Gliders built by the military of various countries were used for carrying troops and heavy equipment, mainly during the Second World War. Military gliders were towed into the air and most of the way to their target by military transport planes eg DC-3 Dakota, or obsolete bombers, eg Short Stirling. The aircraft were effectively used for only a single flight, though a few were retrieved and re-used. Gliders are heavier-than-air aircraft primarily intended for un-powered flight. ... Mushroom cloud from the nuclear explosion over Nagasaki rising 18 km into the air. ... 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 Stirling was a World War II heavy bomber design built by Short Brothers. ...

Troops landing by glider were referred to as air-landing as opposed to paratroops. Gliders could land troops in greater concentrations than by parachute since the troops would not be spread out. They could also be more precise in their 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 and small vehicles like jeeps and also light tanks (the Tetrarch tank). This heavier equipment made otherwise lightly-armed paratroop forces a much more capable force. An American Paratrooper using a T-10C series parachute Paratroopers are soldiers trained in parachuting and formed into an airborne force. ... Anti-tank, or simply AT, refers to any method of combating military armored fighting vehicles, notably tanks. ... Jeep is an automobile marque (and registered trademark) of DaimlerChrysler. ... The Mk VII Tetrarch light tank was a British design of tank produced during the Second World War initially for reconnaisance purposes but used by airborne forces. ...

By the time of the Korean War helicopters had replaced gliders. Helicopters have the advantage of being able to extract soldiers in addition to delivering them to the battle-field. Advances in powered transport aircraft were also made to the point where even light tanks could be dropped by parachute. Eventually powered aircraft were also able to land and take-off from even rudimentary landing strips. The Korean War, from June 25, 1950 to cease-fire on July 27, 1953 (the war has not ended officially), was a conflict between North Korea and South Korea. ... The Bell 206 of Canadian Helicopters Robinson Helicopter Company (USA) R44, a four seat development of the R22 A helicopter is an aircraft which is lifted and propelled by one or more horizontal rotors (propellers). ...

German military gliders

The Germans were the first to use gliders in warfare, most famously during the assault of the Eben Emael fortress in May 10 1940 in which DFS 230 gliders carrying 10 soldiers each landed on the grassed roof. Gliders were also used in the invasion of Crete. Perhaps the success at Eben Emael had raised false hopes because of the 15,000 German airborne troops that landed by glider and parachute, 5,000 were killed or wounded. As a result there was a curtailment of glider and parachute operations, though some glider operations continued such as the rescue of Benito Mussolini at Gran Sasso and emergency re-supply operations in Russia, North Africa and Eastern Europe towards the end of the war, but the Germans never attempted another large-scale glider and parachute attack. However they developed the larger Gotha Go 242 (23 trooper) and the very large Messerschmitt Me 321 (130 troopers) gliders. Eben-Emael was a Belgian fortress in between Liège and Maastricht, near the Albertcanal, defending the Belgian-German border. ... May 10 is the 130th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (131st in leap years). ... The DFS 230 was a WW2 Luftwaffe transport glider. ... Greece and Crete Crete (Greek Κρήτη / Kriti) is the largest of the Greek islands and the fifth largest in the Mediterranean Sea. ... For other people called Mussolini, see Mussolini (disambiguation). ... Gran Sasso (Italian for great stone), a massif located in the Abruzzo region of central Italy, is the highest of the Apennines and the centerpiece of a national park (established 1991). ... The Gotha Go 242 was a transport glider used by the Luftwaffe during World War II. // Development The Go 242 was designed by Albert Kalkert in response to a RLM (Reichssluftfahrtministerium - Reich Aviation Ministry) requirement for a heavy transport glider to replace the DFS 230 then in service. ... During the preparation for a possible invasion of Britain during World War II (called Operation Sealion), the Oberkommando des Heeres (OKH) required a cargo glider that would carry about 130 equipped soldiers because it was not possible to ship all the important weapons and goods by naval vessels. ...

British military gliders

The use of assault gliders by the British was prompted by the assault on Eben Emael. Among the types developed were the 28 trooper Airspeed Horsa and the 7 ton capacity General Aircraft Hamilcar cargo glider. The General Aircraft Hotspur was used for training the pilots who formed the Glider Pilot Regiment. The most famous actions were the taking of the Pegasus Bridge during the invasion of Normandy, Operation Dragoon (the invasion of southern France), Operation Market Garden (Arnhem) and Operation Varsity (Crossing of the Rhine). Out of the 2,596 gliders dispatched for Operation Market Garden, 2,239 gliders were effective in delivering men and equipment to their designated landing zones. 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. ... 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. ... The Glider Pilot Regiment was possibly the shortest lived and least known unit of the Second World War. ... Pegasus Bridge before its replacement Pegasus was the name given to a bridge over the Caen canal, near the town of Ouistreham. ... Mont Saint Michel is a historic pilgrimage site and a symbol of Normandy Normandy is a geographical region in northern France. ... 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. ... Operation Varsity was an airborne operation towards the end of World War II, intended to gain a foothold across the River Rhine. ...

Gliders are still used in the Royal Air Force for cadet training by the Air Training Corps. They are not used in combat operations, and no troop-carrying gliders have been in British service since 1957. The Royal Air Force (often abbreviated to RAF) is the air force branch of the British Armed Forces. ... The Air Training Corps (ATC) is a UK cadet force. ...

Lord Gilbert, defence minister of state formally responsible for intelligence during the Kosovo War, told the House of Commons Select Committee on Defence on 20 June 2000 that gliders could have been used to land troops in Kosovo. Neither Lord Gilbert nor the other politicians present appeared to be aware that this would have been impossible. British House of Commons Canadian House of Commons In some bicameral parliaments of a Westminster System, the House of Commons has historically been the name of the elected lower house. ... This article is about the year 2000. ...

Americal military gliders

U.S. Air Force glider, Richard C. du Pont, director (standing)

General "Hap" Arnold in United States War Department created the American Glider Program in 1941 under the direction of Lewin B. Barringer. After Barringer's plane disappeared over the Caribbean Sea, the program was moved to Army Air Force Headquarters and directed by Richard C. du Pont. Image File history File links RichardDupont-1942. ... Image File history File links RichardDupont-1942. ... Richard Chichester du Pont Richard Chichester du Pont (January 2, 1911 - September 11, 1943) was an American businessman and an aviation and glider pioneer who was a member of the prominent Du Pont family. ... Henry Hap Arnold Henry Harley Arnold (June 25, 1886 – January 15, 1950), often referred to by the nickname Hap, was an American pilot, commander of the US Army Air Corps from 1938, commander of the US Army Air Forces from 1941 until 1945 and the first General of the Air... The United States Department of War was the military department of the United States governments executive branch from 1789 until 1949, when it became part of the United States Department of Defense. ... Map of Central America and the Caribbean The Caribbean Sea is a tropical body of water adjacent to the Atlantic Ocean and southeast of the Gulf of Mexico. ... USAAF recruitment poster. ... Richard Chichester du Pont Richard Chichester du Pont (January 2, 1911 - September 11, 1943) was an American businessman and an aviation and glider pioneer who was a member of the prominent Du Pont family. ...

By late 1944, the Americans built more than 10,500 gliders. They were produced by a wide variety of manufacturers ranging from Ford Motor Company and piano companies to casket factories.

The most widely used type was the CG-4 Hadrian which was first used in the invasion of Sicily and participated in the D-Day assault on France on June 6, 1944, and in other important airborne operations in Europe and in 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 cargo load of 3,750 pounds, allowing it to carry 13 combat-equipped troops or a jeep or small artillery piece. 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. ... Sicilian disambiguates here; see also Sicilian language or Sicilian Defence. ... June 6 is the 157th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (158th in leap years), with 208 days remaining. ...

Currently the US Army does have a Glider program but it is very elite and only the best qualify.

See also

• Glider Pilot Regiment
• Air Training Corps
• Museum of Army Flying

The Glider Pilot Regiment was possibly the shortest lived and least known unit of the Second World War. ... The Air Training Corps (ATC) is a UK cadet force. ... The Museum of Army Flying is an award-winning British military aviation museum about the history of flying in the British Army. ...

External links

• Glider Pilot Regiment - regiments.org entry, with history and more weblinks
• The Assault Glider Trust