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Immagini - Volo a vela - Alianti - Storia del volo

Lakehurst Naval Air Station, New Jersey. Jannuary 31, 1930.This rare photograph was taken only seconds after the successful test drop of a glider from the belly of the airship, U-S.S. Los Angels. The glider (visible in centre of photo) is being piloted by Lieutenant Commander Ralph S. Barnaby. Ralph S. Barnaby

Germany, 1935. A large group of civilian soaring enthusiasts gather at the Wasserkuppe for the annual competitions. The Smithsonian Institution

Germany, 1937. Members of a Germany civilian glider club enjoy a day of soaring at the famed Wasserkuppe. By this time civilian aircraft in Germany were required to display the swastika emblem of the Nazi Party. Bundesarchiv

During the early 1920s the U.S. Army Air Corps launched small gliders from powered biplanes for use as gunnery targets by other airplanes and anti-aircraft artillery. U.S. Air Force

March 12, 1931, New York City. Germany's soaring champion, Wolfram Hirth (standing beside cockpit), prepares to climb aboard his Darmstadt II sailplane for a shock-cord launch out over the Hudson River. Soaring Society of America

Livermore, California, May 24, 1936. Herber J. Brown at the controls of a primary training glider that was built by the Terry Glider Company of San Francisco. Brown was then only 17 years old and a member of the Bay Cities Glider Club. During World War II he flew combat gliders in Europe. Herbert J. Brown

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Close-up of the Luftwaffe's nine-passenger DFS-230 assault glider which saw extensive combat in Belgium, Holland, Greece, Crete and Russia. Cockpit canopy and fuselage side panels have been removed to illustrate how the cramped passengers sat astride a narrow wooden bench. Clamps along the bench held rifles secure until touchdown. The machine gun was used for defence in flight and to provide suppressive fire as passengers disembarked in objective areas. Germany was the only nation to equip its gliders with machine guns. Wheels could be jettisoned to permit landing on a central belly skid attached to spring-loaded shock absorbers. Bundesarchiv

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