 232 mph.
They were used for dropping paratroopers, carrying cargo and even towing troop-carrying gliders.
Volunteers seek to reunite paratroopers with C-47 aircraft