B-24D Liberator "Lady Be Good"

The Consolidated B-24D Lady Be Good as it appeared when discovered from the air in the Libyan desert. 1958.

Lady Be Good is a B-24D Liberator bomber that disappeared without a trace on its first combat mission during World War II. The plane, which was from 376th Bomb Group of the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF), was believed to have been lost—with its nine-man crew—in the Mediterranean Sea while returning to its base in Libya following a bombing raid on Naples on April 4, 1943. However, the wreck was accidentally discovered 710 km (440 mi) inland in the Libyan Desert by an oil exploration team from British Petroleum on November 9, 1958. A ground party in March 1959 identified the aircraft as a B-24D.

Investigations concluded that the first-time (all new) crew failed to realize they had overflown their air base in a sandstorm. After continuing to fly south into the desert for many hours, the crew bailed out when the plane's fuel was exhausted. The survivors then died in the desert trying to walk to safety. All but one of the crew's remains were recovered between February and August 1960. Parts from Lady Be Good were salvaged for use in other aircraft following its rediscovery, while the majority of the wreckage of the aircraft was removed from the crash site in August 1994 and taken to a Libyan Air Force base for safekeeping.

Circumstances

Mission

In 1943, Lady Be Good was a new B-24D Liberator bomber that had just been assigned to the 514th Bomb Squadron of the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) on March 25. The squadron was part of the 376th Bombardment Group (Heavy) based at Soluch Field in Soluch in Libya. The plane, which had the AAF serial number 41-24301, had the group identification number 64 stencil-painted on its nose. Its given name, Lady Be Good, was hand-painted on the starboard, front side of the forward fuselage.

Lady Be Good's crew were also new, as they had only arrived in Libya a week before on March 18. On April 4 they flew their first mission together, one of twenty-five B-24s assigned to bomb the harbor of Naples in a two-part late afternoon attack. The first wave of twelve B-24s was followed by a second wave of thirteen planes, including Lady Be Good. After the attack, all planes were expected to return to their bases in North Africa.

Operation

Lady Be Good, which was one of the last planes of the second wave to depart, took off from Soluch Field near Benghazi at 2:15 p.m. It joined the formation and continued on to Naples. However, a sandstorm caused eight B-24s to return to Soluch, leaving four aircraft to continue the operation. When Lady Be Good arrived over Naples at 7:50 pm at 25,000 ft (7,600 m), poor visibility obscured the primary target. Two B-24s attacked their secondary target on the return trip while the other two aircraft dumped their bombs into the Mediterranean Sea to reduce weight and save fuel.

Disappearance

Lady Be Good flew alone on its return trip to its home base in Libya. At 12:12 a.m. the pilot, Lt. William Hatton, radioed to say his automatic direction finder was not working and asked for a location of base. The crew apparently overflew their base, failing to see the flares fired to attract their attention. They continued southward over North Africa, deeper into the Sahara Desert, for the next two hours. At 2 a.m., as fuel became critically low, the crew parachuted to the ground. The abandoned Lady Be Good flew a further 26 km (16 mi) before it crash-landed into the Calanscio Sand Sea.

Largely because it was believed that the aircraft had probably crashed at sea, a subsequent search and rescue mission from Soluch Field failed to find any trace of the aircraft or its crew. The disappearance of Lady Be Good became a mystery.

Discovery

Wreckage: 1958

After the crew abandoned the aircraft, it continued flying southward. The mostly intact wreckage and evidence showing that one engine was still operating at the time of impact suggests that the aircraft gradually lost altitude in a very shallow descent and reached the flat, open desert floor and landed on its belly.

The first reported sighting of the crash site was on November 9, 1958, by a British oil exploration team working for British Petroleum (BP) in the northeast of Libya's Kufra District. The team contacted authorities at Wheelus Air Base, but no attempt to examine the aircraft was made as no records existed of any plane believed to have been lost in the area.  However, the location of the wreckage was marked on maps to be used by oil-prospecting teams that were due to set out to explore the Calanscio Sand Sea the next year. 

On February 27, 1959, British oil surveyor Gordon Bowerman and British geologists Donald Sheridan and John Martin spotted the wreckage near 26°42′45.7″N 24°01′27″E, 710 km (440 mi) southeast of Soluch. This followed up the first sighting from the air on May 16, 1958, by the crew of a Silver City Airways Dakota, piloted by Captain Allan Frost, and another flight on June 15. A recovery team made initial trips from Wheelus Air Base to the crash site on May 26, 1959.

Although the plane was broken into two pieces, it was immaculately preserved, with functioning machine guns, a working radio, and some supplies of food and water. A thermos of tea was found to be drinkable. No human remains were found on board the aircraft nor in the surrounding crash site, nor were parachutes found.

Most of the evidence from the wreckage indicated that the men had bailed out. However, the log book of the navigator 2nd Lt Dp [sic] "Deep" Hays, which was still on board, made no mention of the aircraft's movements after the crew commenced their return leg from Naples. Hays had been on his first combat mission.

Crew remains: 1960

In February 1960, the United States Army conducted a formal search of the area for the remains of the crew. Five bodies – those of Hatton, 2nd Lt. Robert F. Toner, Hays, T/S Robert E. LaMotte and S/Sgt Samuel E. Adams – were found on February 11. The team concluded that other bodies were likely buried beneath sand dunes after finding evidence that at least three of the surviving crew members had continued walking northward.

With the news that five bodies had been recovered, the US Air Force and US Army started an expanded search called Operation Climax in May 1960. The joint operation used a USAF C-130 cargo plane and two Army Bell H-13 helicopters. However, it was a British Petroleum exploration crew that found the remains of S/Sgt Guy E. Shelley, on May 12, 1960, 38 km (24 mi) northwest of the recovered five bodies. A US Army helicopter found the body of T/Sgt Harold J. Ripslinger on May 17, 1960, located 42 km (26 mi) northwest of Shelley's body, over 320 km (200 mi) from the crash site, but still 160 km (99 mi) from Soluch airbase. These two bodies were the only ones found during Operation Climax. Another British Petroleum oil exploration crew discovered the remains of 2nd Lt John S. Woravka in August 1960. His body was then recovered by the US Air Force.

The remains of one of the air gunners, S/Sgt Vernon L. Moore, have never been officially found. However, his remains may have been recovered and buried by a desert patrol of the British Army in 1953. As they were unaware that any Allied air crews were missing in the area, the human remains were recorded but then buried without further investigation. [In 1953, a British patrol on a desert-crossing exercise found human remains in the same area where those of Shelley and Ripslinger were later found. These were quickly photographed and buried on the spot. The patrol never asked for an investigation. In 2001, a member of the patrol recalled the incident and photographic forensic investigation of the remains concluded they had likely belonged to a male whose head may have been shaped like Moore's. However, both recovering these remains and making any meaningful identification is highly unlikely.]

Analysis and Conclusions

Subsequent examinations of the remains and personal items showed that eight of the nine airmen managed to parachute safely down to the desert from the aircraft. They then located each other by firing their revolvers and signal flares into the air.

However, one crew member, Woravka (the bombardier) did not rendezvous with the others. The configuration of the parachute found with his body suggested that it did not fully open, and that Woravka died as a result of an overly rapid descent. 

A diary, recovered from the pocket of co-pilot Robert Toner, recorded the crew's suffering on the walk northward. It indicated that none of the men were aware they had been flying over land when they bailed out, or that they were 400 miles (640 km) inland.  It has been speculated that the dark and empty desert floor may have resembled open sea.

The crew members who survived the descent had died while walking northward, because they believed they were fairly close to the Mediterranean coast. As they walked, the group left behind footwear, parachute scraps, Mae West vests and other items as markers to show searchers their path.

The diary also says the group survived for eight days in the desert, with only a single canteen of water to share. After walking 130 km (81 mi) from the crash site, the location of the remains of the five airmen shows they had waited behind while the other three (Guy Shelley, "Rip" Ripslinger and Vernon Moore) set off north, to try to find help. The body of S/Sgt Shelley was found 32 km (20 mi) away while 43 km (27 mi) further on were the remains of T/Sgt Ripslinger.

The official report in the American Graves Registration Service states:

The aircraft flew on a 150 degree course toward Benina Airfield. The craft radioed for a directional reading from the HF/DF station at Benina and received a reading of 330 degrees from Benina. The actions of the pilot in flying 440 miles [710 km] into the desert, however, indicate the navigator probably took a reciprocal reading off the back of the radio directional loop antenna from a position beyond and south of Benina but 'on course'. The pilot flew into the desert, thinking he was still over the Mediterranean and on his way to Benina.

The navigator on the Lady Be Good thought he was flying on a direct path from Naples to Benghazi. But the base's radio direction finder only had a single loop antenna.  As the plane's direction finder could not distinguish between a signal in front or behind the aircraft, there was no way to identify reciprocal readings. The same bearing would be returned whether the plane was heading inbound from the Mediterranean or outbound inland. 

The crew might have survived if they had known their actual location. If they had headed south the same distance they walked north, the group might have reached the oasis of Wadi Zighen. After the crew bailed out Lady Be Good continued flying south for 26 km (16 mi) before coming to land, and there was also a chance that the crew might have found the aircraft's relatively intact wreckage, with its meager water and food supplies. The aircraft's working radio could have been used to call for help. 

Legacy

Parts and Crew Items

After the Lady Be Good was identified, some parts of the plane were returned to the United States for evaluation while the rest of the wreckage remained. In August 1994, the remains of the craft were recovered by a team led by Dr. Fadel Ali Mohamed and taken to a Libyan military base in Tobruk for safekeeping. They are now stored at Jamal Abdelnasser Air Force Base, Libya.

Over the years pieces of the plane were stripped by souvenir hunters. Today, parts can be seen at the National Museum of the United States Air Force. A propeller can be seen in front of the village hall in Lake Linden, the home of Robert E. LaMotte.

The U.S. Army Quartermaster Museum at Fort Gregg-Adams, Virginia has a collection of personal items, such as watches, silk survival maps, and flight clothing from the crew members who were recovered. Several of these items are on display. An altimeter and manifold pressure gauge were salvaged from the plane in 1963 by Airman Second Class Ron Pike and are on display at the March Field Air Museum near Riverside, CA. A Royal Air Force team visited the site in 1968 and hauled away components including an engine (later donated to the US Air Force) for evaluation by the McDonnell Douglas company.

After some parts were salvaged from the Lady Be Good and technically evaluated, they were reused in other planes belonging to the American military. However, some planes that received these spares developed unexpected problems. A C-54, which had several autosyn transmitters from the Lady Be Good installed, had to throw cargo overboard to land safely because of propeller difficulties. A C-47 that received a radio receiver crashed into the Mediterranean. A U.S. Army de Havilland Canada DHC-3 Otter with an armrest from the bomber crashed in the Gulf of Sidra. Only a few traces of the plane washed ashore and one of these was the armrest from the Lady Be Good.

Memorial

A stained-glass window was installed in the chapel at Wheelus Air Base to commemorate Lady Be Good and her crew. As part of the US withdrawal from Wheelus, the window was disassembled, shipped to the National Museum of the United States Air Force, and reassembled there.

Dramatic Portrayals

The episode Ghost Bomber: The Lady Be Good of Armstrong Circle Theater investigated the disappearance of the Lady Be Good. It includes dramatizations of key events and interviews with a pilot who flew on the same mission as the final one for the Lady Be Good and military officials who investigated the incident.

Movies and television shows with fictional events sharing similarities with the fate of 'Lady Be Good include:

"King Nine Will Not Return" is a 1960 episode of The Twilight Zone that told the story of a B-25 Mitchell crew member finding himself alone with the wreckage of his plane in the desert. In the episode, the marker on the grave of a member of the crew is dated "5 April 1943", the day on which Lady Be Good was lost.

The Flight of the Phoenix, a 1964 novel by Elleston Trevor about a group of oil workers who are forced to survive in a desert when their cargo plane crashes. The novel was the subject of a 1965 film and a 2004 film remake of the same name.

Sole Survivor is a 1970 made-for-TV movie about the ghost crew of the Home Run, a B-25 Mitchell medium bomber that crashed in the Libyan desert.

See Also

Bill Lancaster: British aviator William Newton Lancaster was lost in the Sahara desert and died 20 April 1933 while attempting to fly Avro Avian Southern Cross Minor on the England to South Africa route; his remains and his plane wreckage were found 12 February 1962.

Wind, Sand and Stars: a 1939 autobiography by French aviator Antoine de Saint-Exupéry that details his survival following a 1935 plane crash in the Sahara Desert between Benghazi and Cairo.

MM. 23881: an Italian Savoia-Marchetti SM.79 torpedo bomber which suffered a similar fate to Lady be Good in 1941, and was found in the Libyan Desert in 1960.

Tragedy at Kufra: eleven South African Air Force personnel died from thirst and exposure in May 1942 after their flight of three Bristol Blenheims crash landed in the Sahara.

Eastern Air Lines Flight 401: a Lockheed L-1011 that was similarly rumored to be cursed after parts from its remains were used in other aircraft.

 

The ill-fated crew of the Consolidated B-24D "Lady Be Good," from the left: 1Lt. W.J. Hatton, pilot; 2Lt. R.F. Toner, copilot; 2Lt. D.P. Hays, navigator; 2Lt. J.S. Woravka, bombardier; TSgt. H.J. Ripslinger, engineer; TSgt. R.E. LaMotte, radio operator; SSgt. G.E. Shelly, gunner; SSgt. V.L. Moore, gunner; and SSgt. S.E. Adams, gunner.

Libyan location of the Lady Be Good crash site in relation to its airbase of the 376th Bombardment Group.

Nose view of Consolidated B-24D Lady Be Good crash site. The plane made a surprisingly good pilotless belly landing and skidded 700 yards before breaking in half and stopping. 1960. (US Air Force)

 Tail turret view at Consolidated B-24D "Lady Be Good" crash site. 1960. (US Air Force)

Top turret and center fuselage wreckage of the Consolidated B-24D "Lady Be Good." 1960. (US Air Force)

Interview view of the "Lady Be Good" at the waist gunner position. (US Air Force)

Aircraft parts were strewn by the Consolidated B-24D "Lady Be Good" as it skidded to a halt amid the otherwise emptiness of the desert. Note that the three remaining engines (numbers 1,2 and 3) had the propellers feathered. 1960. (US Air Force)

Crew of the "Lady Be Good". (National Museum of the US Air Force)

View of the "Lady Be Good" from the air.

View of the "Lady Be Good" from the rear. Note the C-47 in the background.

Another aerial view of the "Lady Be Good".

B-24 (not the "Lady Be Good") taking off on the 4 April 1943 mission to Naples, Italy.

Another view from the air of the "Lady Be Good" as seen from inside a C-47.

Parachute found during the search for the crew members.

Items abandoned by the crew members on their walk north.

Recovery team members with a survival map and other items found in the desert.

Recovered crew members in "remains pouches" reverently covered by U.S. flags.

Section of map detailing the location of the plane and locations of where the crew members were found.

Side view of the crashed Consolidated B-24D "Lady Be Good." (US Air Force photo)

One of the four propellers and an engine from the "Lady Be Good" are on display in the World War II Gallery at the National Museum of the United States Air Force. The propeller was transferred from the 40th Troop Carrier Squadron. (US Air Force photo)

Items found at the site of the "Lady Be Good" crash are on display in the World War II Gallery at the National Museum of the United States Air Force. (US Air Force photo)

"Lady Be Good" nosewheel and tire on display in the World War II Gallery at the National Museum of the United States Air Force. Items were transferred from Wheelus Air Base, Libya. (US Air Force photo)

The "Lady Be Good" Stained Glass Window from the Wheelus Air Force Base Chapel is now on display at the National Museum of the United States Air Force. (US Air Force photo)

The "Lady Be Good" Stained Glass Window from the Wheelus Air Force Base Chapel is now on display at the National Museum of the United States Air Force. (US Air Force photo)

"Lady Be Good" exhibit in the World War II Gallery at the National Museum of the United States Air Force. (US Air Force photo)

The tail of the "Lady Be Good". (US Air Force)

The tail turret of the "Lady Be Good". (US Air Force)

A prayer service at the location of the bodies of the "Lady Be Good" crew members. (US Air Force)

James W. Backhaus, William G. Woods, and Col. Stebbins Griffith. In the foreground is a U.S> military canteen. (US Air Force)

The end of the trail is suggested mutely by this pair of US military issue shoes found near five bodies in the Libyan desert. The shoes were among many items of US military equipment and personal effects undisturbed in 17 years.

A shoulder harness, a part of the B-24 "Lady Be Good"  aircraft wreckage, with the name of the pilot, is discovered by a Libyan. (US Air Force)

An important clue in determining that five bodies found in the Libyan desert are those of members of the crew of the "Lady Be Good". It is a case containing an undamaged pair of sunglasses of the type issued to US air crew during World War II. The case bears the name, still legible, of 2nd Lt. DP Hays. (US Air Force)

B-24D "Lady be Good" 41-24301, 8th AF, 376th Bomb Group, 514th Bomb Squadron, 1943.

 

Waco CG-4: American Troop / Cargo Glider

The Waco CG-4 was the most widely used American troop/cargo military glider of World War II. It was designated the CG-4A by the United States Army Air Forces, and given the service name Hadrian (after the Roman emperor) by the British.

The glider was designed by the Waco Aircraft Company. Flight testing began in May 1942. More than 13,900 CG-4As were eventually delivered.

Design and Development

The CG-4A was constructed of fabric-covered wood and metal and was crewed by a pilot and copilot. It had two fixed mainwheels and a tailwheel.

The CG-4A could carry 13 troops and their equipment. Cargo loads could be a 1⁄4-ton truck (i.e. a Jeep), a 75 mm howitzer, or a 1⁄4-ton trailer, loaded through the upward-hinged nose section. Douglas C-47 Skytrains were usually used as tow aircraft. A few Curtiss C-46 Commando tugs were used during and after the Operation Plunder crossing of the Rhine in March 1945.

The USAAF CG-4A tow line was 11⁄16 inch (17 mm) nylon, 350 feet (110 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.

In an effort to identify areas where strategic materials could be reduced, a single XCG-4B was built at the Timm Aircraft Corporation using wood for the main structure.

Production

From 1942 to 1945, the Ford Motor Company's "Iron Mountain" plant in Kingsford, Michigan, built 4,190 CG-4A gliders (more than any other company in the nation) at a lower per-unit cost than any other manufacturer.

The 16 companies that were prime contractors for manufacturing the CG-4A were:

Babcock Aircraft Company of DeLand, Florida (60 units at $51,000 each)

Cessna Aircraft Company of Wichita, Kansas (750 units); the entire order was actually subcontracted to Boeing Aircraft Company's new Wichita plant.

Commonwealth Aircraft of Kansas City, Kansas (1,470 units)

Ford Motor Company of Kingsford, Michigan (4,190 units at $14,891 each)

G&A Aircraft of Willow Grove, Pennsylvania (627 units)

General Aircraft Corporation of Astoria, Queens, New York) (1,112 units)

Gibson Refrigerator of Greenville, Michigan (1,078 units)

Laister-Kauffman Corporation of St. Louis, Missouri (310 units)

National Aircraft Corporation of Elwood, Indiana (one unit, at an astronomical $1,741,809)

Northwestern Aeronautical Corporation of Minneapolis, Minnesota (1,510 units)

Pratt-Read of Deep River, Connecticut (956 units)

Ridgefield Manufacturing Company of Ridgefield, New Jersey (156 units)

Robertson Aircraft Corporation of St. Louis, Missouri (170 units)

Timm Aircraft Company of Van Nuys, California (434 units)

Waco Aircraft Company of Troy, Ohio (1,074 [999] units at $19,367 each)

Ward Furniture Company of Fort Smith, Arkansas (7 units)

The factories ran 24-hour shifts to build the gliders. One night-shift worker in the Wicks Aircraft Company factory in Kansas City wrote,

On one side of the huge bricked-in room is a fan running, on the other a cascade of water to keep the air from becoming too saturated with paint. The men man the paint sprayers covering the huge wings of the glider with the Khaki or Blue and finishing it off with that thrilling white star enclosed in a blue circle that is winging its way around the world for victory ... The wings are first covered with a canvas fabric stretched on like wallpaper over plywood then every seam, hold, open place, closed place, and edge is taped down with the all adhesive dope that not only makes the wings airtight, but covers my hands, my slacks, my eyebrows, my hair, and my tools with a fast-drying coat that peels off like nail polish or rubs off with a thinner that burns like Hell.

Type: Military glider

Manufacturer: Waco Aircraft Company

Built by:

Cessna

Ford

Gibson Appliance

Primary users:

United States Army Air Forces

Royal Air Force

Royal Canadian Air Force

United States Navy

Number built: 13,909

First flight: 1942

Variants: Waco CG-15

Operational History

Sedalia Glider Base was originally activated on 6 August 1942. In November 1942 the installation became Sedalia Army Air Field, (after the war would be renamed Whiteman Air Force Base) 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 Commando, and Douglas C-47 Skytrain. The C-46 was not used as a glider tug in combat, however, until Operation Plunder (the crossing of the Rhine) in March 1945.

CG-4As went into operation in July 1943 during the Allied invasion of Sicily. They were flown 450 miles across the Mediterranean from North Africa for the night-time assaults such as Operation Ladbroke. Inexperience and poor conditions contributed to the heavy losses. 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 Forces, 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 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 troopers (seating for 28 or a jeep or an anti-tank gun), and the British General Aircraft Hamilcar could carry 7 tons (enough for a light tank), but the CG-4A could land in smaller spaces. In addition, by using a fairly simple grapple system, an in-flight C-47 equipped with a tail hook and rope braking drum could "pick up" a CG-4A waiting on the ground. The system was used in the 1945 high-elevation rescue of the survivors of the Gremlin Special 1945 crash, in a mountain valley of New Guinea.

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

After World War II ended, most of the remaining CG-4As were declared surplus and almost all were sold. Many were bought for the wood in the large shipping boxes. Others were bought for conversion to towed camping homes with the wing and tail end cut off and being towed by the rear section and others sold for hunting cabins and lake side vacation cabins.

The last known use of the CG-4A was in the early 1950s by the USAF with an Arctic detachment aiding scientific research. The CG-4As were used for getting personnel down to, and up from, floating ice floes, with the glider being towed out, released for landing, and then picked up later by the same type of aircraft, using the hook and line method developed during World War II. The only modification to the CG-4A was the fitting of wide skis in place of the landing gear for landing on the Arctic ice floes.

Variants

XCG-4: Prototypes, two built, plus one stress test article

CG-4A: Main production variant, survivors became G-4A in 1948, 13,903 built by 16 contractors

XCG-4B: One Timm-built CG-4A with a plywood structure

XPG-1: One CG-4A converted with two Franklin 6AC-298-N3 engines by Northwestern

XPG-2: One CG-4A converted with two 175 hp (130 kW) Ranger L-440-1 engines by Ridgefield

XPG-2A: Two articles: XPG-2 engines changed to 200 hp (150 kW) plus one CG-4A converted also with 200 hp (150 kW) engines

PG-2A: Production PG-2A with two 200 hp (150 kW) L-440-7s, redesignated G-2A in 1948, 10 built by Northwestern

XPG-2B: Cancelled variant with two R-775-9 engines

LRW-1: CG-4A transferred to the United States Navy (13 units)

G-2A: PG-2A re-designated in 1948

G-4A: CG-4A re-designated in 1948

G-4C: G-4A with different tow-bar, 35 conversions

Hadrian Mk.I: Royal Air Force designation for the CG-4A, 25 delivered

Hadrian Mk.II: Royal Air Force designation for the CG-4A with equipment changes

Operators

Canada: Royal Canadian Air Force

Czechoslovakia: Czechoslovak Air Force operated 2 Wacos, designated NK-4

United Kingdom:

Army Air Corps

Glider Pilot Regiment

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:

United States Army Air Forces

United States Navy

Accidents and Incidents

1 August 1943: CG-4A-RO 42-78839, built by contractor Robertson Aircraft Corporation, lost its right wing and plummeted to earth immediately after release by a tow airplane over Lambert Field, St. Louis, Missouri, USA. Several thousand spectators had gathered for the first public demonstration of the St. Louis-built glider, which was flown by 2 USAAF crewmen and carried St. Louis mayor William D. Becker, Robertson Aircraft co-founder Maj. William B. Robertson, and 6 other VIP passengers; all 10 occupants perished in the crash. The accident was attributed to the failure of a defective wing strut fitting that had been provided by a subcontractor; the post-crash investigation indicted Robertson Aircraft for lax quality control; several inspectors were relieved of duty.

Surviving Aircraft

42-43809 – On display at the Museum of Army Flying in Middle Wallop, Hampshire.

45-13696 – CG-4A under restoration at the Yanks Air Museum in Chino, California.

45-14647 – Cockpit section on static display at the Pima Air & Space Museum in Tucson, Arizona.

45-15009 – CG-4A on static display at the Air Mobility Command Museum at Dover Air Force Base near Dover, Delaware.

45-15574 – On static display at the Cradle of Aviation Museum in Garden City, New York.

45-15691 – On display at the Silent Wings Museum in Lubbock, Texas.

45-15965 – On display at the Kalamazoo Air Zoo in Portage, Michigan. It is painted as 42–46574.

45-17241 – On static display at the Airborne Museum in Sainte-Mère-Église, Normandy.

45-27948 – CG-4A on static display at the National Museum of the United States Air Force in Dayton, Ohio.

Replica – On display at the Fagen Fighters WWII Museum in Granite Falls, Minnesota.

Replica – On display at The Fighting Falcon Museum in Greenville, Michigan.

Unknown – On display at the Menominee Range Historical Foundation in Iron Mountain, Michigan.

Unknown – CG-4A on display at the National Soaring Museum in Elmira, New York.

Unknown – Cockpit section on display at the Travis Air Force Base Heritage Center in Fairfield, California.

CG-4A on display at the Silent Wings Museum in Lubbock, Texas.

Unknown – CG-4A on display at the Don F. Pratt Memorial Museum at Fort Campbell near Clarksville, Tennessee.

Unknown – CG-4A on static display at the Yorkshire Air Museum in Elvington, Yorkshire.

Unknown – On display at the Assault Glider Trust in Shawbury, Shropshire.

Unknown – On static display at the Airborne & Special Operations Museum in Fayetteville, North Carolina.

Unknown – On static display during restoration at the U.S. Veterans Memorial Museum in Huntsville, Alabama.

Replica - A CG-4 'Hadrian' nose section is on display at the South Yorkshire Aircraft Museum, Doncaster, United Kingdom. The replica was produced for the film Saving Private Ryan.

Specifications (CG-4A)

Crew: two pilots

Capacity: 13 troops, or quarter-ton truck (Jeep) and 4 troopers, or 6 litters and 4,197 pounds (1,904 kg) useful load

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 sq ft (83.6 m2)

Empty weight: 3,900 lb (1,769 kg)

Gross weight: 7,500 lb (3,402 kg)

Maximum takeoff weight: 7,500 lb (3,402 kg)

Maximum take off (Emergency Load): 9,000 pounds (4,100 kg)

Maximum speed:

150 mph (240 km/h, 130 kn) CAS] at 7,500 pounds (3,400 kg)

128 mph (206 km/h) CAS/135 mph (217 km/h) IAS at 9,000 pounds (4,100 kg)

Cruise speed: 73 mph (117 km/h, 63 kn) IAS

Stall speed: 49 mph (79 km/h, 43 kn) with design load 7,500 pounds (3,400 kg)

Never exceed speed: 150 mph (241 km/h, 130 kn) IAS

Maximum glide ratio: 12:1

Wing loading: 8.33 lb/sq ft (40.7 kg/m2)

Rate of sink: About 400 ft/min (2 m/s) at tactical glide speed (IAS 60 mph; 97 km/h)

Landing run: 600–800 feet (180–240 m) for normal three-point landing; "Landing rolls of approximately 2,000 to 3,000 feet (610 to 910 m) are to be expected at the higher emergency gross weights..."

Bibliography

AAF Manual No. 50-17, Pilot Training Manual for the CG-4A Glider. US Government, 1945.

AAF TO NO. 09-40CA-1, Pilot's Flight Operating Instructions for Army Model CG-4A Glider, British Model Hadrian. US Government, 1944.

Andrade, John M. U.S. Military Aircraft Designations and Serials since 1909. Earl Shilton, Leister, UK: Midland Counties Publications, 1979.

Diehl, Alan E., PhD. Silent Knights: Blowing the Whistle on Military Accidents and Their Cover-ups. Dulles, Virginia: Brassey's, Inc., 2002.

Fitzsimons, Bernard, ed. "Waco CG-4A." Illustrated Encyclopedia of 20th Century Weapons and Warfare, Volume 11. London: Phoebus, 1978.

Gero, David B. Military Aviation Disasters: Significant Losses Since 1908. Sparkford, Yoevil, Somerset, UK: Haynes Publishing, 2010.

Masters, Charles J., Glidermen of Neptune: The American D-Day Glider Attack Carbondale, Illinois: Southern Illinois University Press, 1995.

Soukup, Oldřich (1979). "Kluzáky Československého Vojenského Letectva (I.)" [Czechoslavak Military Gliders (I.)]. Letectví a Kosmonautika (in Czech). Vol. 55, no. 18. pp. 693–695.

The 101st Airborne Division was reinforced with twelve glider serials on September 18. Here, Waco gliders are lined up on an English airfield in preparation for the next lift to Holland. 1944.

(U.S. Army Signal Corps)

German troops examine an abandoned Waco, Normandy, June 1944.

(Bundesarchiv Bild 146-2004-0176)

Waco XPG-1 powered glider prototype.

(U.S. Army Air Forces)

Waco XPG-2 powered glider.

(U.S. Army Air Forces)

Waco PG-2A.

(Erection and Maintenance Instructions for Model PG-2A Glider, AN 09-75DA-2, 1946, 2. Provided by the National Museum of the United States Air Force, Dayton, Ohio.)

A British Hadrian.

 A U.S. Army Air Force Waco CG-4A-GN glider (s/n 45-27948) at the National Museum of the United States Air Force, at Dayton, Ohio, 5 May 2006.

(National Museum of the U.S. Air Force photo 060505-F-1234P-005)

Cockpit of a CG-4A at the Silent Wings Museum, 2008.

Waco CG-4A.

Page from manual specifying loads: as well as being able to carry up to 13 airborne troops or 6 litters of wounded men, the CG-4 could also carry such loads as a field kitchen, an anti-tank gun, a weather station, radar or radio equipment, a repair shop, a howitzer, a photographic laboratory, or a quarter-ton truck.

(Pilot Training Manual for the CG-4A Glider)

A U.S. Army Air Force Waco CG-4A glider.

(USAAF)

A U.S. Army Air Force Waco CG-4A glider on display in October 1944.
Original description: "CG-4A glider used to carry utility and service units. It is also a standard troop carrier glider which has been used in every invasion from Sicily through Holland. It carries about 3,700 pounds or 15 fully equipped men. Note efficient assembly of service units in this picture."

(United States Library of Congress's Prints and Photographs division
under the digital ID fsa.8d36830)

 

The HQ Divisional Artillery of the 101st Airborne Division troops that landed behind German lines in Holland examine what is left of one of the gliders that "cracked up." September 1944.

(US Army Signal Corps / US Army Military History Institute / Photo Courtesy of U.S. Army)

 C-47 of 62d Troop Carrier Squadron, the 314th Troop Carrier Group, and Waco gliders, at RAF Saltby, England. 1944.

(USAAF)

CG-4a Waco Glider of the 315th Troop Carrier Group - RAF Aldermaston, 1943.

(USAAF)

Members of the 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment prepare a weapon for stowage aboard a glider. April 1943.

(US Army)

CG4A Glider, 61st Troop Carrier Group.

(USAAF)

OPERATION 'MARKET GARDEN' (THE BATTLE FOR ARNHEM): 17 - 25 SEPTEMBER 1944. An aerial view of a C-47 Dakota as it tows off a CG-4A Waco glider from a British airfield en route for Holland. 17 Sep 1944.

(Imperial War Museum EA37974)

 U.S. Army Air Forces Douglas C-47'S tow planes and Waco CG-4 gliders of the 52nd Troop Carrier Wing at Ponte Olivo Airfield, Sicily (Italy), 25 October 1943.

(National Archives and Records Administration, cataloged under the National Archives Identifier (NAID) 204919613)

Aerial view of some of the 50 Waco GC-4A gliders after their landing near Bastogne, Belgium, 27 December 1944. The gliders were towed by 37 Douglas C-47 Skytrains from the 439th Troop Carrier Group and 13 from the 440th TCG from Châteaudun airfield (A-39), France.

(National Archives and Records Administration, cataloged under the National Archives Identifier (NAID) 148728180)

British Airspeed Horsa and U.S. Waco CG-4 gliders on a field in Germany during "Operation Varsity", 24 March 1945.

(National Archives and Records Administration, cataloged under the National Archives Identifier (NAID) 204899674)

 Hadrian Mark I, FR579 “Voo Doo”, arriving at Prestwick after being towed, in a series of stages, across the Atlantic from Canada. FR579 served with No. 21 Heavy Glider Conversion Unit and the Airborne Forces Experimental Establishment.

(Imperial War Museum CH10470)

 Hadrian Mark I, probably FR557, under tow at the Airborne Forces Experimental Establishment, Sherburn-in-Elmet, Yorkshire.

(Imperial War Museum E(MOS)1235)

CG-4A Waco Gliders landing at the unfinished Beuzeville Airfield (A-6), France, 1944.

(USAAF)

Brig. Gen. Anthony C. McAuliffe, artillery commander of the 101st Airborne Division, gives his various glider pilots last-minute instructions in England on Sept. 18, 1944, before the take-off on D-Day plus 1.

(USAF)

Translation of original German caption: "Shot-down gliders in the Dutch combat zone. The airborne troops dropped by the enemy in the Dutch combat zone often suffered heavy losses from German ground defenses even before they landed. Countless gliders were destroyed by German fighters and anti-aircraft artillery, some before reaching the ground, some immediately after landing. The crews either died in combat or were captured." Press photo, war correspondent Linden (Scherl Picture Service), September 27, 1944 [date of issue]"
Arnhem, Sep 1944.

(Bundesarchiv Bild 183-J27727)

U.S. Army Air Forces Douglas C-47A Skytrain (43-15174 in front) from the 88th Troop Carrier Squadron, 438th Troop Carrier Group, 53rd Troop Carrier Wing, 9th Troop Carrier Command, tow Waco CG-4A gliders during the invasion of France in June 1944.

On 6 June 1944, the squadron dropped the 101st Airborne Division's 502d Parachute Infantry Regiment soon after midnight in the area northwest of Carentan, France. Glider-borne reinforcement missions followed, carrying weapons, ammunition, rations, and other supplies.

The Douglas C-47B-15-DK, s/n 43-49507 (c/n 26768), is today on display at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force, painted as 43-15174 of the 88th TCS. 43-49507 was the last C-47 in USAF service and was retired at the museum on 30 June 1975 with a total of 20,821 hours flying time.

(National Museum of the U.S. Air Force photo 050606-F-1234P-039)

 

 U.S. Army Air Force Douglas C-47 Skytrain transports and Waco CG-4A gliders lined up for "Operation Varsity" on 24 March 1945.

(U.S. Air Force photo in the official USAF publication The Army Air Forces in World War II Volume 3 - Europe: Argument to V-E Day, p. 745)

 C-47s with CG-4 Waco Gliders just before D-Day, 1944, 316th Troop Carrier Group, 37th TCS.

(United States Army Air Force from National Archives)

CG-4A on display at the Silent Wings Museum. 22 Nov 2022.

(Sclemmons)

 A wrecked U.S. Army Air Force Waco CG-4A glider (s/n 42-73623) in Sicily in July 1943.

(U.S. Air Force photo in the official USAF publication The Army Air Forces in World War II Volume 2 - Europe: Torch to Pointblank, p. 424)

CG-4a Gliders of the 442d Troop Carrier Group at Chilbolton airfield just before Operation Market Garden. Sep 1944.

(USAAF)

Cockpit of a WWII Waco CG-4 attack glider from the collection of the Fagen Fighters WWII Museum in Granite Falls, Minnesota. 10 Nov 2018.

(Aaron Headly)

Invasion drawing by Captain Creekmore from D-day invasion of France.

(Raymond Creekmore)

C-47 and CG-4 Glider, Dalhart Army Airfield. 1943.

(USAAF)

A U.S. Army Air Forces Douglas C-47 of the 437th Troop Carrier Group tows two Waco CG-4A gliders at advanced landing ground A-58 Coulommiers, 24 March 1945.

(National Archives and Records Administration, cataloged under the National Archives Identifier (NAID) 17471)

Glider troops after landing near Wesel, Germany, 24 March 1945.

(US Army)

THE CAMPAIGN IN SICILY 1943. Planning and Preparations January - July 1943: A jeep is loaded onto an American Waco CG-4A glider. July 1943.

Imperial War Museum CNA1662)

Airborne troops exiting CG-4 glider, Laurinburg-Maxton Army Air Base, 1942.

(USAAF)

C-47s towing CG-4A gliders, Laurinburg-Maxton Army Air Base, 1942.

(USAAF)

 Laurinburg-Maxton Army Air Base, CG-4A glider landing, 1942.

(USAAF)

Laurinburg-Maxton Army Air Base, CG-4A glider ready for snatch pickup by a C-47, 1942.

(USAAF)

Laurinburg-Maxton Army Air Base CG-4A glider taking off after snatch pickup, 1942.

(USAAF)

Laurinburg-Maxton Army Air Base, Jeep coming out of front cargo door, 1942.

(USAAF)

Laurinburg-Maxton Army Air Base, Jeep coming out of front cargo door, 1942.

(USAAF)

Laurinburg-Maxton Army Air Base, unloading artillery from CG-4A glider, 1942.

(USAAF)

Laurinburg-Maxton Army Air Base, unloading tractor from CG-4A glider, 1942.

(USAAF)

Douglas C-47s and CG-4A Waco Gliders, of the 436th Troop Carrier Group, lined up on the runway at Membury Airfield, England.

(USAAF)

Army engineers prepare to haul a glider off the Myitkyina airfield. 17 May 1944.

(Signal Corps SC 190519)

Just before the take-off for Holland, where they landed Sunday afternoon, 17 September, 1944, these gliders are lined up at an airport somewhere in England.

(Signal Corps SC 195697)

Members of an Airborne unit load a jeep into the "mouth" of a glider in preparation for the airborne invasion of Holland which was successfully launched from airports "somewhere" in England. 17 September 1944.

(Signal Corps SC 195698)

Lined up with hatches open to receive their cargo, these gliders are part of the 82nd Airborne Div, which invaded Holland from Cottesmore Airdrome, England. 17 September 1944.

(Signal Corps SC 195699)

Yanks of an airborne unit close the cargo loading hatch of a glider preparatory to the takeoff from England for the invasion of Holland. 17 September 1944.

(Signal Corps SC 195700)

Seated in the shade cast by the tail of a glider, two French women chat with U. S. Army MPs as they await questioning by an Army officer. June 19, 1944..

(Signal Corps)

 A Sherman flail tank supports infantry of the 2nd Glasgow Highlanders at the start of Operation 'Veritable', 8 February 1945. In the background are American gliders which landed during Operation 'Market Garden' in September 1944.

(Imperial War Museum BU1693)

 The Waco Hadrian glider 'Voo-Doo' the first Hadrian glider to be towed across the Atlantic being unloaded at Prestwick, 28 June 1943.

(Imperial War Museum TR1159)

Waco CG-4A glider at Twenty-nine Palms Air Academy, 1942.

(US Army)

The U.S. Army Air Forces 52nd Troop Carrier Wing drops paratroopers and releases Waco GC-4 gliders during maneuvers at Ponte Olivo airfield, Sicily (Italy), in 1943.

(National Archives and Records Administration, cataloged under the National Archives Identifier (NAID) 204919381)

The U.S. Army Air Forces Waco CG-4A glider with Lt. Suella Bernard in the right-hand seat of the cockpit just as the glider is being snatched by a C-47, circa 1944-45.

(National Museum of the U.S. Air Force photo 090903-F-1234S-017)

Glider used to carry utility and service units. Shown at demonstration of equipment held by United States Army Air Forces. Cargo space is large enough to hold a jeep and six men or a 75mm pack Howitzer, with crew. Oct 1944

(Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, Farm Security Administration - Office of War Information Photograph Collection, reproduction number LC-USW3-055713-E)

Original caption: "Troops of a glider field artillery battalion enter their glider in smart, snappy style, ready to take off for invasion maneuvers."

(U.S. Army Signal Corps)

Original caption: "U.S. Airborne Infantry troops loading a transport glider (Waco CG-4) which will be used in maneuvers in the southwestern United States." 1942.

(United States Library of Congress's Prints and Photographs division under the digital ID fsa.8e00221)

U.S. Army Air Forces Waco CG-4A gliders at advanced landing ground A-58 Coulommiers, 21 March 1945. The 437th Troop Carrier Group was based at the airfield at that time.

(National Archives and Records Administration, cataloged under the National Archives Identifier (NAID) 17471)

 Waco CG-4A ’42-43809’ was built by Gliders & Airplanes of Willow Grove, Pennsylvania in early 1943. On 9th July 1943 it was one of 136 CG-4s used during Operation ‘Ladbroke’, a glider landing of the British 1st Airlanding Brigade at Syracuse, Sicily. ‘Ladbroke’ was the first Allied use of significant number of gliders and was in support of the overall Allied invasion of the island, Operation ‘Husky’. Tragically, 65 gliders were released early by their towing aircraft and some 252 soldiers drowned when the gliders had to ditch in the sea. The forces that did successfully make landfall held the Ponte Grand Bridge, the main objective, until after the time that they should have been relieved, but eventually had to surrender to Italian forces.

This exhibit is based around an original CG-4 frame which joined the collection, from France, in 1985. It seems unlikely that the identity is genuine for this airframe, but she is an impressive exhibit representing a significant operation. She has been allocated the British Aircraft Preservation Council identity BAPC185. Army Flying Museum Middle Wallop, Hampshire, UK. 21 Aug 2020.

(Alan Wilson)

View of the front of the same CG-4A glider as in the above photo.

(Alan Wilson)

 Waco CG-4A.

C-47 takes off towing a Waco CG-4A glider.

Pilot and co-pilot in the cockpit of a Waco C G-4A glider.

A Waco CG-4A glider flips on its nose while landing during Operation Dragoon, the invasion of southern France.

A Waco CG-4A glider flown by the 1st Air Commando, is being used by OSS Detachment 101 in Burma in 1944.

Waco CG-4A in flight.

Waco CG-4A gliders lining up on an airstrip in Sicily, Italy, August 1943.

C-47 Skytrain aircraft towing two CG-4A gliders during a training exercise.

View from cockpit of a CG-4A glider as it was towed by a C-47 Skytrain aircraft, 1944

A CG-4A cargo glider of the 439th Troop Carrier Group takes off from air base A-39 Châteaudun, France. 27 December 1944.

Service Command mechanics attach a wing to one of the gliders at Crookham Common, England.

CG-4A glider assembly yard.

CG-4A gliders in a glider assembly yard.

Preparing CG-4A wings for attachment to the fuselage.

Glider mechanic working on a CG-4A glider interior at a glider assembly yard.

Assembling the tail of a CG-4A glider at a glider assembly yard.

Attaching the tail units to a CG-4A glider at a glider assembly yard.

The cockpit of a CG-4A glider.

CG-4A fuselages ready for wings and tail units at a glider assembly yard.

CG-4A gliders assembled at a glider assembly yard and ready for service.

CG-4A glider fuselage being readied at a glider assembly yard.

Attaching the main wheels to the fuselage of a CG-4A glider at a glider assembly yard.

A C-47 tows two CG-4A gliders to their new home after being assembled at a glider assembly yard.

Dozens of CG-4A gliders, ready for service, awaiting tows to their new home with a glider unit.

Two CG-4A gliders ready to be towed by a C-47 to their new home with a glider unit after being assembled at a glider assembly yard.

CG-4A Glider above Columbus, Indiana, 1945.

Pilot at the controls of a CG-4A glider.

Co-pilot of the same CG-4A glider as in the previous photo.

View from the cockpit of a CG-4A glider under tow by a C-47. 1943.

Used effectively in Burma. After unloading equipment loaded up with stretcher and walking wounded and then snatched out. Returned to Hospital in about two hours as opposed to two months by ambulance.

Glider at rest is being snatched airborne by C-47, a picture of the pick-up of the first glider to be recovered from the Normandy landings. It was taken on 23 June 1944 as the glider was being snatched from a field just southeast of St. Mere Eglise, by 1st Lt. Gerald "Bud" Berry, 91st Troop Carrier Squadron, 439th Troop Carrier Group.

C-47 about to “snatch” a fully-loaded CG-4A glider.

This is a close up of the hook mechanism of the CG-4A glider from the backside. The back of the instrument panel is also visible. Some installations had the hook mechanism  mounted at the top of the windshield.

Glider tow release mechanism.

Waco CG-4A glider in flight.

Robertson Aircraft Company in St. Louis was contracting to build Waco CG-4A-RO gliders under license. Several VIPs were getting a demonstration ride on 1 August 1943. Among the passengers was the Mayor of St. Louis, William D. Becker. Mayor Becker was an experienced pilot himself. All ten souls aboard were killed when a wing separated from their glider shortly after it dropped off tow from a C-47 at 2,000 feet over Lambert Field.  The photo shows the glider with left wing missing, pointed almost straight down. Robertson had subcontracted with a local casket maker for some of the parts, and the investigation showed they had used substandard materials for the critical wing attachment.

C-47 tow planes and Waco CG-4A gliders over the mountains of Burma.

Looking towards the cockpit inside a CG-4A glider.

“General George,” CG-4A being unloaded, 1st Air Commando Group.

A jeep exits a CG-4A glider.

Loading a jeep into a CG-4A glider by lifting the hinged pilot’s compartment.

Landing at night in the pitch-black Burmese jungle caused these two CG-4A gliders to crash into each other. Many were killed in the landings on the first night.

CG-4A and Horsa gliders littering Normandy fields amongst the hedgerows, France. June 1944.

Waco CG-4 with 101st Airborne glidermen. Readying themselves for the always nerve-wracking flight in a CG-4A glider, men of the 101st Airborne Division join in a domestic training operation. This illustration gives an idea of the Waco’s tubular steel and canvas construction (including the hinged nose section, forward), and furnishes a fine glimpse of standard American infantry small arms in the hands of the glidermen. Note BAR, M1 Garand, Thompson M1A1, M1A1 Bazooka, Springfield 1903. Circa early 1944.

Glider pilot Charlie Rex (on right) and the Glider Engineering section of the 315th Troop Carrier Group posing in front of CG-4A glider “Hiya Honey.” 1943.

CG-4A gliders land after being towed to the coast of southern France by Douglas C-47 transports of the Twelfth Air Force Troop Carrier Air Division, on the invasion's D-Day. Dust can be seen as the gliders land somewhere between Cannes and Toulon. 15 August 1944.

CG-4A glider packing cases in a glider assembly yard.

Atterbury Army Air Field. A C-47 is taking off but not yet airborne, while the CG-4A glider it is towing is already in the air, 1945.

USAAF metal Glider Pilot Wings.

Glider Infantry Badge.

USAAF cloth glider pilot wings.

USAAF Troop Carrier Command demonstrating loading wounded men onto a CG-4A glider, Roosevelt Field, Long Island, New York. 24 Mar 1945. Note Dodge WC54 ambulance.

CG-4A Waco glider of the 315th Troop Carrier Group, RAF Aldermaston, 1943.

C-47 of the 62nd Troop Carrier Squadron, 314th Troop Carrier Group, and Waco CG-4A gliders, at RAF Saltby, England.

C-47 Skytrain aircraft towing CG-4A glider off an Algerian airstrip. 1943.

A line of Waco CG-4A gliders.

Waco CG-4A glider in flight.

A CG-4A glider coming in for a test landing with a 10-foot nylon drag parachute serving as a giant air brake. Parachutes enabled gliders to land more quickly on small fields. They were used extensively during landings in Europe. This test glider is also equipped with a Griswold Nose.

CG-4A gliders of the 313th Troop Carrier Group  after landing during the Market Garden operation, Holland. 23 September 1944.

CG-4A gliders and Douglas C-47s of the Ninth Troop Carrier Command lined up along the runway await take off time at Greenham Common air base in England prior to taking part in the invasion of France. 6 June 1944.

Still from movie footage of a CG-4A glider landing at Son, Holland. Operation Market Garden. September 1944.

Ford-built CG-4A glider sitting in a pasture, Normandy, France. June 1944.

C-47 Skytrain aircraft of 315th Troop Carrier Group dropping 41 sticks of 1st Polish Airborne Brigade into Graves, Netherlands. 23 September 1944. Note CG-4A gliders already on the ground.

Cletrac tractor pulling a CG-4A fuselage out of its packing case at a glider assembly yard.

Working on the fuselage of a CG-4A glider at a glider assembly yard.

Waco CG-4A glider cockpit interior.

This CG-4A glider of the USAAF Troop Carrier Command from Atterbury Army Air Field didn't quite make it back and landed in Perry Doup's farm field at the corner of the base in 1945. It was "snatched" out of the field by a C-47 tow plane.

CG-4A glider coming in to land with spoilers on.

CG-4A glider on long tow as seen from  another glider.

C-47 with a double tow of CG-4A gliders out of Atterbury Army Air Field.

A double tow line up of CG-4A gliders on the field at Atterbury Army Air Field.

Waco CG-4A glider of the 9th Troop Carrier Command comes in for a landing at Remagen, Germany, to pick up wounded personnel. 21 May 1945.

U.S. Army Air Forces Waco CG-4A glider with Lt. Suella Bernard in the right-hand seat of the cockpit just as the glider is being snatched by a C-47.

Glider pick-up ground station unit.

Glider pick-up unit installed in a Douglas C-47.

Waco CG-4A glider pickup by Douglas C-47.

A Douglas C-47 of the 9th Troop Carrier Command wings its way at low level toward the upright standards where it will snatch up the nylon tow rope attached to the CG-4A glider, left, during glider snatch pickup after operations in Wesel, Germany. 17 April 1945.

The snatch is made!

A CG-4A glider is about to leave the ground in tow of a Douglas C-47 of the Ninth Troop Carrier Command, during a snatch pickup at a glider marshaling area in Wesel, Germany. Note the tractor towing another glider into position for another snatch pickup. 17 April 1945.

A CG-4A glider of the Ninth Troop Carrier Command loaded with injured soldiers, takes off from a field at Remagen, Germany. 22 March 1945.

CG-4A taking off after snatch pickup, Laurinburg-Maxton Army Air Base. 1942.

A CG-4A glider and C-47 tow plane will deliver its wounded in a matter of minutes rather than the usual days by truck.

Glider Reclamation: Two weeks' time was all that the engineers of the 82nd Service Group, Ninth Troop Carrier Command, required to place 60 percent of the 300 gliders in flyable condition after the Rees-Wesel airborne invasion. Shown here is a small group that has been reclaimed through snatch pickup methods somewhere in Germany. 1 Spring 1945.

CG-4A glider production in Kingsford’s Ford Motor Company Plant.

CG-4A glider on exhibit at the Ford Motor Company Plant in Kingsford for the Army-Navy “E” Award, presented on 24 June 1944.

Curious Dutch civilians check out a CG-4A glider after landing, Operation Market Garden. September 1944.

Unloading a 57mm anti-tank gun from a CG-4A glider.

Loading a trailer into a CG-4A glider.

Waco CG-4A glider in D-Day invasion stripes. Note the unusual placement of the stripes, with the leading white stripe on the fuselage is wrapped around the fuselage insignia, obliterating the white stripe on the right side of the insignia.

CG-4A glider with Troop Carrier Command insignia on nose.

CG-4A in aluminum doped finish with Troop Carrier Command insignia on nose.

Inside view of the front fuselage of a Waco CG-4 glider.

Inside view of the rear fuselage of a Waco CG-4 glider.

Waco CG-4A glider.

Waco CG-4A.

Waco CG-4A.

Waco CG-4A component breakdown.

Waco CG-4A cockpit and instrument panel.

Waco CG-4A useful load installation.

Waco CG-4A modification and reinforcement of windshield.

Waco CG-4A pre-flight inspection manual.

Waco CG-4A pre-flight inspection manual page.

Waco CG-4A pre-flight inspection manual page.

Waco CG-4A pre-flight inspection manual page.

Waco CG-4A pre-flight inspection manual page.

Waco CG-4A interphone.

U.S. glider pilots who ferried assault paratroopers to their D-Day destinations in Normandy are picked up at the beachhead for return to England.

M1 75mm Pack Howitzer being loaded into a Waco CG-4A glider during training in the U.S.

Lockheed C-60 Lodestars towing Waco CG-4A gliders over Texas.

Operation MANNA was one of the Regiment's smaller achievements and was undertaken by members of the Independent Squadron. In brief, its aim was to land troops and equipment at Megara to assist in the liberation and occupation of Athens. On this day, six CG-4As (Hadrians), four of them carrying bulldozers, landed successfully. The following day, a further thirty-four CG-4As did the same with more troops and jeeps. There were no casualties but some interesting experiences. 13/14 October 1944.

Douglas C-47s and Waco CG-4A gliders of the 8th Troop Carrier Squadron, 62nd Troop Carrier Group, 51st Troop Carrier Wing at Galera Airfield, Italy on 12 August 1944, preparing for Operation Dragoon. This operation consisted of the initial paradrop codenamed Mission Albatross followed by the glider-born landings codenamed Mission Dove and reinforcement drops in Mission Bluebird, and Mission Canary. The 8th TCS insignia on the nearest Skytrain. The 51st TCW based around Rome carried the 2nd Parachute Brigade's first lift except for the 1st Independent Parachute Platoon, who were carried by with the 9th Troop Carrier Command Pathfinder Unit out of Marcigliana Airfield. The 64th TCG at Ciampino Airfield transported the 4th Parachute Battalion and 5th Battalion except for the Support Company Headquarters and "B" Company, who were carried by the 62nd TCG at Galera Airfield along with the 6th Parachute Battalion. Split between these two airfields were Brigade Headquarters, the 2nd Parachute Squadron, and a detachment from the Provost Section.

Waco CG-4A glider being crated for shipment.

Waco CG-4A glider being crated for shipment.

Waco CG-4A glider being crated for shipment.

Waco CG-4A glider in Pittsburgh during World War II. Heinz employees supplied the wings.

Waco CG-4A glider being crated for shipment.

Waco CG-4A glider being crated for shipment. The CG-4A broke down into tail section, main cabin section, cockpit section, inner wing panels, outer wing panels. There were 15,000 board feet of lumber in the five crates a CG-4A came in.

Waco CG-4A glider being crated for shipment.

Waco CG-4A glider being crated for shipment.

Waco CG-4A glider being crated for shipment.

 CG-4A Troop Glider being recovered at Wesel, Germany, 1 April 1945.

Waco CG-4A taking off.

Refueling C-47 "Mary Lou".

Attaching tow rope to C-47.

 82nd Airborne Division loading Jeeps into Waco CG-4A gliders. The box in the left Jeep is a SCR-625-C mine detector and a paratrooper bicycle is in the right Jeep, September 1944.

Kairouan aerial view. Note tents and glider dispersal, landing field upper left.

Waco CG-4A setup for transport of wounded on litters. The glider would be loaded and "snatched" by a C-47.

Note the non-standard national marking on the fuselage. The bars were added when the marking was changed and changes were hastily made and sometimes not to official specifications.

From left to right, they are Mayor of St. Louis, William D. Becker, Thomas Dysart (President, St. Louis Chamber of Commerce), Judge Henry Mueller, Lieut. Colonel Paul Hazelton, and Max Doyne (Director of Public Utilities). These men, and five others - including William B. Robertson, the founder of St. Louis-based Robertson Aircraft Corporation (RAC) (and the builders of the WACO CG-4A troop transport glider pictured), are about to plunge to their deaths during a public demonstration flight. This photo was taken on August 1, 1943, at Lambert Airport (STL / KSTL) in St. Louis.