The C-47 first entered service in 1941 and became the backbone of the U.S. Army Air Forces airlift capability during World War II. Between 1942 and 1945, C-47s helped the 62d Troop Carrier Group make their mark on the front lines of North Africa and the European theater. In conducting their main mission, the delivery of troops, the 62d Troop Carrier Group also utilized CG-4 Hardrian Gliders. At the conclusion of the war, Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower called the Skytrain one of the four weapons, along with the bazooka, jeep, and atomic bomb, that most helped to win World War II. C-47s served in multiple roles with a number of McChord based units between 1940 and 1960.