The Strike Eagles of the 48th Fighter Wing were painted in Heritage liveries with D-Day Invasion stripes.
On June 9, 2019 the world commemorated the 75th anniversary of the D-Day landings in Normandy. Starting from June 6, world leaders, veterans and civilians rendered their homage to all who fought during D-Day. The U.S. Air Force 48th Fighter Wing sent its F-15s to perform a flypast during the re-enactment of the airborne assault over Sainte-Mere-Eglise, France, flying top cover for C-130s and restored C-47s that dropped more than 1100 paratroopers, both active duty militaries and civilian volunteers.
The three special color F-15s, one for each Squadron assigned to the 48th F.W., were unveiled at the beginning of this year in preparation of the celebrations for D-Day. The planes were painted in the same colors of the P-47s used by the Wing during World War II, with a checkered pattern on the nose and invasion stripes on the wings.
The formation which took part in the flypast was composed by three F-15E, of which two were the special colors, and one F-15C. Interestingly, the special color F-15C belonging to the 493rd Fighter Squadron didn’t take part in the event, according to the photos, but took part in the missing man formation on June 6.
The photos you can see in this post were released by the 48th F.W. Public Affairs on Facebook and Twitter in the days following the D-Day anniversary.
Stefano D'Urso is a freelance journalist and contributor to TheAviationist based in Lecce, Italy. A graduate in Industral Engineering he's also studying to achieve a Master Degree in Aerospace Engineering. Electronic Warfare, Loitering Munitions and OSINT techniques applied to the world of military operations and current conflicts are among his areas of expertise.
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