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Tomorrow is the 75th anniversary of D-Day. In memory of the huge allied paratroop drop behind the enemy line that day, a re-enactment has been planned. Virtually every flight worthy Dakota, the main aircraft used on the day, in the world has assembled to take part.
Now the planned route down to Normandy would pass over Southend at 1424. Well, the flight window was from Shoeburyness to Leigh-on-Sea so it was going to be a lottery on where to stand for a decent view. I got off the train at Southend Central and did some prep work for a new SideTracked cache there. Once I had a final place sorted, I walked up to the Central Library to check out the newish multi there. As I have a multi in a library, I wanted to see how they‘d done it. There was enough info in the description to get the cache but I still like my method best.🤔
It was time to get going down to the front for the flypast. I found the Prittlewell Gardens trad whilst I was waiting but I was still unsure where to stand. News came through that the departure from Duxford had been delayed so I decided to walk further west for a longer view and ended up at Westcliff-on-Sea Station. At 1630, a rumble in the sky told me that I should have been nearer to Chalkwell Station.🙁
A few bedraggled Daks flew over which was hardly the spectacular that we were all hoping for. I couldn’t make out an D-Day markings but at least I saw them. I probably had a better view of this airborne invasion that my dad did in the radio room on HMS Nith off Gold Beach on the day that it actually mattered though.🤔
1 Multi 1 Traditional
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