Why a 'magnificent' WW2 plane flew over Watford today

The Douglas C-47A Dakota III passed over the west side of the town at 11.54am (June 28) on its way to a Battle of Britain Memorial Flight flyover at Buckingham Palace at 12pm.

It sped over more of Watford again on its way out of the capital, before looping around over Bricket Wood’s Parish Centre for the Armed Forces Day celebration there at 12.12pm.

The Douglas C-47A Dakota III over Bricket Wood (Image: Jay, from Bricket Wood)

Watford and Bricket Wood residents who saw the aircraft described it as “amazing”, “magnificent”, and “very impressive”.

They added that it flew “so low” and made a “wonderful sound”.

Jay, from Bricket Wood, shared photos of the aircraft snapped as it passed overhead.

"It was very impressive," she said. "We were explaining to our granddaughters how this plane probably saw active service and American soldiers would parachute out of the plane.”

The Douglas C-47A Dakota III over Bricket Wood (Image: Jay, from Bricket Wood)

Armed Forces Day was held on Saturday, but many events and flyovers featuring Dakota, Spitfire, and Hurricane aircraft were carried out today.

The Dakota saw widespread use by the Allies during World War II, including during the D-Day landings, and the Air Forces post-war.

The Douglas C-47A Dakota III over the Watford area (Image: Contribution)