Airspeed Horsa

The Airspeed AS.51 Horsa was a World War II troop-carrying glider built by the British company Airspeed Ltd and subcontractors and used for air assault by British and Allied armed forces. It was named after the legendary 5th century conqueror of Southern Britain Horsa. Air Ministry photograph published in: Aircraft of the Fighting Powers Vol IV Ed: H J Cooper, O G Thetford and D A. Russell Harborough Publishing Co, Leicester, England 1943. ... Air Ministry photograph published in: Aircraft of the Fighting Powers Vol IV Ed: H J Cooper, O G Thetford and D A. Russell Harborough Publishing Co, Leicester, England 1943. ... Combatants Allies: • Soviet Union, • UK & Commonwealth, • USA, • France/Free France, • China, • Poland, • ...and others Axis: • Germany, • Japan, • Italy, • ...and others Commanders Strength Casualties Full list Full list World War II, also known as the Second World War, was a large scale military conflict that took place between 1939 and 1945. ... Gliders built by the military of various countries were used for carrying troops and heavy equipment, mainly during the Second World War. ... This article describes the company Airspeed Ltd. ... When spelt with a capital A, Allies usually denotes the countries supporting the Triple Entente who fought together against the Central Powers in World War I and against the Axis Powers in World War II. For more information, see the related articles: Allies of World War I and Allies of... // Overview Events Romulus Augustus, Last Western Roman Emperor 410: Rome sacked by Visigoths 452: Pope Leo I allegedly meets personally with Attila the Hun and convinces him not to sack Rome 439: Vandals conquer Carthage At some point after 440, the Anglo-Saxons settle in Britain. ... Horsa, according to tradition, was a fifth century warrior and brother of Hengest who took part in the invasion and conquest of Britain from its native Romano-British and Celtic inhabitants. ...

History

The use of assault gliders by the British was prompted by the use by Germany of the DFS 230, which was first used in May 1940 to successfully assault the Eben Emael fort in Belgium. Their advantage compared to parachute assault was that the troops were landed together in one place, rather than being dispersed. The DFS 230 was a WW2 Luftwaffe transport glider. ... ... The Apollo 15 capsule landed safely despite a parachute failure. ...

With around 28 troop seats, the Horsa was much bigger than the 13-troop American Waco CG-4A (known as the Hadrian by the British), and the 8-troop General Aircraft Hotspur glider which was intended for training duties only. As well as troops, the AS51 could carry a jeep or a 6 pounder anti tank gun. The Waco CG-4 Hadrian was the most widely used United States troop/cargo glider of World War II. Flight testing began in 1942 and eventually more than 12,000 CG-4As were procured. ... Hotspur Glider. ... Jeep is an automobile marque (and registered trademark) of DaimlerChrysler. ... Polish paratroopers (1st Independent Parachute Brigade) manhandling 6 pdr AT gun The Ordnance QF 6-pounder 7 cwt, or just 6 pdr, was a British 57 mm gun, their primary anti-tank gun during the middle of World War II. as well as the main armament for a number of... For the thrash metal band, see Artillery (band) Historically, artillery refers to any engine used for the discharge of projectiles during war. ...

The Horsa Mk II had a hinged nose section, reinforced floor and double nose wheels to support the extra weight of vehicles. The tow was attached to the nose rather than the dual wing points of the Mk I

Combat History

The Horsa was first used operationally on the night of 19/20 November 1942 in the unsucessful attack on the German Heavy Water Plant at Rjukan in Norway (Operation Freshman). The 2 gliders and one of the Halifax tug aircraft crashed in Norway due to bad weather. The survivors from the glider crashes were executed on the orders of Hitler. Heavy water is dideuterium oxide, or D2O or 2H2O. It is chemically the same as normal water, H2O, but the hydrogen atoms are of the heavy isotope deuterium, in which the nucleus contains a neutron in addition to the proton found in the nucleus of any hydrogen atom. ... Map showing the position of Rjukan between lakes Møsvatn (West, upstream) and Tinnsjø (East) Rjukan is the centre of Tinn municipality in Telemark, Norway. ... The Vemork hydroelectric plant, site of the heavy water production In World War II, Nazi Germany investigated the possibility of building an atomic bomb. ... Halifax W1057 ZA-X of No. ... Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (April 20, 1889 – April 30, 1945, standard German pronunciation in the IPA) was the Führer (leader) of the National Socialist German Workers Party (Nazi Party) and of Nazi Germany from 1933 to 1945. ...

Horsas on the ground at Arnhem

On July 10, 1943, 27 Horsas were used in Operation Husky, the invasion of Sicily. Large numbers were subsequently used in the Normandy, Operation Dragoon, Operation Market Garden (Arnhem), and Operation Varsity (Crossing the river Rhine). In Normandy, the first troops to land in France did so by Horsas, capturing Pegasus Bridge. Image File history File linksMetadata Airspeed_Horsas_-_Arnhem_1944_1. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Airspeed_Horsas_-_Arnhem_1944_1. ... Combatants II SS Panzer CorpsArmy Group BFirst Parachute Army Commanders Montgomery von Rundstedt Strength unknown ~20,000 (start of the Battle) Casualties ~18,000 casualties ~13,000 casualties Operation Market Garden was an Allied military operation in World War II, which took place in September 1944. ... July 10 is the 191st day (192nd in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 174 days remaining. ... 1943 (MCMXLIII) is a common year starting on Friday. ... Husky was also the codename of Australian military support to Sierra Leone ending in February 2003. ... Sicilian disambiguates here; see also Sicilian language or Sicilian Defence. ... Combatants Allied Powers Germany Commanders Dwight D. Eisenhower (Supreme Allied Commander) Bernard Montgomery (land) Bertram Ramsay (sea) Trafford Leigh-Mallory (air) Gerd von Rundstedt (OB WEST) Erwin Rommel (Heeresgruppe B) Strength 326,000 (by June 11) Unknown Casualties 53,700 dead, 18,000 missing, 155,000 wounded About 200,000... A map of the operation. ... Combatants II SS Panzer CorpsArmy Group BFirst Parachute Army Commanders Montgomery von Rundstedt Strength unknown ~20,000 (start of the Battle) Casualties ~18,000 casualties ~13,000 casualties Operation Market Garden was an Allied military operation in World War II, which took place in September 1944. ... Arnhem is a municipality and a city in the east of the Netherlands, located on the Lower Rhine, and the capital of the Gelderland province. ... Operation Varsity was an airborne operation towards the end of World War II, intended to gain a foothold across the River Rhine. ... Pegasus Bridge before its replacement Pegasus was the name given to a bridge over the Caen canal, near the town of Ouistreham. ...

Horsas

On operations they were towed variously by Stirling, Halifax, Albemarle, Whitley and C-47 Dakota tugs, using a harness that attached to both wings. The pilots were usually from the Glider Pilot Regiment, part of the Army Air Corps, although Royal Air Force pilots were used on occasion. The Horsa was also used in service by the USAAF. Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (800x601, 176 KB) Airspeed Horsas on the ground at Arnhem during Operation Market Garden, in a picture taken by an RAF PRU Spitfire, 1944. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (800x601, 176 KB) Airspeed Horsas on the ground at Arnhem during Operation Market Garden, in a picture taken by an RAF PRU Spitfire, 1944. ... The Stirling was a World War II heavy bomber design built by Short Brothers. ... Halifax W1057 ZA-X of No. ... Armstrong Whitworth Albemarle The Armstrong Whitworth A.W.41 Albemarle was a British twin-engined transport aircraft that entered service during World War II. Originally designed as a medium-bomber, the Albemarle never served in that role, instead being converted for general and special transport duties, paratroop transport and glider... The Armstrong Whitworth A.W.38 Whitley was one of three twin-engine, front-line medium bombers in service with the Royal Air Force at the outbreak of World War II. Along with the Handley Page Hampden and the Vickers Wellington, it bore the brunt of the early fighting, seeing... The Douglas DC-3 is a fixed-wing, propeller-driven aircraft which revolutionised air transport in the 1930s and 1940s, and is generally regarded as one of the most significant transport aircraft ever made (also see Boeing 707 and Boeing 747). ... The Glider Pilot Regiment was possibly the shortest lived and least known unit of the Second World War. ... The Army Air Corps is a vital component of the British Army. ... The Royal Air Force (often abbreviated to RAF) is the air force branch of the British Armed Forces. ... USAAF recruitment poster. ...

On June 5, 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 the original pilot of the aircraft, Jim Wallwork. June 5 is the 156th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (157th in leap years), with 209 days remaining. ... 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Land on Normandy In military parlance, D-Day is a term often used to denote the day on which a combat attack or operation is to be initiated. ... The Prince of Wales The Prince Charles, Prince of Wales (Charles Philip Arthur George Mountbatten-Windsor) (born 14 November 1948), is the eldest son of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. ...

Design and manufacture

The Horsa was designed to specification X.26/40 and built from 1940 onwards. It first flew on 12 September, 1941. The Horsa featured a high-wing and was of all-wooden construction due to the shortage of other materials and the expendable nature of the aircraft. It was one of the first gliders equipped with a tricycle undercarriage for take-off. On operational flights this could be jettisoned and landing was then on a skid under the fuselage. The wing carried large, 'barn door' flaps, which when lowered made a steep high rate-of-descent landing possible that allowed the pilots to land in constricted areas. This is a list of aviation-related events from 1940: Events March March 16 - Britain suffers its first civilian air-raid casualties of the war after a raid by KG 26 on Scapa Flow March 25 - the US government grants permission to the countrys aircraft manufacturers to sell advanced... September 12 is the 255th day of the year (256th in leap years). ... This is a list of aviation-related events from 1941: Events Jacqueline Cochran became the first woman to fly a bomber across the Atlantic Ocean. ... A Cessna 152 with a tricycle landing gear Tricycle gear describes a kind of aircraft undercarriage, or landing gear, arranged in a tricycle fashion. ...

The Horsa was considered sturdy and very manoeuvrable for a glider. Production was by Airpseed and sub contractors including the Austin Motors and the furniture manufacturers Harris Lebus. A total of 3655 were built. The specification for the gliders had demanded that they were built in a number of sections, and as a result producton was spread across separate factories which limited the likely loss in case of German attack. The Austin Motor Company was British manufacturer of automobiles that rose to be a major motorcar brand, the dominant partner after merger with Morris in the 50s but declining after absorption into British Leyland. ... Furniture is the collective term for the movable objects which support the human body (seating furniture and beds), provide storage, and hold objects on horizontal surfaces above the ground. ...

Specifications (AS.51)

General characteristics

• Crew: 2
• Capacity: 25 passengers
• Length: 67 ft (20.4 m)
• Wingspan: 88 ft (26.8 m)
• Height: 21 ft (6.4 m)
• Wing area: 1,148 ft² (106.7 m²)
• Weight:
  • Empty: 7,500 lb (3,400 kg)
  • Loaded: 15,250 lb (6,920 kg)
  • Maximum takeoff: lb ( kg)

Performance

• Speed
  • On tow: 127 mph (204 km/h)
  • Gliding: 100 mph (160 km/h)

Operators

• Portugal, Turkey, United Kingdom, United States.

Related content

Related development: None

Comparable aircraft: Waco CG-4A - General Aircraft Hamilcar - General Aircraft Hotspur - Slingsby Hengist The Waco CG-4 Hadrian was the most widely used United States troop/cargo glider of World War II. Flight testing began in 1942 and eventually more than 12,000 CG-4As were procured. ... The General Aircraft G.A.L. 49 Hamilcar or Hamilcar Mk I was a large British military glider of World War II, which was capable of carrying 7 tons of cargo or a light tank such as the Tetrarch or Locust. ... Hotspur Glider. ... Hengist Glider. ...

Designation series: AS.30 - AS.39 - AS.45 - AS.51 - AS.57 - AS.58 - AS.65 The Airspeed Ambassador was a twin piston engined airliner that first flew on July 10, 1947 and served in very small numbers through the 1950s. ... The Airspeed Consul was a British light twin-engined airliner of the immediate post-war period. ...

See also

• List of aircraft of the RAF
• List of aircraft of the Army Air Corps
• The Assault Glider Trust

Many aircraft types have served in the Royal Air Force since it was formed in 1918 by the merger of the Royal Flying Corps and Royal Naval Air Service. ... This is a list of aircraft of the Army Air Corps From its founding in 1942: Auster AOP General Aircraft Hotspur General Aircraft Hamilcar Airspeed Horsa Waco Hadrian Since its separation from the Royal Air Force in 1957: Bell 212 Agusta A109 Sud Aviation Alouette II Auster AOP Westland Apache...