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92-466: The Airspeed AS.51 Horsa was a British troop-carrying glider used during the Second World War . It was developed and manufactured by Airspeed Limited , alongside various subcontractors; the type was named after Horsa , the legendary 5th-century conqueror of southern Britain. Having been greatly impressed by the effective use of airborne operations by Germany during the early stages of

184-430: A 1,500 man parachute drop and the large transport gliders that he had seen. The Luftwaffe opened a parachute school as a result in 1937. Further field testing convinced Student that a vehicle was needed to deliver the heavy weapons for the lightly armed parachute troops. This idea was dismissed until October 1938 by which time Student had risen to major-general and was appointed Inspector of Airborne Forces. Development of

276-432: A glider with a second party of troops. The idea arose as a response to the severe shortage of transport aircraft in the early part of the war, as in this way the number of troops that could be dropped in an operation by a given number of transport aircraft would be greatly enhanced. The empty gliders would be towed back to base. However, thinking eventually evolved into using gliders to land both troops and heavy equipment in

368-435: A heavy bomber led to Specification B.12/36. Aircraft manufacturers would be invited to present design proposals to the ministry, following which prototypes of one or more of the proposals might be ordered for evaluation. On very rare occasions, a manufacturer would design and build an aircraft using their own money as a "private venture" (PV). This would then be offered to the ministry for evaluation. The ministry may well release

460-628: A hostile beachhead, the gliders to be towed by Consolidated PBY-5A Catalina amphibian aircraft . The Navy's Bureau of Aeronautics developed specifications for two types of amphibious glider, a single-hulled type which could carry 12 passengers and a twin-hulled type that could carry 24 passengers. Two companies, the Allied Aviation Corporation and the Bristol Aeronautical Corporation , received contracts to produce 100 gliders, and plans called for

552-400: A length of 67 feet (20 m), and when fully loaded weighed 15,250 lb (6,920 kg). The later AS 58 Horsa II featured an increased fully loaded weight of 15,750 lb (7,140 kg) along with a hinged nose section, reinforced floor and double nose wheels to support the extra weight of vehicles. The tow cable was attached to the nose wheel strut, rather than the dual wing points of

644-565: A much more capable force. The Soviets also experimented with ways to deliver light tanks by air, including the Antonov A-40 , a gliding tank with detachable wings. By the time of the Korean War , helicopters had largely replaced gliders. Helicopters have the advantage of being able to extract soldiers, in addition to delivering them to the battlefield with more precision. Also, advances in powered transport aircraft had been made, to

736-524: A reinforced floor and a hinged nose section in order to accommodate such use. Other changes included the adoption of a twin nosewheel arrangement, a modified tow attachment and an increased all-up weight of 15,750 lb (7,140 kg). As a consequence of the majority of subcontractors not having available airfields from which to deliver the gliders, they sent the sub-assemblies to RAF Maintenance Units (MUs), who would perform final assembly themselves; this process has been attributed as being responsible for

828-589: A replica at RAF Shawbury using templates made from original components found scattered over various European battlefields and using plans supplied by BAE Systems (on the condition that the glider must not be flown). The replica was completed in 2014 and then stored at RAF Cosford until it was transferred to the Overloon War Museum in the Netherlands in June 2019. A fuselage section displayed at

920-590: A result, production was spread across separate factories, which consequently limited the likely loss in case of German attack. The designer A. H. Tiltman said that the Horsa "went from the drawing board to the air in ten months, which was not too bad considering the drawings had to be made suitable for the furniture trade who were responsible for all production." The initial 695 gliders were manufactured at Airspeed's factory in Christchurch , Hampshire; production of

1012-438: A single motorbike. With this lesson learnt, 1st Airlanding Brigade subsequently began sending samples of all equipment required to go into Horsas to Airspeed, and a number of weeks were spent ascertaining the methods and modifications required to fit the equipment into a Horsa. Even so, the loading ramp continued to be considered to be fragile and prone to damage, which would ground the glider if sustained during loading. The Horsa

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1104-448: A small number of Horsas for their own evaluation purposes. Due to low surplus prices in the UK, many were bought and converted into trailers, sheds and even holiday cottages. On 5 June 2004, as part of the 60th anniversary commemoration of D-Day , Prince Charles unveiled a replica Horsa on the site of the first landing at Pegasus Bridge and talked with Jim Wallwork , the first pilot to land

1196-580: A specification based on the private venture aircraft if the plane aroused interest from the RAF or the ministry due to its performance or some other combination of features. The system of producing aircraft to a specification ran from 1920 to 1949 during which the Air Ministry was replaced by first the Ministry of Aircraft Production (MAP) in 1940 and then the Ministry of Supply (MoS) in 1946. The system

1288-611: A study with view to develop a glider capable of being towed by aircraft. This directive was set into motion through Classified Technical Instructions (CTI-198 on 24 February 1941, and CTI-203 on 4 March 1941), which authorized the procurement of 2-, 8-, and 15-place gliders and equipment. Eleven companies were invited to participate in the experimental glider program, but only four responded with any interest, Frankfort Sailplane Company (XCG-1, XCG-2), Waco Aircraft Company (XCG-3, XCG-4), St. Louis Aircraft Corp. (XCG-5, XCG-6), and Bowlus Sailplanes (XCG-7, XCG-8). Only Waco Aircraft Company

1380-793: A troop-carrying glider was assigned to Hans Jacobs of the Deutsche Forschungsanstalt für Segelflug to develop the DFS 230 which could carry 9–10 fully equipped troops or 1,200 kg (2,800 pounds). The Germans were the first to use gliders in warfare, most famously during the assault of the Eben Emael fortress and the capture of the bridges over the Albert Canal at Veldwezelt, Vroenhoven and Kanne on May 10, 1940, in which 41 DFS 230 gliders carrying 10 soldiers each were launched behind Junkers Ju 52s . Ten gliders landed on

1472-457: A wooden semi- monocoque fuselage. The fuselage was built in three sections bolted together, the front section held the pilot's compartment and main freight loading door, the middle section was accommodation for troops or freight, the rear section supported the tail unit. The fuselage joint at the rear end of the main section could be broken on landing to facilitate the rapid unloading of troops and equipment, for which ramps were provided. Initially

1564-598: Is on display in the Walter Goldsmith Hangar at the de Havilland Aircraft Museum . A full-sized replica stands close to Pegasus Bridge, Normandy, as part of the Memorial Pegasus museum. Data from Fighting Gliders of World War II, British Warplanes of World War II, BAE Systems General characteristics Performance Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era Related lists Military gliders Once released from

1656-503: The China-Burma-India Theater . The CG-4A was constructed of a metal and wood frame covered with fabric, manned by a crew of two and with an allowable normal cargo load of 3,710 lb, allowing it to carry 13 combat-equipped troops or a jeep or small artillery piece. The CG-10 could hold 10,850 lb of cargo, such as two howitzers , at a time. The final glider mission of the war was at Luzon on 23 June 1945. By

1748-587: The Geneva Convention which protects prisoners of war (POWs) from summary execution . In preparation for further operational deployment, 30 Horsa gliders were air-towed by Halifax bombers from bases in Great Britain to North Africa ; three of these aircraft were lost in transit. On 10 July 1943, the 27 surviving Horsas were used during Operation Husky , the Allied invasion of Sicily , which

1840-715: The Glider Pilot Regiment , part of the Army Air Corps (AAC), although Royal Air Force (RAF) pilots were used on occasion. A small number of Horsa Mk IIs were obtained by the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) and participated in evaluation trials which were held at CFB Gimli, Manitoba . Three of these survivors were purchased as surplus in the early 1950s and ended up in Matlock, Manitoba , where they were scrapped. India also acquired

1932-654: The Gotha Go 242 (23 trooper) and Messerschmitt Me 321 (130 trooper) to transport heavy armaments in anticipation of Operation Sea Lion and Operation Barbarossa . Gliders were also used by Germany in Greece in 1941. On April 26, 1941, the troops from six DFS 230 gliders captured the bridge over the Corinth Canal accompanied by 40 plane-loads of German paratroopers. (Fortuitously, the British were able to demolish

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2024-487: The Handley Page Hampden and Handley Page Hereford . Typographical designation of mark numbers (Mk.) varied over time and inconsistencies are common, e.g., Mark II , Mk. II , II , etc. Initially Roman numerals were used, changing to Arabic numerals post- World War II , e.g., Supermarine Spitfire Mk I to Supermarine Spitfire Mk 24 . Note 1: where possible mark numbers are given here in this list in

2116-589: The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941 prompted the United States to set the number of glider pilots needed at 1,000 to fly 500 eight-seat gliders and 500 fifteen-seat gliders. The number of pilots required was increased to 6,000 by June 1942. After Barringer was lost at sea on a flight to Africa in January 1943, the program came under direction of Richard C. du Pont . Bigger gliders, such as

2208-509: The Manufacturer X.XX/XX , e.g., the Avro B.35/46 – this is in addition to the manufacturer's own separate internal designation for the aircraft, e.g., Avro 698. With several manufacturers submitting designs to the same specification this could result in a number of different aircraft with the same X.XX/XX designation, e.g., Handley Page B.35/46 , etc. Upon acceptance of the design(s)

2300-658: The Manufacturer Service-name , e.g., the Avro Anson , however upon acceptance of a new variant the previous (initial) version automatically became the 'Mark I', so in the example given, the previous (first) version of the Anson retrospectively became the Avro Anson Mk I upon acceptance of an Avro Anson Mk II . Sometimes planned variants would be later cancelled leading to 'missing' mark numbers, or

2392-701: The Royal Air Force in the Royal Air Force Gliding & Soaring Association and for cadet training by the Air Training Corps , they are not used in combat operations. No troop-carrying gliders have been in British service since 1957. Major General Henry "Hap" Arnold , Acting Deputy Chief of Staff for Air (becoming Commanding General of the United States Army Air Forces on March 9, 1942), initiated

2484-771: The United States Army 's capabilities on 1 January 1953. However, the United States Air Force continues to use sailplanes at the United States Air Force Academy to train cadets in the fundamentals of flight. In April 1941, United States Navy officer Marc Mitscher proposed that the Navy develop amphibious gliders with flying-boat hulls with a goal of deploying an amphibious glider force capable of delivering an entire United States Marine Corps brigade of 715 men to

2576-540: The War Office in a memorandum to investigate the possibility of creating a corps of 5,000 parachute troops. During 1941, the United States also embarked on a similar programme. While the equipment for the airborne forces was under development, it was decided by War Office officials that gliders would be an integral component of such a force. It was initially thought that gliders would be used to deliver paratroops. Transport aircraft would both carry paratroops and tow

2668-684: The Yakovlev Yak-14 (35 trooper) in 1948, and the Ilyushin Il-32 (60 trooper) also in 1948. In 1950, a Yak-14 became the first glider to fly over the North Pole . The Soviet Union maintained three glider infantry regiments until 1965. However, Soviet Air Force transport gliders were gradually withdrawn from service with the arrival of turboprop transports like the Antonov An-12 and Antonov An-24 , which entered service in

2760-670: The capture of the Caen canal and Orne river bridges in a coup-de-main operation at the very start of the invasion of Normandy . Other glider actions included Operation Dragoon (the invasion of southern France), Operation Market Garden (the landing at Arnhem Bridge to try and seize a bridgehead over the lower Rhine) and Operation Varsity (crossing of the Rhine). Out of the 2,596 gliders dispatched for Operation Market Garden, 2,239 were effective in delivering men and equipment to their designated landing zones. Although gliders are still used in

2852-410: The de Havilland technical school at Hatfield, Hertfordshire , before relocating to Salisbury Hall , London Colney . The Horsa was to have had paratroopers jumping from doors on either side of the fuselage, while the glider remained under tow, while combat landings would have been secondary. The widely set doors enabled simultaneous egress, as well as for troops to fire on nearby enemies while still in

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2944-801: The 30-troop Waco CG-13A and the 42-troop Laister-Kauffman CG-10 A were designed later. The most widely used type was the Waco CG-4A, which was first used in the invasion of Sicily in July 1943 and participated in the D-Day assault on France on 6 June 1944, and in other important airborne operations in Europe, including Operation Market Garden in September 1944 and the crossing the Rhine in March 1945, and in

3036-808: The BAC Lightning; the British Aircraft Corporation itself and Hawker Siddeley (HS) then later merged and became British Aerospace , subsequently becoming BAe (now BAE Systems ). Thus the previously mentioned Avro Vulcan was subsequently referred to as the Hawker Siddeley Vulcan; similarly, the Blackburn Buccaneer later became the Hawker Siddeley Buccaneer. Where possible, for clarity the aircraft in this list are listed under

3128-707: The German Heavy Water Plant at Rjukan in Norway, known as Operation Freshman , and during the invasion of Sicily , known as Operation Husky . Large numbers of Horsa were subsequently used during the opening stages of the Battle of Normandy , being used in the British Operation Tonga and American operations . It was also deployed in quantity during Operation Dragoon , Operation Market Garden , and Operation Varsity . Further use of

3220-597: The Horsa "film models" were destroyed during filming with the survivors sold as a lot to John Hawke, aircraft collector in the UK. Another mock-up for close-up work came into the possession of the Ridgeway Military & Aviation Research Group and is stored at Welford, Berkshire . An Airspeed Horsa Mark II (KJ351) is preserved at the Museum of Army Flying in Hampshire, England. The Assault Glider Trust built

3312-418: The Horsa I. The Horsa was composed largely of wood; it was described by aviation author H. A. Taylor as being: "the most wooden aircraft ever built. Even the controls in the cockpit were masterpieces of the woodworker's skill". It was considered to be sturdy and very manoeuvrable for a glider. The design of the Horsa adopted a high-wing cantilever monoplane configuration, being equipped with wooden wings and

3404-455: The Horsa commenced; by May 1942, some 2,345 had been ordered by the Army for use in future airborne operations. The glider was designed from the outset to be constructed using components and a series of 30 sub-assemblies required to complete the manufacturing process. Manufacturing was intended primarily to use woodcrafting facilities, which were not needed for more urgent aviation production, and as

3496-497: The Horsa was made by various other armed forces, including the United States Army Air Forces . In the early stages of the Second World War , the German military demonstrated its role as a pioneer in the deployment of airborne operations. These forces had conducted several successful operations during the Battle of France in 1940, including the use of glider-borne troops during the Battle of Fort Eben-Emael . Having been impressed by

3588-520: The Horsa was much bigger than the 13-troop American Waco CG-4A (known as the Hadrian by the British), and thus offered greater carrying capacity. In British service, the Horsa was a major component during several major offensives that followed the successful Normandy landings, such as Operation Dragoon and Operation Market Garden , both in 1944, and Operation Varsity during March 1945. The latter

3680-439: The Navy took delivery during World War II of 15 U.S. Army Air Forces Waco CG-4A non-amphibious gliders for evaluation under the Navy designation LRW-1. Neither of these initiatives resulted in operational use of gliders by the U.S. Navy or Marine Corps. The Soviet Union built the world's first military gliders starting in 1932, including the 16-seat Grokhovski G63, though no glider was built in quantity until World War II. During

3772-517: The ORIGINATING company's name or the name of the manufacturer under which it first entered production. Specifications within the tables are listed in numerical order by year of issue; where a given number appears more than once, with one or more letter prefixes, the entries are presented in alphabetical order. In 1917, the Air Board began to issue specifications for new aircraft on behalf of

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3864-612: The Second World War, such as during the Battle of France , the Allied powers sought to establish capable counterpart forces of their own. The British War Office , determining that the role of gliders would be an essential component of such airborne forces, proceeded to examine available options. An evaluation of the General Aircraft Hotspur found it to lack the necessary size, thus Specification X.26/40

3956-643: The Soviet Union demonstrated the TsK Komsula, a four-place glider, designed by GF Groschev that could also be used for cargo. Larger gliders were then developed culminating in an 18-seater at the military institute in Leningrad in 1935. Luftwaffe Colonel Kurt Student visited Moscow as part of the military collaboration programme with the Soviet Union. He reported back to his superiors in Berlin details of

4048-684: The Traces of War museum at Wolfheze, Netherlands, was retrieved from Cholsey , Oxfordshire, where it had served as a dwelling for over 50 years. It was recovered around 2001 by the de Havilland Aircraft Museum , of London Colney , where it was stored until being bought by museum owner Paul Hendriks. The airframe is believed not to have seen active service. A cockpit section is on display at the Silent Wings Museum in Lubbock, Texas . BAPC.232 Horsa I/II Composite – Nose & Fuselage sections

4140-488: The US Douglas C-47 Skytrain/Dakota (not as often due to the weight of the glider). In Operation Market Garden, however, a total of 1,336 C-47s along with 340 Stirlings were employed to tow 1,205 gliders,) and Curtiss C-46 Commando . The gliders were towed with a harness that attached to points on both wings and also carried an intercom between tug and glider. The glider pilots were usually from

4232-483: The US sometimes used them as if they were, since it was easier than recovering them. Troops landing by glider were referred to as air-landing as opposed to paratroops . Landing by parachute caused the troops to be spread over a large drop-zone and separated from other airdropped equipment, such as vehicles and anti-tank guns. Gliders, on the other hand, could land troops and ancillaries in greater concentrations precisely at

4324-459: The aircraft on French soil during D-Day. Ten replicas were built for the 1977 film A Bridge Too Far , mainly for static display and set-dressing, although one Horsa was modified to make a brief "hop" towed behind a Dakota at Deelen , the Netherlands . During the production, seven of the replicas were damaged in a wind storm; the contingent were repaired in time for use in the film. Five of

4416-484: The bridge a few hours later.) Next, General Student then convinced Hitler that Crete could be captured using only airborne troops. Consequently, on May 20, 1941, 500 German transport aircraft carrying paratroopers and 74 DFS 230 gliders took off from the Greek mainland. During the capture of the island, 5,140 German airborne troops were either killed or wounded out of the 13,000 sent. Among the 350 German planes destroyed in

4508-541: The centre-section of the wing, three on each side. During March 1942, the Airborne Forces Experimental Establishment and 1st Airlanding Brigade commenced loading trials using several of the prototypes, but immediately ran into problems. During an attempt to load a jeep into a prototype, Airspeed personnel present informed the evaluation staff that to do so would break the glider's loading ramp, as it had been designed to hold only

4600-576: The end of the war, the United States had built 14,612 gliders of all types and had trained over 6,000 glider pilots. The designs of the Waco Aircraft Company were also produced by a wide variety of manufacturers including Ford Motor Company and Cessna Aircraft Company as well as furniture, piano and coffin manufacturers. Following World War II, the United States maintained only one regiment of gliders. Gliders were used in military exercises in 1949, but glider operations were deleted from

4692-414: The end of the war. The Junkers Ju 322 Mammut ("Mammoth") was the largest such glider ever built, but it was never used operationally. Not all military gliders were planned for transport. The Blohm & Voss BV 40 was a German glider fighter designed to attack Allied bomber formations but was not used. The British glider development started in mid-1940, prompted by the assault on Eben Emael . Among

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4784-657: The extent of the changes may have justified given the new variant a completely new name, e.g., the Hawker Typhoon II subsequently becoming the Hawker Tempest , or the Avro Lancaster B.IV & B.V entering service as the Avro Lincoln . In a few cases the same aircraft ordered with differing engines would be allocated separate names for each variant, e.g., Hawker Typhoon and Hawker Tornado , or

4876-448: The extent that even light tanks could be dropped by parachute. And after the widespread use of radar in the military, silence in the air is no longer sufficient for concealment. The development of modern gliders was spurred by the Versailles Treaty following World War I , under the terms of which Germany was prohibited from constructing certain high powered airplanes. As a result, German aircraft designers turned their attention toward

4968-401: The final service names would usually be chosen by the Air Ministry when they placed a production order, in the above B.35/46 cases, where two aircraft were accepted to this specification, Vulcan and Victor respectively. Upon entering service, in the absence of any already-planned variants a new type would initially have no mark number after the aircraft name, being simply referred to as

5060-399: The form that was used at the time of acceptance. Variations may be encountered due to changes in format/typographical convention. Note 2: due to mergers and amalgamations within the UK aircraft industry sometimes the name of the manufacturer changed over time, e.g., English Electric later became part of the British Aircraft Corporation (BAC), so the English Electric Lightning then became

5152-424: The glider. For this they were provided with several firing points in the roof and tail. That idea was dropped, and it was decided that the glider would simply land troops. In February 1941, an initial order was placed for 400 gliders and it was estimated that Airspeed should be able to complete the order by July 1942. Early on, inquiries were made into the possibility of a further 400 being manufactured in India for

5244-409: The gliders would have to be towed in tandem, which would be extremely hazardous at night or through cloud. Accordingly, it was decided that the Hotspur would be used only as a training glider, while British industry continued with the development of several different gliders, including a larger 25-seater assault glider, which would become the Airspeed Horsa . On 12 October 1940, Specification X.26/40

5336-495: The grassed roof of the fortress. Only twenty minutes after landing the force had neutralized the fortress at a cost of six dead and twenty wounded. Hitler was anxious to gain maximum publicity and so several foreign attachés were given guided tours of the fortress. Consequently, the British, American and Japanese became quickly aware of the methods that had been used. By mid-1940, both Japan and Britain had active glider programs. Development then began of even larger gliders such as

5428-400: The late 1950s. List of Air Ministry Specifications This is a partial list of the British Air Ministry (AM) specifications for aircraft . A specification stemmed from an Operational Requirement , abbreviated "OR", describing what the aircraft would be used for. This in turn led to the specification itself, e.g. a two-engined fighter with four machine guns. So for example, OR.40 for

5520-452: The letter E (Experimental), e., E.28/39, with training aircraft signified by the letter T (Training), e., T.23/31, and unpowered aircraft , signified by the letter X, e., X.26/40. The letter G (General) signified a general-purpose aircraft, e.g., G.9/45, with an M (Multi-role) being applied to aircraft intended for more than one specific purpose, e.g., M.15/35. The letter C (Cargo) was applied to military transport aircraft, e.g., C.1/42, with

5612-512: The letter O (Observation) used for a naval reconnaissance aircraft, e.g., O.8/38 – the letter S (Spotter) used for the more specialised role of naval spotting, i.e., observing and reporting back the fall of naval gunfire, e.g., S.38/34 – and R (Reconnaissance) for a reconnaissance type – often a flying boat , e.g., R.3/33. Special purpose aircraft would be signified by a letter Q, this being used to specify aircraft such as target-tugs, radio-controlled target drones , etc., e.g., Q.32/55. Sometimes

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5704-430: The naval Spotting role also being used for other purposes, e.g., S.15/33, resulting in the Blackburn Shark and Fairey Swordfish , the latter aircraft being primarily utilised as a torpedo bomber . Similarly S.24/37, which produced the Fairey Barracuda , again primarily designed for spotting, the dive bomber /torpedo bomber requirements being regarded as secondary when the specification was issued, but for which roles it

5796-456: The opening phase of the operation, 320 Horsas were used to perform the first lift of the 6th Airborne Division, while a further 296 Horsas participated in the second lift . Large numbers of both American and British forces were deployed using the Horsa during the opening phase of the battle. The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) acquired approximately 400 Horsas in a form of reverse Lend-Lease . Capable of accommodating up to 30 troop seats,

5888-445: The operation, half had been Ju 52s, which seriously depleted the force needed for the invasion of the Soviet Union shortly after. As a result, Hitler vowed never to use his airborne force in such large numbers again. Some German glider operations continued later in the war, some examples being the rescue operation of Benito Mussolini at Gran Sasso and emergency re-supply operations in Russia, North Africa and Eastern Europe towards

5980-415: The performance and capabilities of German airborne operations, the Allied governments decided that they would also form their own airborne formation. As a result of this decision, the creation of two British airborne divisions came about, as well as a number of smaller-scale units. On 22 June 1940, the British airborne establishment was formally initiated when the Prime Minister , Winston Churchill , directed

6072-399: The pilots to land in constricted spaces. By employing a combination of the flaps and pneumatic brakes , the glider could be brought to a stop within relatively short distances. The Horsa was equipped with a fixed tricycle landing gear and it was one of the first gliders equipped with a tricycle undercarriage for take off. On operational flights, the main gear could be jettisoned and landing

6164-438: The practical development of unpowered aircraft, with a pilot remaining in the air in a glider for more than 20 minutes and a national glider competition emerging by 1922. The early sporting objectives of gliders were quickly overtaken in the Soviet Union and in Germany by military applications, mainly the training of pilots. By 1934, the Soviet Union had ten gliding schools and 57,000 glider pilots had gained licences. In 1932,

6256-411: The procurement of 12,000 more amphibious gliders if the concept proved successful. No twin-hulled glider was built, but each company constructed the prototype of a single-hulled amphibious glider, the XLRA-1 by Allied Aviation and the XLRQ-1 by Bristol Aeronautical. The two prototypes made their first flights in early 1943, but by the time they did the Navy and Marine Corps already had concluded that

6348-505: The purpose for which an aircraft is used in service would change from that for which the specification to which it was designed was issued, and so there are some discrepancies and inconsistencies in designation, the Royal Navy in particular liking to specify multiple roles for its aircraft in an attempt to make the best use of the necessarily limited hangar space onboard its aircraft carriers . In this case this resulted in several types designed to specifications originally intended to signify

6440-432: The remainder was performed by an assortment of subcontractors. These included Austin Motors , and a production group coordinated by the furniture manufacturers Harris Lebus . These same contractors would produce an improved model of the glider, designated as the AS.53 Horsa Mk II , while none would be manufactured by Airspeed themselves. The Horsa Mk II had been specifically designed for the carriage of vehicles, featuring

6532-452: The specification was issued. As specified in Specification X3/41 , 200 AS 52 Horsas were also to be constructed to carry bombs. A central fuselage bomb bay holding four 2,000 lb (910 kg) or two 4,000 lb (1,800 kg) bombs was fitted into the standard Horsa fuselage. The concept of towing bombs was dropped as other bombers became available, resulting in the order for the AS 52 being cancelled. In early 1942, production of

6624-459: The tail was severed by detonating a ring of Cordtex around the rear fuselage. But this was thought to be hazardous, especially if detonated prematurely by enemy fire. In early 1944, a method of detaching the tail was devised that used eight quick-release bolts, and wire-cutters to sever the control cables. The wing carried large "barn door" flaps which, when lowered, made a steep, high rate-of-descent landing possible—this performance would allow

6716-472: The target landing area. Furthermore, the glider, once released at some distance from the actual target, was effectively silent and difficult for the enemy to identify. Larger gliders were developed to land heavy equipment like anti-tank guns , anti-aircraft guns, small vehicles, such as jeeps , and also light tanks (e.g., the Tetrarch tank ). This heavier equipment made otherwise lightly armed paratroop forces

6808-512: The theatre of operations. The first glider produced was the General Aircraft Hotspur , which first flew on 5 November 1940. Several problems were found with the Hotspur's design, the worst being its inability to carry sufficient troops. It was believed that airborne troops should be landed in larger groups than the eight that the Hotspur could carry, and that the number of towplanes required would prove to be impractical. There were also concerns that

6900-547: The tow craft near the front, they were to land on any convenient open terrain close to the target, hopefully with as little damage to the cargo and crew as possible, as most landing zones (LZ) were far from ideal. The one-way nature of the missions meant that they were treated as semi-expendable leading to construction from common and inexpensive materials such as wood. Most nations seriously attempted to recover as many as possible, to re-use them, so they were not originally intended to be disposable, although resource-rich nations like

6992-490: The types developed were the 28 trooper Airspeed Horsa and the 7-ton capacity General Aircraft Hamilcar cargo glider. The Hamilcar could carry vehicles, anti-tank guns and light tanks into action. The General Aircraft Hotspur – originally planned as a compact assault glider carrying a small number of troops – was used for training the British Army pilots who formed the Glider Pilot Regiment . The Slingsby Hengist

7084-501: The use of Indian airborne forces, however, this plan was abandoned when it was discovered the required wood would have to be imported into India. Seven prototypes were ordered with Fairey Aircraft producing the first two prototypes, which were used for flight testing, while Airspeed completed the remaining prototypes that were used in equipment and loading tests. On 12 September 1941, the first prototype (DG597), towed by an Armstrong Whitworth Whitley , made its first flight, 11 months after

7176-560: The use of gliders to deliver Marines to beachheads was impractical. No further examples of the two glider types were built, and the Navy officially terminated the amphibious glider program on 27 September 1943. Testing of the two prototypes continued until early December 1943, apparently in connection with the development of a glider bomb. The Marine Corps established a glider training unit in early 1942 at Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island , South Carolina , using non-amphibious Pratt-Read LNE-1 and Schweizer LNS-1 gliders. In addition,

7268-644: The war, there were only two light gliders built in series: Antonov A-7 and Gribovski G-11 – about 1,000 altogether. A medium glider, the KC-20 , was built in a small series. They were used mostly for providing partisans in Belarus with supplies and armament in 1942–1943. On 21 September 1943, 35 gliders were used in the Dnepr crossing . Later, other types of gliders were built: the Cybin C-25 (25 trooper) in 1944,

7360-432: The widely varying production numbers recorded of the type. Between 3,655 and 3,799 Horsas had been completed by the time production ended. The Airspeed AS.51 Horsa was a large troop-carrying glider . It was capable of transporting a maximum of 30 seated fully equipped troops; it also had the flexibility to carry a Jeep or an Ordnance QF 6-pounder anti-tank gun . The Horsa Mark I had a wingspan of 88 feet (27 m) and

7452-463: Was a backup design which was not required when the similar capacity American-built Waco CG-4 (given the British service name "Hadrian") became available in large numbers through lend-lease. Four hundred of the 3,600 Horsas built were supplied to the USAAF. The most famous British actions using gliders included the unsuccessful Operation Freshman , against a German heavy water plant in Norway in 1942; and

7544-420: Was a number identifying it in sequence and then after the slash, the year it was formulated, so in the example given above, B.12/36 signifies a specification for a heavy bomber , the twelfth specification of all types issued in 1936 . Specifications were not always issued in sequence. Admiralty specifications were identified by the letter N (Naval), e., N.21/45, and experimental specifications identified by

7636-474: Was able to deliver the experimental glider prototypes that satisfied the requirements of Materiel Command, the eight-seat Waco CG-3 (modified to become a production nine-seat glider) and the fifteen-seat Waco CG-4 . In October 1941, Lewin B. Barringer was made Glider Specialist, Air Staff, HQ of the Army Air Forces, answering to General Arnold, and placed in charge of the glider program. The shock of

7728-514: Was almost exclusively subsequently used, the original spotting requirement having been made obsolete with the introduction of radar . In addition, some (mostly early) specifications appear to have no letter prefix at all, e.g., 1/21, the Vickers Virginia III . The names of the aircraft shown in the table are not necessarily those they carried when provided for evaluation as at this point an aircraft would usually be referred to as

7820-477: Was applied to commercial aircraft as well, two being the de Havilland Comet and Vickers Viscount . During the period, over 800 specifications were issued. Each specification name usually followed a pattern. A leading letter was usually present to identify the aircraft purpose. The codes used included B for "heavy bomber ", e.g., B.12/36, P for "medium bomber", e.g., P.13/36, F for " fighter ", e., F.10/35, and A for "army co-operation", e., A.39/34. The second part

7912-468: Was first deployed operationally on the night of 19/20 November 1942 in the unsuccessful attack on the German Heavy Water Plant at Rjukan in Norway ( Operation Freshman ). The two Horsa gliders, each carrying 15 sappers , and one of the Halifax tug aircraft crashed in Norway due to bad weather. All 23 survivors from the glider crashes were executed on the orders of Adolf Hitler , in a flagrant breach of

8004-474: Was issued, calling for a large assault glider. The specification required the use of wood where possible to conserve critical supplies of metal. Airspeed would designate the Horsa the AS.51 . .. it must have been the most wooden aircraft ever built. Even the controls in the cockpit were masterpieces of the woodworker's skill. Airspeed assembled a team headed by aircraft designer Hessell Tiltman whose efforts began at

8096-512: Was issued. It was from this specification that Airspeed Limited designed the Horsa, a large glider capable of accommodating up to 30 fully equipped troops, which was designated as the AS 51 . The Horsa was used in large numbers by the British Army Air Corps and the Royal Air Force (RAF); both services used it to conduct various air assault operations through the conflict. The type was used to perform an unsuccessful attack on

8188-435: Was replaced on later-built models by radio sets instead, which had the advantage of being able to maintain contact after detaching. Aft of the pilot's compartment was the freight loading door on the port side; the hinged door could also be used as a loading ramp. The main compartment could accommodate 15 troops on benches along the sides with another access door on the starboard side. Supply containers could also be fitted under

8280-622: Was the final operation for the Horsa, and had involved a force of 440 gliders carrying soldiers of the 6th Airborne Division across the Rhine . Operationally, the Horsa was towed by various aircraft: four-engined heavy bombers displaced from operational service such as the Short Stirling and Handley Page Halifax , the Armstrong Whitworth Albemarle and Armstrong Whitworth Whitley twin-engined bombers, as well as

8372-587: Was the type's first large-scale operation. The Horsa was deployed in large numbers (estimated to be in excess of 250) during the Battle of Normandy ; specifically in the British Operation Tonga and the American airborne landings in Normandy . The first unit to land in France during the battle was a British coup-de-main force, carried by six Horsas, that captured the Caen canal and Orne river bridges . During

8464-429: Was then made on the castoring nose wheel and a sprung skid set on the underside of the fuselage. The pilot's compartment had two side-by-side seats and dual controls, all of which being contained within a large Plexiglas nose section. Initially, the cockpit would be outfitted with internal telephone systems that allowed for communication between the pilots of the glider and tug aircraft while connected; however, this

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