Six C-130J aircraft based at Ramstein Air Base, Germany, received a special paint job and decals in 2023 to show off over the beaches of Normandy, France, on the 80th anniversary of D-Day next June. The Ted Coningsby channel managed to get a sneak peak of one landing at RAF Lakenheath on the 29th January 2024. The serial was 15-5831 and had callsign HERKY687.

The maintainers painted black-and-white stripes on the 37th Airlift Squadron’s C-130s to mimic the “invasion” or “liberation” stripes sported by Allied aircraft during World War II to distinguish them from enemy aircraft and reduce the chance of friendly fire.

The Airmen from the 86th Maintenance Squadron at Ramstein AFB gave a nod to the 37th’s lineage by painting a W-7 insignia on the invasion stripes—a Douglas C-47 Skytrain aircraft named Whiskey Seven belonging to the 37th Troop Carrier Squadron was the first to cross enemy lines to drop paratroopers.

Units across the Air Force have painted invasion stripes on their aircraft over the years to celebrate the service’s World War II roots. This year alone, F-15E fighters from Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, N.C., and a C-17 Globemaster III from Pittsburgh International Airport Air Reserve Station, Penn., have sported the stripes.

But only the Ramstein C-130s, however, are scheduled to participate in the D-Day 80th anniversary celebrations on June 6, 2024.

The 37th Troop Carrier Squadron, now known as the 37th Airlift Squadron, flew Whiskey Seven over enemy airspace. Historically the 37th can lay claim to be a part of the Normandy liberation. You can see the W7 marking on the Portside of the C-130 when it taxis back to its parking spot.

The 37th also supported the 75th anniversary of D-Day five years ago, with a C-130 sporting invasion stripes that dropped paratroopers in France and flew alongside a heritage C-47.

Preparations for the 80th anniversary are underway, but details have yet to be announced.

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