THE
BRITISH "AIRSPEED HORSA" COMBAT ASSAULT GLIDER
Page
under construction.

The British Horsa glider was considerably larger than the American Waco
CG-4A. It could carry as many as 30 troops and a substantially larger
supply load compared to the CG-4A's maximum load of
13 Glider Infantry troops . It also differed from the CG-4A in that it was
constructed almost completely of wood. Its tow line harness yoke was attached
to both wings, unlike the CG-4A the tow line of which attached
to the nose of the aircraft.

Horsa
taking off. Note the dual tow line harness attached to both wings.
American and British units used each other's
gliders throughout the war. Many American Glider Pilots who had trained
extensively on the CG-4A found themselves, because of dictates of the mission,
flying Horsas into Normandy. Both American and British Glider Pilots used
the CG-4A in Operation "Bunghole," a series of individual combat
missions originating in Italy across the Adriatic to land in small clearings in
Yugoslavia with supplies for partisans fighting German forces attempting to hold
the Balkans. The smaller CG-4A was better suited for shorter landings and
retrieval using the "snatch"
technique described in this site.
British
troopers inside a British Horsa Glider. The Horsa and Waco were both used
by British and American Glider Infantry. Elements of the 101st and 82nd Airborne
Divisions flew into Normandy in the Horsa piloted by American Glider Pilots.
Perhaps the Horsa's finest hour came in the early stages of the Normandy
Invasion when six Horsas loaded with infantry descended in the darkness of the
morning of June 6, 1944, to capture and hold bridges over the Orne and Caen
Canal, bridges that would allow German reinforcements to counterattack the
Normandy landings. Carrying a company of the Oxford and Buckinghamshire
Light Infantry, six Horsas piloted by members of the famed British Glider Pilot
Regiment found their insertion points. This exceptionally difficult and
dangerous mission, so critical to the success of the beach landings, was
accomplished due in no small part to the skilled airmanship of the six Horsa
aircrews. (Source: The Wings of Pegasus by Brigadier George
Chatterton, D.S.O., O.B.E. pages 136-140)
Signal
Sergeant Williams on the US
Army discussion forum added some more detail to this operation:
"From
an aerial view photo of the after action at Pegasus Bridge, there were only
three gliders in that operation. I think there were more in the Melville Battery
assault. All three of the pilots of the Pegasus bridge landing received the DFC
from the King. The producer/director [of "The Longest Day"] had
to chose whether to use the Pegasus Bridge assault or the Melville battery assault
in the movie. I read he flipped a coin and Pegasus won. That bridge no longer
crosses the Orne River. The French put in a new one some years back. They
were going to metal scrap the old one until holy hell broke out. It now sits in
the field where the gliders landed, rusting away."
More
interesting factoids about Pegasus Bridge and "The Longest Day" from
Sergeant Williams:
"The
fellow who played Major Howard in the movie was Richard Todd and he was a Lieutenant
and CO of a company (parachute I think) that relieved Major Howard and
secured the bridge. Also the piper in the movie that played the part of CSM
Mullins was CSM Mullins himself. There use to be a story that when
Todd met Lieutenant Sweeney on the bridge they greeted each other by saying
"Sweeney...Todd." Todd Use to be nicknamed Sweeney in the army
also. A movie was just made about Sweeney Todd....real life character by the
way."
Horsa parked near hangar.

Unloaded
Horsa with what appear to be German prisoners in the foreground.

Horsa Pilot's
Notes

Horsa Cockpit -
General View with legend.


Horsa Instrument
Panel with legend

Horsa Cockpit View
Port Side.
Youtube
Videos on Horsa Gliders
Links to websites
featuring the Airspeed Horsa:
Fiddlers
Green Website on the Horsa
Czech
Republic page on Horsas
Allied
Assault Gliders
Airspeed
Horsa
British-Forces.com
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