General Dwight D Eisenhower’s VIP transport at RAF Stoney Cross
The Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum tell us that Dwight D. Eisenhower arrived in Southampton via the Queen Mary on September 9, 1946. He disembarked on September 10 and went to Stoney Cross via car, where he took a plane to Frankfurt, Germany. At the time General Eisenhower was Army chief of staff based in Washington DC. This contribution shows his personal plane Sunflower II which was present during the visit.
For more about the visit: RAF Stoney Cross. Visit by General Dwight D Eisenhower
Sunflower II – General Dwight Eisenhower’s personal plane at RAF Stoney Cross.
These details were provided with the photographs. This entry will be one of several Stoney Cross entries entries based on photos provided through the RAF Ibsley Airfield Heritage Trust and residents of the village of Fritham.
Sunflower II was a Douglas Skymaster, type C-54E -20-DO, serial 44-9146, delivered to the 503rd US Air Transport Command at Washington National Airport on 19 June 1945. In 1954 it was converted to a VC-54E and subsequently assigned to USAF Europe (USAFE). In March 1971 the plane was assigned to the US Military Training Mission USAFE, Dhahran Airport, Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. On July 11th 1972 Sunflower II was transferred to the Military Aircraft Storage and Disposal Center (MASDC) at Davis-Monthan AFB, Arizona, USA – listed as CC0218. On 6th November 1975, 44-9146 was bought by Dross Metals; it was dropped from the inventory in February 1976 and subsequently broken up.
For more about Stoney Cross Airfield:
Airfield WWII activity
- Pre-construction excavations
- RAF Stoney Cross & US President Barrack Obama’s grandfather
- Stoney Cross Airfield – Overview