C-47 HISTORIC TRIP (Texas to Ethiopia)

                                            reported by Lee R. Rodawalt (July 9, 2004)

                      edited by Carolyn S. Rodawalt-Cunningham & Valarie J. Rodawalt

                  
In January 1969, Jack Miller, Lee Rodawalt, and Gerald Johns flew a 10,000 mile trip from Dallas, Texas (Addison Airport) to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia to ferry a refurbished
C-47 airplane to the U.S. Mapping Mission.  The trip was very dangerous but not many
people realized this fact, including their families. 

From left to right--Lee Rodawalt, Jack Miller, and Gerald Johns.  Orders

Two C-47’s (known worldwide as “the Gooney Bird”) were in operation at the Mapping Mission in the the late 60’s.  The U.S. Army Mapping Mission purchased a C-47 airplane to replace the original C-47 (popularly known as Snoopy) which hit a warthog hole while landing at a remote location in the latter part of 1968.  Rodawalt is uncertain about the original owner of Snoopy.  He reports that the airplane may have been owned by the Ethiopian Air Force and was on loan to the U.S. Army, or the U.S. Army owned the plane and through negotiations between the U.S. State Department and Ethiopian government agreed to sell or give the C-47 to the Ethiopian Air Force.  A replacement for the C-47 in Addis was needed. 

The U.S. Army Mapping Mission ordered the C-47 airplane, Gooney Bird, from the U.S. Air Force.  The plane was resurrected from the airplane graveyard in Arizona,  Airplane Graveyard - Arizona Military Airplane Graveyards.  The plane was transported to the Addison Airport in Addison, Texas, thirteen miles north of downtown Dallas, where it was disassembled and rebuilt; the overhaul took approximately two months.  The plane was equipped with an extra fuel tank, 700-gallon capacity, located down the center of the fuselage, in addition to its 400 gallon tanks. The cruising speed of the C-47 was 150 mph.  Miller and Rodawalt tested the aircraft for one hour before starting out on the 10,000 mile journey.  They confirmed that the aircraft had been rebuilt to specifications and was in excellent condition. 

C-47 at Addison Airport, north of Dallas, Texas.

Miller and Rodawalt rotated pilot and co-pilot positions throughout the trip; Johns was assigned navigation.  The trip took approximately twelve days.  The flight segment from Dallas to Bangor, Maine went as planned. However, in Gander, Newfoundland, the crew was delayed four days due to rain, fog, and wind. The flight from Gander, Newfoundland to the Azores took approximately thirteen hours.  The pilots flew the C-47 at an altitude between 3,000 and 4,000 feet across the Atlantic Ocean.  Rodawalt reports, “A Navy PBY-5 was to escort us as we flew over water but we never saw it.  However, we had radar communication with a Navy ship in the Atlantic.  We also picked up a lost pilot on his radio, put him in contact with the Navy ship, and were successful in directing him back on course."

The flight path from the Azores to Ankara, Turkey took another full day.  Arriving in Turkey, the crew was delayed three days due to security clearance issues.  Diplomatic clearance to fly over Israel, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, and Syria proved to be extremely difficult and the flight plan had to be revised.  Rodawalt reports, “We were forced to take the back route out of Turkey which meant going north over a dangerous mountain range.” 

Flying out of Turkey proved to be the most treacherous part of the trip. "We had to climb 15,000+ feet to ascend over the mountains; the C-47 was not equipped with oxygen.  Miller almost blacked out and I also came very close.  Whenever we could find open areas, we descended to lower altitudes and flew in the valleys winding our way in between mountains.  If we’d lost an engine, we’d have been in deep trouble!   You can only maintain 9,000 feet on one engine in a C-47.”  Leaving Turkey, the pilots flew  at an altitude of 5,000 feet over Iran and the Persian Gulf  into Saudi Arabia.

Rodawalt continues, "When we landed at Riyadh Air Force Base in Saudi Arabia, the temperature had to be over 115 degrees and there was no air-conditioning in the country.  We were immediately surrounded by Saudi guards who searched the C-47 for whiskey.  To their surprise, we didn’t have any!  We were very anxious to leave Saudi Arabia because of the extreme heat.   However, we had a one day delay due to refueling problems. "  The pilots left Riyadh and flew the final leg of the trip over the Red Sea into Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.  

The C-47 performed well throughout the trip.  Rodawalt reports, “Except for being
cold most of the time in the airplane and the lack of oxygen, and being forced to fly at high altitudes over the mountains in Turkey, it was a good trip.” Total flying time was approximately 70 hours. With the delays, they arrived in Addis near the end of January 1969. 

In Addis, Jack Miller flew the C-47 five to six times weekly supporting the troops in the field, delivering supplies and equipment to support the goal of mapping Ethiopia.  Jack was a master C-47 pilot. 

Lee Rodawalt’s main mission was supporting the troops in the field and resupplying them to lay out new markers for the goal of preparing a new map of Ethiopia.  Rodawalt reports that the U.S. Department of State “kicked” the U.S. Air Force out of Ethiopia and that the U.S. Army Mapping Mission was there in the 1960’s to prepare a comprehensive map of Ethiopia. The Italians had made a brave attempt to map Ethiopia in 1898.  

Lee Rodawalt was a career Army officer, retired Major, and his proficiency was in helicopters.  However, Rodawalt had numerous hours in various fixed wing aircraft throughout his military career. The assignment in Addis required Rodawalt to fly all the aircraft in inventory, not only the C-47, but Cessna 185, U-1 Otter, U-6 Beaver, Twin Beech L-23, and the helicopters, H-23 Hiller and UH-1B Huey. 

In 2006, Lee Rodawalt is “alive and well" at the age of  86 (November 27, 1919).   Lee and his wife, Gloria, live in Fort Worth, Texas.