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COMBAT GLIDER PILOT TRAINING
Not many
pilots routinely train to land a heavily-loaded, unarmored aircraft with no
power plant into landing zones often traversed by massed hostile
firepower. Combat Gliders, unlike recreational soaring gliders, could not
gain altitude once the pilot released the tow line. They could only
descend. Once a pilot committed to a landing and discovered, as he got
closer, that the landing zone was under fire, mined, or otherwise obstructed, he
had little room to maneuver to make a safe landing.
Click
on the thumbnails to see larger pictures.
 Cover
of the training manual for the CG-4A. An original manual can be seen at
the Silent Wings Museum at Lubbock International Airport, Texas. (Courtesy
Silent Wings Museum).
Surviving Glider Pilots describe one German method of mining likely glider
landing zones. They nicknamed the technique "Rommel's
Asparagus." The Germans placed Teller Mines atop poles in fields that
were likely glider landing zones. Often, these mines were wired together
across many acres. Once a glider hit one, many others were also detonated
often creating a 360 degree ring of exploding mines around a landing glider. 
How not to follow a tow plane.
An ideal glider landing - Something the Glider Pilots
trained to execute under combat conditions.
The
aftermath of a the kind of actual combat landing many Glider Pilots
experienced. Any cargo or troops in this glider could easily have shifted
forward and injured or killed the pilots.
Many pilots and glider
infantry went through and survived murderous anti-aircraft fire enroute to their
landing zones only to be wounded or killed in the landing. Glider Pilot
training was unable to adequately simulate these conditions and many pilots
learned how treacherous a combat landing could be on their first mission.
The Allied invasion of Normandy on D-Day was the first combat mission for many
Glider Pilots. Many gliders went into the Normandy drop zones behind the
German lines with supplies and reinforcements during
the daylight hours of June 6, 1944 well after the beach landings and after the Germans finally realized this was
the full-scale invasion they awaited. Consequently, the Germans were ready
with anti-aircraft fire to shoot down as many aircraft as possible and to make
glider approaches and landings truly dangerous.
Training
Gliders
Early Glider Pilot training used recreational soaring gliders such as the TG-4A
as trainers. They were more agile and capable of gaining altitude more
easily than the CG-4A and British Horsas the pilots would eventually fly into
combat. Since they did not adequately simulate the flying characteristics
of combat gliders, the Army Air Corps procured trainers that did - the TG-5A and
TG-6A.
"Faced with a critical shortage of training gliders in 1942, the U.S.
Government converted hundreds of 2-place powered airplanes into 3-place gliders
by replacing the engine with another pilot's seat and controls." (Milton
Dank, The Glider Gang, P.124)
The
TG-4A
 The
TG-5A
Originally
an Aeronica Defender powered aircraft now shown here as a TG-5A training glider
with the engine removed.
 The
TG-6A
Before
its engine was removed and it was converted into a training glider, the TG-6A
was a powered Taylorcraft Tandem Trainer.
 The
TG-8A
Experienced
pilots may recognize this as the famous Piper Cub manufactured by the Piper
Aircraft Company in Lockhaven, Pennsylvania, shown here after engine removal and
conversion into a trainer.
 Glider
Pilot students in training
Many Glider Pilots were already qualified and skilled powered aircraft pilots
who had earned their CAA (Civil Aeronautic Administration) civilian pilot's license before war broke out. Some had already gone
through flight training but had been disqualified, not for lack of skill, but
for problems beyond their control such as slightly deficient eyesight. One
Glider Pilot - already a licensed pilot - whose eyesight disqualified him from fighter pilot training said he
joined the glider program because he was looking for "anything to stay in
the air." This typified the strong desire these pilots had to fly
their own aircraft.
Part of the training program used powered single engine aircraft that were flown
aloft and then the engine shut down. The pilots were then required to
execute "dead-stick" landings. The picture below shows one of
these pilots performing such a landing in an L-5 (manufactured by the Interstate
Aircraft Company).
"Dead-stick"
flying in an L-5.
 What
role did the Women Air Service Pilots (WASPs) play in Glider Pilot
Training? "...The women also participated in glider
tow training programs and flew low altitude missions dispensing smoke as ground
cover..."
(Women of Courage - The Story of the Women Pilots of World War II). Click
on the picture to visit the "Women of Courage" website with more
information on the WASPs in the Glider Program.
"Fly
Your Position - Let the Tow Ship takeoff"
"Avoid
Hazardous Flying!"
.50
calibre training - Location unknown. Photo courtesy of Mary Martin and Troy Wynne - From Donald D.
Martin's collection.
Wickenburg,
Arizona - Glider Basic Training -Photo courtesy of Mary Martin and Troy Wynne - From Donald D.
Martin's collection.
Glider
Pilots next to trainer - Location unknown.
F/O
George Brennan with "Not to be Flown" sign.
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