C-41A Halfpenny Green Photo Shoot

A great event awaits at Wolverhampton Halfpenny Green Airport, join us for a full-day photography experience centred upon one of the rarest surviving members of the Douglas DC-3 family.

The wartime command aircraft. 
The C-41A was one of two special Douglas transports obtained at the request of Major General Henry Harley "Hap” Arnold for senior military and government travel. Its passengers included high-ranking officers and officials, with the aircraft configured for a very different purpose from the troop-carrying C-47s that would later become synonymous with the Second World War. It's cabin incorporated executive seating suitable for meetings, together with sleeping accommodation inspired by contemporary Douglas Sleeper Transport practice. It was intended to move senior personnel efficiently across the United States at a time when rapid long-distance military communication and travel were becoming increasingly important. The first photographic session will evoke that wartime command role. Period military re-enactors will be used to create scenes involving senior officers, aircrew and ground personnel, presenting the aircraft as a working VIP transport rather than a conventional wartime freighter. Henry "Hap” Arnold was one of the most influential figures in American military aviation. Having received early flying instruction from the Wright brothers, he rose to command the United States Army Air Forces during the Second World War and played a central role in developing American air power on a global scale. He later became the only officer to hold five-star rank in two US military services: General of the Army and, subsequently, General of the Air Force. The aircraft’s connection with Arnold provides a fascinating alternative to the more familiar combat and airborne stories normally associated with the Douglas family.


ITINERARY
A full itinerary will be provided closer to the event but at present we are hoping to operate on the day to a broadly similar timeline to this:
Arrival and briefing (1000hrs-1030hrs)The event will begin at 10:00 at Wolverhampton Halfpenny Green Airport. After arrival, registration and a safety briefing, participants will be introduced to the aircraft and the plan for the day. The positioning of N341A and the precise sequence of scenes will remain flexible so that we can respond to the light, weather and operational requirements.

Session One – Wartime command and VIP transport (1030hrs-1400hrs) The first session will place Hap-Penstance in its original military context. Re-enactors representing senior American officers, aircrew and support personnel will help recreate the atmosphere surrounding a wartime command transport. Planned photography will include clean aircraft views, crew preparations, passenger arrivals and wider narrative scenes showing how a specialist VIP aircraft might have been used.

Session Two – TWA Transcontinental Service, 1941 (1400hrs-1600hrs) The second part of the event will recreate a TWA passenger operation at the height of the Douglas transcontinental era. Period airline crew, hostesses and passengers will be arranged around the aircraft to produce a sequence of departure and boarding scenes. Luggage and appropriate accessories will be incorporated where available, helping to evoke the experience of American air travel immediately before the country entered the Second World War. This is a representative historical recreation: N341A did not serve with TWA, but its configuration shares characteristics with the Douglas sleeper and executive transports of the period.

Session Three – 1960s executive transport (1600hrs-1900hrs) The final session will move the story forward into the post-war corporate aviation era. The aircraft will be presented as an executive transport, supported by re-enactors in appropriate 1960s business, passenger and crew clothing. The later timing should allow us to combine the polished metal aircraft with softer autumn light and, as daylight falls, more atmospheric images around the airfield. Photography is scheduled to conclude at approximately 19:00.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Location: Wolverhampton Halfpenny Green Airport, Crab Lane, Bobbington, Stourbridge, West Midlands, DY7 5DY

Photography programme
The shoot comprises three themed sessions:Wartime military command and VIP transport TWA transcontinental airline activity in 1941 1960s corporate and executive transport. Each session will include re-enactors in appropriate period clothing. The intention is to provide a mixture of clean aircraft images, wider scenes and more detailed story-led compositions involving passengers and crew.
Aircraft presentation N341A is a historic, operational aircraft. Its participation, positioning and any aircraft movements will remain subject to serviceability, weather, airfield operations and the instructions of its owners and crew. An engine run, cockpit access or flight activity should not be assumed unless subsequently confirmed by COAP.

Food and refreshments are available on site at Halfpenny Green there is the excellent AMELIA'S BAR & RESTAURANT which will be open from 9am-5pm. The event lasts nine hours, so participants should plan to use the restaurant or bring sufficient food, water and refreshments. Short breaks will be incorporated where practical, but the photographic programme may be adjusted to take advantage of particularly good light or weather.

Historical recreation:
The TWA scenes are intended as a historically informed photographic recreation. N341A was not operated by TWA, but it has been selected because its Douglas heritage, period, cabin configuration and sleeper-transport features provide an appropriate setting for the story. The scenes will reflect the appearance and atmosphere of the period rather than reproduce a single documented flight.

Important disclaimer:
All aircraft participation, re-enactors, props, positioning and planned scenes remain subject to availability, serviceability, weather and operational requirements. COAP and the aircraft team will make every reasonable effort to deliver the advertised programme, but safety and the protection of this unique historic aircraft will always take priority.

This is a joint shoot with the Centre of Aviation Photography (COAP) and TimeLine Events.