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The Waco CG-4 was the most widely used United States troop/cargo military glider of World War II. It was designated the CG-4A by the United States Army Air Forces, and named Hadrian in British military service.

Designed by the Waco Aircraft Company, CG-4 flight testing began in May 1942, and eventually more than 13,900 CG-4As were delivered. Sixteen companies were prime contractors for manufacturing CG-4A's. Wicks Aircraft Company of Kansas City, Missouri was a sub-contractor while Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation of Kansas City, Kansas and the WACO Company of Troy, Ohio were two of the 16 prime contractors.

Design and development

The CG-4 was constructed of fabric-covered wood and metal and was crewed by a pilot and copilot. The factories ran 24-hour shifts to build the gliders. One night-shift worker in the Wicks Aircraft Company factory in Kansas City wrote,

The CG-4 could carry 13 troops and their equipment. Cargo loads could be a quarter ton truck (Jeep), a 75 mm howitzer or a ¼ ton trailer, all loaded through the upward-hinged nose section. Also, a small bulldozer was loaded into some of these gliders. C-47s were usually used as tow aircraft. A few C-46 tugs were used during and after Operation Plunder.

The USAAF CG-4A tow line was 11/16 inch diameter nylon, 350 ft (107 m) long. The CG-4A pickup line was ¹⁵ / ₁₆ inch- (24 mm)-diameter nylon, but only 225 ft (69 m) long including the doubled loop.

Operational history

Whiteman Air Force Base was originally activated on 6 August 1942 as Sedalia Glider Base. In November 1942, the installation became Sedalia Army Air Field and was assigned to the 12th Troop Carrier Command of the United States Army Air Forces. The field served as a training site for glider pilots and paratroopers. Assigned aircraft included the CG-4A glider, Curtiss C-46, and Douglas C-47 . However, the C-46 was not used as a glider tug in combat until Operation Plunder in March 1945.

CG-4As went into operation in July 1943 during the Allied invasion of Sicily. They participated in the American airborne landings in Normandy on 6 June 1944, and in other important airborne operations in Europe and in the China-Burma-India Theater. Although not the intention of the Army Air Force, gliders were generally considered expendable by high-ranking European theater officers and combat personnel and were abandoned or destroyed after landing. While equipment and methods for extracting flyable gliders were developed and delivered to Europe, half of that equipment was rendered unavailable by certain higher-ranked officers. Despite this lack of support for the recovery system, several gliders were recovered from Normandy and even more from the Operation Market-Garden in the Netherlands and Wesel, Germany.

The CG-4A found favor where its small size was a benefit. The larger British Airspeed Horsa could carry more troops (seating for 28 or a jeep or an anti-tank gun), and the British General Aircraft Hamilcar could carry a light tank, but the CG-4A could land in smaller spaces. In addition, by using a fairly simple net system, an in-flight C-47 equipped with a tail hook could "pick up" a CG-4A waiting on the ground.

The CG-4A was also used to send supplies to partisans in Yugoslavia.

Variants

Operators

• Royal Canadian Air Force

• Czechoslovakian Air Force operated 2 or 3 Wacos, designated NK-4.

• Royal Air Force
  • No. 668 Squadron RAF
  • No. 669 Squadron RAF
  • No. 670 Squadron RAF
  • No. 671 Squadron RAF
  • No. 672 Squadron RAF
  • No. 673 Squadron RAF

• United States Army Air Forces
• United States Navy

Surviving aircraft

Below is a list of known surviving CG-4A aircraft:

• 82nd Airborne Division War Memorial Museum, Fort Bragg, Fayetteville, NC
• Air Mobility Command Museum
• Carolinas Aviation Museum, Charlotte, NC
• National Soaring Museum
• Musée Airborne
• Silent Wings Museum, Lubbock, TX

.

Specifications (CG-4A)

Data from Tribute to the American Combat Glider Pilots of World War II

General characteristics

• Crew: two (pilot and co-pilot)
• Capacity: 13 troops, or quarter-ton truck (Jeep) and 3 troops, or 6 litters
• Length: 48 ft 8 in (14.8 m)
• Wingspan: 83 ft 8 in (25.5 m)
• Height: 15 ft 4 in (4.7 m)
• Wing area: 900 ft² (83.6 m²)
• Empty weight: 3,790 lb (1,719 kg)
• Max takeoff weight: 7,500 lb (3,400 kg)
• * Max take off (Emergency Load): 9,000 lb (4,091 kg)

Performance

• Maximum speed: 150 mph (240 km/h) at 7,500 lb (3,400 kg)
• Cruise speed: CAS 72.6 mph (117 km/h)
• Stall speed: CAS 49 mph (79 km/h) with design load 7,500 lb (3,400 kg)
• Wing loading: 8.81 lb/ft² ()
• Rate of sink : About 400 ft/min (122 m/min) at tactical glide speed (CAS 60 mph/96 km/h)
• Landing run : 600-800 feet (180-244 m) for normal three-point landing

See also

Related development

• Waco CG-15
  

Comparable aircraft

• Airspeed Horsa
• DFS 230
• General Aircraft Hamilcar
• General Aircraft Hotspur
• Gotha Go 242
• Schweizer cargo glider designs
• Slingsby Hengist
  

Related lists

• List of World War II military gliders
  

References

1. ^ Fitzsimons, Bernard, ed. Illustrated Encyclopedia of 20th Century Weapons and Warfare (London: Phoebus, 1978), Volume 11, p.1199, "Haig, Waco CG-4A".
2. ^ Jane Beasley Raph. "My Aunt the Doper: "Gliding Gladys" in the War Factory" . http://family.phelpsinc.com/branches/beasley/jane_wwii_glider_factory.asp . Retrieved 2008-11-08 .  
3. ^ Munson, J. (undated). "Sailplanes in Our Collection" . http://www.soaringmuseum.org/collection.html . Retrieved 2008-04-15 .  
4. ^ Air Mobility Command Museum (undated). "CG-4A" . http://www.amcmuseum.org/exhibits_and_planes/cargo/cg-4/cg-4.html . Retrieved 2008-11-03 .  
5. ^ "The Airborne Museum" . http://www.musee-airborne.com/eng/page.php?page=airborne_museum . Retrieved 2009-08-02 .  
6. ^ CAS; IAS about 158 mph
7. ^ CAS; IAS about 254 km/h
8. ^ IAS about 85 mph
9. ^ IAS about 137 km/h
10. ^ IAS about 60 mph
11. ^ IAS about 96 km/h

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