D-day flypast today: daks over normandy - full route map, timings

D-Day is celebrating its anniversary today, 75 years after the 1944 landing in Normandy. The official name for the event was Operation Neptune and was the largest scale seaborne invasion in

history. The effort from more than 200,000 heroic allied soldiers on June 6, 1944, unclasped Adolf Hitler’s hand from Europe. In celebration of their brave efforts today, the Imperial War

Museum will release a fleet of aircraft which will take a route over England and towards the English Channel with a final descent on France. DAKS OVER NORMANDY FULL ROUTE MAP AND TIMINGS

Today’s event is organised by the Imperial War Museum in partnership with Daks Over Normandy. They will assemble the largest group of Douglas C-47 Skytrains (Dakotas), otherwise known as

Daks, since World War Two. The aircraft will take off from the Imperial War Museum at Duxford, Cambridge this afternoon. READ MORE: HOW TO WATCH D-DAY FLYPAST ONLINE The fleet will depart

from the disused airbase this afternoon from 1.40pm. They will pass over Essex towards Eastbourne to reach Southend by 2.29pm. From Southend, the Dakotas will pass over the English Channel

towards Le Havre, France, where the historic UK Drop Zone is at Sannerville. The fleet is expected to touch down in Caen-Carpiquet Airport by 4.45pm local time (3.45pm BST). READ MORE: BEST

WAYS TO CELEBRATE D-DAY HOW TO WATCH DAKS OVER NORMANDY Daks Over Normandy takes place at the IWM Duxford, and those living close by can buy tickets for the event. According to the Imperial

War Museum, tickets for the venue cost £25, and under-16s go free. Those who buy tickets will also have access to the museum after the planes take off. READ MORE: WHAT DOES THE D IN D-DAY

STAND FOR? For those working or too far away from the base, there is a scheduled Facebook live stream. The Daks over Normandy official page says the group will run an online stream from

liftoff, but they warn connection could be shaky. Daks over Normandy spokesman Peter Braun said: “This is the first time since the end of the Berlin airlift, which is in 1949, that we have

been able to assemble this many aircraft of this type anywhere in Europe. “It will be the first time and the last time we’ve been able to do this. We’re in for a big treat.”