Aircraft, Gliders

A glider is an aircraft without an engine that is most often
released into flight by an aerial tow aircraft. During World
War II, both the Axis and Allied Militaries developed gliders
to transport troops, supplies, and equipment into battle. This
technique had been discussed prior to the war but never
implemented. These motorless aircraft would crash-land
behind enemy lines, often at night, and the men aboard them
would then become infantrymen on the ground.

The Germans were first to recognize the potential of gliders
 in the war, in large part because of extensive pre World
War II scientific research and sport use of them. The Germans
embraced gliding because it did not violate military prohibi-
tions in the 1919 Treaty of Versailles. Soaring clubs, which
developed in other countries as well, increased interest in glid-
ing worldwide. Sport gliders used air currents to climb and
soar for extended periods, while military gliders descended on
release from aerial tows.

By the late 1930s, Germany had developed a military
glider, the DFS-230. Built of plywood, steel, and fabric, it had
a wingspan of 68 ft 5.5 inches, length 0f 36 ft 10.5 inches, and
height of8 ft 11.75 inches. It weighed 1,896 lb empty and had
a maximum weight loaded with troops and cargo of 4,630 lb.
A total of 1,022 were produced. This glider was designed to
mount a machine gun, which the crew could use for defense.
DPS-230 gliders were employed in the invasion of Belgium
and the Netherlands in May 1940, especially in securing Fort
Eben Emael, which was the key to securing Belgium. The Ger-
mans also used gliders in the invasion of Crete and during
fighting in the Soviet Union at Stalingrad.



The Gotha 242 glider was larger than the DPS-230 and
could carry more troops. It had a wingspan of80 ft 4.5 inches,
length of 51 ft 10 inches, and height of 14 ft 4.5 inches. It
weighed 7,056 lb empty and 13,665 lb fully loaded. A total of
1,528 were built. Some were launched by rockets, but most
were simply towed by aircraft. Approximately 1,500 Go-242s
were produced, of which 133 which adapted into Go-244s,
which had twin engines. The huge Messerschmitt Me-321
glider had a wingspan of 180 ft 5.5 inches, length of 92 ft 4.25
inches, and height of 33 ft 3.4 inches. It weighed 27,432 lb
empty and 75,852 lb fully loaded. lt could perform level flight
after rocket-assisted takeoff. A total of 200 were built. The Me-
321 could transport 200 troops but was difficult to launch, and
most were transformed into the six»engine Me»323.

Great Britain was the first Allied nation to deploy gliders.
The Air Ministry’s Glider Committee encouraged the use of
the Hotspur to transport soldiers in late 1940. The Hotspur
had a wingspan of 61 ft 11 inches, length of 39 ft 4 inches, and
height of 10 ft 10 inches.It weighed 1,661 lb empty and 3,598
lb fully loaded. The Hotspur was designed to transport 2
crewmen and 6 soldiers. A total of 1,015 were built.

In 1941, the British developed the Horsa. It had a wing-
span of 88 ft, length of68 ft, and height of 20 ft 3 inches. It
weighed 8,370 lb empty and 15,750 lb fully loaded. It was
capable of carrying 2 crewmen and 25-28 passengers or 2
trucks. In all, Britain manufactured some 5,000 Horsas. They
were employed in Operations Overlord and Market-Garden.

The largest Allied glider was the British Hamilcar. With a
wingspan of 110 ft, length of 68 ft 6 inches, and height of 20
ft 3 inches, it weighed 18,000 lb empty and 36,000 lb fully
loaded. It could transport 40 troops, a light tank, or artillery
pieces. A total of 412 were built. It was employed during
Operation Overlord.

The Soviet Union introduced the A-7 glider in 1939. It had
a wingspan of 62 ft 2 inches and length of 37 ft 7 inches. It
weighed 2,000 lb empty and carried a pilot and eight passengers
A total of 400 were manufactured. The Soviets, however,
had few aircraft available for glider tows, and following the
German invasion of the Soviet Union, their priority was with
other weaponry. They used the A-7 chiefly to transport sup-
plies to partisans working behind German lines.

The U.S. Navy explored the possibility of military applications
 for gliders as early as the 1930s. In February 1941, Chief
of the Army Air Corps Major General Henry H. Arnold
ordered that specifications be drawn up for military gliders.
The Waco Aircraft Company in Troy, Ohio, received the first
U.S. government contract to build training gliders, and the
army began organizing a glider training program. Constructed
 of plywood and canvas with a skeleton of steel tubing
 the Waco CG-4A had a wingspan of83 ft 6 inches, length
of 48 ft 4 inches, and height of I2 ft 7 inches. Its empty weight
was 3,300 lb, and its loaded weight was 7,500 lb. It could carry
15 troops or 3,800 lb of cargo, including artillery pieces, a
bulldozer, or a jeep. The Ford Motor Company plant at Kings-
ford, Michigan, manufactured most of the U.S. gliders,
although 15 other companies also produced the Waco. In all
13,908 Wacos were built, making it the most heavily produced
 glider of the entire war by any power.

Because the gliders were so fragile, soldiers dubbed them
“canvas coffins.” Men and cargo were loaded through the
wide, hinged nose section, which could be quickly opened.

Moving at an airspeed of 110-150 mph at an altitude of several
thousand feet, C-47s towed the gliders with a 300 ft rope
toward a designated landing zone and then descended to
release the glider several hundred feet above ground. En route
to the release point, the glidermen and plane crew commu-
nicated with each other either by a telephone wire secured
around the towline or via two-way radios. This glider duty
was hazardous indeed; sometimes gliders were released pre-
maturely and did not reach the landing zones, and on occasions
 gliders collided as they approached their destination.
The U.S. 11th, 13th, 17th, 82nd, and 101st Airborne Divisions
were equipped with two glider infantry regiments, a
glider artillery battalion, and glider support units. U.S. gliders
ers were sent to North Africa in 1942 and participated in the

July 1943 Sicily invasion, accompanied by British gliders.
High casualties sustained in that operation led General
Dwight D. Eisenhower to question the organization of air-
borne divisions and to threaten to disband glider units. A
review board of officers convinced the military authorities to
retain them, however. Improvements were made in structural
reinforcement of the glider and personnel training.

By mid-1944, gliders had become essential elements of
Allied invasion forces. Occasionally they were used to trans-
port wounded to hospitals. During Operation NEPTUNE, U.S.
glider men with the 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions flew
across the English Channel in 2,100 gliders to participate in
the D day attack. Many gliders and crews were lost during that
mission. New gliders were manufactured for Operation
MARKET GARDEN, the assault on the Germans in the Netherlands,
three months later.

Initially, the military did not distribute hazardous-duty
pay to glider men. These soldiers also did not qualify for wing
insignia worn by parachutists. Some of the men created
posters; one read: “loin the Glider Troops! No Jump Pay. No
Flight Pay. But Never A Dull Moment.” By July 1944, glider
wings were authorized for glider soldiers, and they received
hazardous-duty pay. Also in 1944, the modified Waco CG-
15A appeared, offering improved crash absorption. The
Waco CG-18A could carry 30 soldiers and was deployed during
the 1945 Rhine campaign.

Gliders were also used in the Pacific and China-Burma-
India Theaters. The final U.S. glider mission of the war
occurred on Luzon Island, the Philippines, in June 1945. 

In July, IX Troop Carrier Command Commander Brigadier General
Paul L. Williams issued an order to grant an Air Medal to
Normandy glider pilot veterans. Gliders were gradually
phased out of military inventories after the war, although the
Soviets retained them through the 1950s.