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SOME INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT THE GLIDER PROGRAM AND THE CG4A The CG4A glider, (C-for combat, G-for glider was the mainstay of the U.S. Army Air Forces glider arsenal. It was designed by the Waco Aircraft Company of Troy, Ohio whose' personnel followed specifications given to them by the USAAF. A. Francis Arcier, a Waco vice-president and chief designer, is usually referred to as the "father" of the CG4A. A total of 13,909 CG4A gliders were constructed during the period 1942-1945. The Ford Motor Company, one of the 15 prime contractors building gliders, turned out 4,190 units, far beyond the second best producer with 1,509 units. Some of the other contractors included such names as Gibson, Northwestern Aeronautical, Pratt-Reed, Laister-Kaufman, Cessna Aircraft, and many others. More than 70,000 individual parts made up the CG4A. After its design was accepted and production started, some 7,000 modifications were made to the aircraft, although none of these modifications were a major change. The nose of the CG4A could be elevated to facilitate loading and unloading of cargo and/or mobile vehicles. It could carry a jeep, or a jeep trailer fully loaded with combat equipment, a .75 mm field piece, a 105 mm anti-tank gun, and specially designed airborne construction equipment including small graders and bulldozers. Several powered models of the CG4A were developed but few produced. Quick-mount engine pods were developed and attached successfully to the main wing struts. All the powered models flew with success but none survived the war years. The CG4A was not designed to be a thing of beauty - and certainly it was not considered to be an attractive aircraft. Most Air Force power pilots joked about its ungainly appearance but few of them poked any funny remarks at the guys who flew them. The glider pilots were an independent, tough, ready-to-fight group of pilots and they certainly were not backward in letting anyone know that the "G" on their silver wings stood for "Guts." The aircraft they flew with such abandon and ease was a strut-braced high-wing monoplane that could carry more than its own weight in payload, and frequently did. The wing, constructed around a front box spar and a rear "I" spar, had wooden ribs, and was plywood covered except for the trailing edge. The whole was covered with doped cotton fabric. The control surfaces were fabric covered except for the leading edges which were of plywood. The wing tips were elliptical and there was little dihedral. The fuselage was a welded steel tubing frame covered with fabric. The floor of the cargo compartment was of honeycombed plywood construction and had tremendous strength and rigidity. The cockpit was constructed also of a welded steel tubing frame covered with fabric and plywood. The combat employment of the glider in the huge invasion of France on D-Day occurred less than three years after AF General Hap Arnold told a glider graduating class of six student pilots that the United States would have a glider force "second to none in the world." Before September, 1942 AF records listed no glider pilots. In going to work to build such a glider force, CAA files were checked but only 160 licensed civilian glider pilots were found in the United States. Of these, only 25 were sufficiently experienced to be instructors. They were put to work immediately to train Air Corps rated pilots for key positions. Enlisted men and thousands of recruited civilians were selected as pilot trainees. As they were trained, the best were retained to instruct others and thus the training organization developed. Soon after training was underway, all gliders were grounded for technical reasons. Abandonment of the program seemed probable. However, the glider survived this critical period and on the night of July 9, 1943, took part in the first Allied airborne operation in WWII. Allied gliders took off that night from an airfield in Tunisia. The destination was Axis-held Sicily; their cargo, British airborne troops. In spite of the many difficulties encountered on a first mission of this nature (and there were many), enough of the gliders got through to successfully complete the mission. In February, 1944 gliders carved another niche for themselves in Burma. The Allies devised a plan to concentrate a force behind Japanese lines to cut enemy rail and river communications. There were no handy roads and the landing areas were unprepared. Gliders were picked to fly certain troops, airborne engineers and equipment into the selected areas by night. Their job - seize and prepare landing strips so that additional troops and equipment could be flown in by transport planes. Although only a limited number of gliders were used, the operations were successful and troops and cargo were poured into the rear of the enemy positions. Most of these missions were accomplished at night. The Japanese were completely surprised and the overall operation successful. The glider in combat had proven itself and its use continued to build. NORMANDY - 6 June 1944. In the early morning hours of darkness on that famous day, an airborne armada began releasing gliders and paratroopers in Operation "Overlord," the largest combined airborne and seaborne invasion in history. SOUTHERN FRANCE - 15 August 1944. American gliders from airfields near Rome and other airfields extending down some 150 miles of the Italian coast strike in the Argens River valley to isolate German units in the coastal area of Southern France. HOLLAND - 17 September 1944. First mission of the newly formed First Allied Airborne Army. US IX Troop Carrier Command dispatched 1,899 gliders and the RAF some 697 Horsas in the largest single glider operation of World War II. Designed to cover an attempt to open a clear road to Berlin and end hostilities, the mission ended in what authorities called "limited success." BASTOGNE - 26, 27 December 1944. The heroic efforts of American forces in the action at Bastogne needs no retelling. However, few historians give more than a casual mention of the part that gliders and glider pilots played in this important action. Flying their frail aircraft into a hail of enemy flak and ground fire, the glider pilots who participated in this battle carried to the besieged defenders badly needed ammunition and medical supplies that enabled them to hold out and secure the ultimate victory. VARSITY - 24 March 1945. Crossing of the Rhine. This aerial invasion of Germany at Wesel, on the Rhine River, was the final ETO glider mission. On that date some 2,348 American and British gliders crossed the river strongpoint and delivered the final, fatal blow to the Axis forces. LUZON - June, 1945. CG4As and a single CG 13 landed near Aparri in northern Luzon, carrying elements of the 11th Airborne Division. This was a first for gliders in the Pacific and the mission was successful. Glider pilots in Europe had high priority in returning to the states once Germany had surrendered. They were slated to join their GP comrades in the Pacific for the final airborne assault on Japan proper. Fortunately, the war came to an end before that action could take place. GENERAL SPECIFICATION - CG4A
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