Corgi AA38205 Douglas C-47A, ‘Buzz Buggy’, 81st Troop Carrier Squadron, 436th Troop Carrier Group

Douglas C-47A, ‘Buzz Buggy’, 81st Troop Carrier Squadron, 436th Troop Carrier Group – Based in Membury Mar 1944 to Feb 1945 Developed from the Douglas DC-3 airliner, the C-47 military transport variant served with the USAAF in a variety of roles including the airlifting of supplies and cargo, casualty evacuation, glider towing and perhaps most famously dropping paratroopers into combat zones. The subject of our model, C-47A-65-DL, serial number 42-100558 was built by the Douglas Aircraft Company in Long Beach, California, one of over 10,000 military versions produced by factories in the United States. Based at Membury in Berkshire, England from 1944 and given the nickname and nose art of ‘Buzz Buggy’, this C-47 served with the 81st Troop Carrier Squadron, 436th Troop Carrier Group and participated in the airborne assaults on Normandy, southern France Holland and Germany. In 1950 after an illustrious career with the USAAF, ‘Buzz Buggy’ was transferred to the Uruguayan Air Force before being scrapped following an accident in 1959. Model features a modified cockpit window bar and D-Day markings.