Last D-Day C-47 Pathfinder Pilot Dies at 102
Jan. 14, 2025 | By David Roza
Lt. Col. David Hamilton, the last surviving C-47 pilot who flew pathfinding paratroopers into France during the 1944 D-Day invasion, died Jan. 5 at the age of 102.
Hamilton was born in Watford, England, in 1922 and lived in Paris until he and his family moved to New York City when he was six years old. His father flew in World War I and his older brother was a pilot with United Airlines, so when Hamilton joined the U.S. Army Air Forces on Dec. 8, 1941, the day after the attack on Pearl Harbor, his goal was to fly.
It took a few years, but in early 1944 the newly-trained C-47 transport pilot arrived in England, where his substantial amount of instrument flying experience earned him a slot in the Pathfinders, a special unit of 20 C-47 crews forming up ahead of the D-Day invasion.
The Pathfinders carried about 300 Pathfinder paratroopers just two hours ahead of the larger invasion of approximately 13,000 paratroopers. The ground troops’ goal was to mark landing zones and drop zones to guide in the other aircraft.
https://www.airandspaceforces.com/last-d-day-c-47-pathfinder-pilot-david-hamilton-dies/
