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Tunisia, July 1943. Troopers of the British Airborne Division's 1st Air Landing Brigade Practise unloading ammunition carts from the American CG-4A gliders they will ride into combat during the invasion of Sicily. Imperial War Museum |
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Syracuse, Sicily, July 10, 1943. This one of the
many Allied gliders that crash landed in the sea during the invasion
of Sicily. U.S. Force
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| England, 1943. A Whitley V bomber landing at Brize Norton. Designed in 1936 as heavy bombers, the Whitleys, on March 19, 1940, dropped the first bombs to fall on Germany since 1918. For the next two yeas Whitleys took part in leaflet raids, minelaying sorties, and missions to bomb targets in Germany and northern Italy. From 1942 onward, however, the Whitleys served primarily as glider tugs and paratroop trainers. Each Whitley was powered by two 1,145 hp Rolls Royce Merlin XV-12 liquid-cooled engines. Wingspan was 84 feet; length was 70 feet 6 inches. Imperial War Museum |
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June 1942, Wright Field, Ohio. A Stinson 10-c airplane from Richard
C. DuPont's All-American Aviation Company makes an experimental pick-up
of a military glider. The method was used extensively during World
War II by larger gliders and airplanes. This glider is a Schweizer
XTG-3 piloted by Lieutenant Chester Decker. U.S. Air Force |
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| St. Luis, Missouri, August 1, 1943. This disastrous crash of a CG-4A glider killed the mayor of St. Louis and several other city and state officials. St. Louis Globe-Democrat |
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| Wight Field, Ohio, June 1942. Richard C. DuPont (right) president of the All-American Aviation Company and future chief of U.S. Army's glider programme, poses with Lt. Chester Decker )seated in the front cockpit of this Schweizer XTG-3 glider). This photo was taken during the period in which DuPont was demonstrating the pick-up of a grounded glider by an airplane in flight. DuPont and Decker were old friend and soaring rivals. Both had won the U.S. National Soaring Competitions during the mid-1930s. U.S. Air Force |
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August 1943, South Plains Army Air Field, Lubbock, Texas. A flight of three CG-4A gliders (lower right) have just cut away from their Lockheed C-60 tow-planes to make a blitz landing during an exercise. This method of step-dive landings was later changed by Major Mike Murphy. U.S. Air Force |
