This C-47 was built in 1943. It hasn’t stopped flying since.

In 1943, the Placid Lassie took to the skies for the U.S. Army Air Forces, and since that date, it has never stopped. But this C-47 is not just a Frankenstein-esque hull of itself. It is not a replica nor a restoration.

“These same rivets,” according to the Tunison Foundation , “crossed the English Channel on June 6, 1944, in service of our country.”

Known as the workhorse of World War II, more than 10,000 C-47 variants were built throughout the course of the war.

Operated by a crew of four — pilot and copilot in the cockpit, and a radio operator and navigator seated in a separate compartment behind — the twin-engine low-winged monoplane was constructed of a light, all-metal and fabric-covered control surface. Each plane could carry 28 fully equipped troops or up to 6,000 pounds of ca