Unusual aircraft have been used through-out history, both in
times of war and in times of peace. One of the more interesting of these
aircraft is the glider, more specifically the CG-4A Waco and DFS-230. Although
both of these were used during World War 2 they were not, however, on the same
side.
DFS-230
Under provisions of the Treaty of Versailles, Germany was
forced to reduce its land army and was prohibited from having an air force.
Innovative as always, the Germans designed and built gliders and glider clubs
started all over the country. In 1933, when the Nazis came to power, the men
who were trained in gliders helped to form the core of the new German
air-force, the Luftwaffe. The first DFS-230 made its maiden flight early in
1937.
The structural design of the DFS-230 was extremely
conventional. The wings are made entirely of wood and have a span of 72 feet.
The long-span ailerons with inset tabs were fabric covered and the wing was
braced to the fuselage at quarter-span by light struts. The fuselage is of
tubular steel construction and the nose is hinged. From nose to tail the glider
measures 38 feet and each end is fitted with a door for rapid exit.
Inside the glider, there is a single line of seats, six of
which face forward and four backward. The four seats at the back can be removed
to provide more space for freight.
The DFS-230 is built to carry 10 equipped troops (including
the pilot) as well as another 270kg. Empty, the glider weighs in at 770kg but
when it is loaded up it weighs 2040kg or more. With a normal load, the DFS-230
has a glide ratio 18. Due to having to keep the weight to a minimum, the
DFS-230 has only the most basic instruments. These are phosphorescent and
include air speed indicator, altimeter, rate-of-climb indicator and a compass.
Inside the nose of the glider there is a 24-volt storage battery to operate
navigation lights, cabin lights and also the landing light, which is under the
port wing.
The DFS-230 was generally towed by Junkers 52 (three engine
transports) and if the Ju-52 had extra fuel then it could tow the glider for
over 1600km! When towing the glider varying lengths of rope are used awarding
to the air-field space available. The glider handles much better with a longer
tow rope. Gliding distances after release from the tow plane are variable and
depend on factors such as wind speed, altitude of release, direction of wind
relative to line of flight, navigation errors and evasive action. The DFS-230
requires only a small landing area and if the skid is wrapped with barbed wire
or fitted with arresting hooks, then landing in an even smaller area is doable.
The DFS-230 reaches a maximum gliding speed of 161km/h at 300m and has a free
glide sink rate of 1.2m/s.
CG-4A WACO
Dreadfully ugly but very efficient is the way the CG-4A Waco
glider has been described. It was designed, built and manufactured during World
War 2 by the Allies. This incredibly sturdy and reliable aircraft was a cargo
delivery container that was built to carry the tools of war where today the
helicopter would go. It was also America’s primary combat glider. After seeing
how effectively the Germans used gliders (chiefly the DFS – 230) at the
beginning of World War 2, the Allies got to work developing and producing their
own army of gliders. They discovered that the CG- 4A was more reliable and
hardy than other gliders and so lost no time in mass producing this model. What
the CG-4A lacked in grace and poise, it made up for in sheer mass numbers!
The fuselage is a big tubing box with the nose slightly
blunted and extremely large Hershey bar wings attached. The wings have a
fantastic span of 83ft8in and they are made entirely of wood. The spars are
boxes that have laminated spar caps as well as plywood faces. These spars are
joined 23 feet out from the fuselage while the inner sections are braced for
torsion by a pair of strong streamlined struts. These struts are constructed
from round tubes with aluminum ribs on the front and back. After this they are
covered with fabric. The wheels and brakes are just about identical to those of
a T-6, although the CG-4A’s tires are bigger. The brakes and spoilers are
hydraulic with the controls being of the Armstrong variety.
Empty, the CG-4A weighs in at 1515kg and the gross weight is
officially listed as 3401kg or more.
A Gooney Bird (DC – 3) was used to tow the glider and the
towing speed was 193km/h, with the normal stall being 80.5km/h (which didn’t
mean a thing if the glider was overloaded!). With a normal load, the CG-4A has
a glide ratio of around 12:1. The CG-4A can carry 13 men with their combat
equipment or a 75mm howitzer that is attached to a Jeep, or else a Jeep pulling
a trailer load of ammunition. There is a strong cable that runs from the top of
the hinged nose section all the way down to the top of the fuselage turns
through a pulley and is then attached to the back of the howitzer or Jeep. The
minute that the glider touches down, a latch is tripped on the nose section so
that, if the load breaks free and tries to exit the front of the craft, its
movement forward will yank the nose and pilots up and out of harm’s way. Thus
preventing them from getting unceremoniously squashed!
Due to its simple design, companies with no previous
manufacturing experience were able to construct the airframe of the CG-4A. Nor
did any one company have the contract of constructing the whole craft. The
prime contractor would do the fuselages and steel work and all the wood work
would be given to those with expertise in wood, most notably furniture manufacturers.
All the parts would then come in from the different subcontractors and be
assembled at the main plant.
Unfortunately, the story has a sad ending. At the end of the
war, the fate of the CG-4A was decided: there wasn’t a single possible civilian
use for the glider so it was gotten rid of as quickly as possible. There
weren’t even enough instruments inside the glider that were worth saving. The
only thing that made them valuable was the military method of packing them for
shipment. The glider broke down for packing in five gigantic crates. In typical
military style, these crates weren’t just boxes but used the highest grade pine
and fir that was available. The crates used so much lumber it was said they
could be used to build a small house! And it was what made them worth the money
which bidders paid for the complete gliders. They would drag the crates out to
the farm, push the glider out into the trees after burning the wings, and use
the boxes for the lumber.
Long before the Korean War started the CG-4A was almost
entirely extinct. It was barely a memory, except to those who flew it.
Combat History
The CG-4A went into operation in July 1943 during the Allied
invasion in Sicily. They were also used in the American airborne landing in
Normandy on 6 June 1944, as well as in other important airborne operations
throughout Europe and in the China-Burma-India Theater.
The DFS-230 was first used on 10 May 1940 in the attack on
Fort Eben Emael in Belgium. Subsequently, these gliders were used in Greece on
April 26, 1941 and in Crete on May 20, 1941. However, after suffering heavy
casualties in the battle at Crete, the gliders were never used on such a
massive scale again.
The DFS-230 and the CG-4A may be quite different in the way
they are built and in their general characteristics, but in their crew they
were very similar. No matter for which side they were flying, glider riders, as
they were called, all had the same life expectancy in combat -17 seconds.
A poster designed by the glider troops that began circulating
around the barracks explained their plight: “Join the Glider Troops! No Jump
Pay. No Flight Pay. But Never A Dull Moment!”
