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The Soviet Union built the world's first military gliders starting in 1932, including the 16-seat Grokhovski G63, though no glider was built in quantity until World War II. During the war, there were only two light gliders built in series: Antonov A-7 and Gribovski G-11 – about 1,000 altogether.
The Ju 52 towed the glider using a 40 metres (131 ft) cable or, in bad weather, a much shorter rigid bar connected by an articulated joint to the tow aircraft. The DFS-230 had the highest glide ratio (8:1) of any World War 2 military glider other than the Antonov A-7 .
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, [2] 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.
Baynes Bat, (1943) experimental glider for testing design of a tank carrying glider; General Aircraft Hamilcar, (1942) 7 t (6.9 long tons) of cargo and 2 crew. 412 built. General Aircraft Hamilcar Mk. X, Motorised version with 2x Bristol Mercury 31 of 965 hp. 22 examples converted
Plane towing was more difficult, and how glider pilots most often launched in battle. An engined plane would tow the glider and circle around until they reached a proper altitude, up to 20,000 feet.
This category is for aircraft designed to tow gliders, or modified to do so. Pages in category "Glider tugs" The following 54 pages are in this category, out of 54 total.
The Kokusai Ku-8-II (国際 ク8 四式特殊輸送機, Kokusai ku 8 yonshiki tokushū yusōki) (Kokusai Army Type 4 Special Transport Glider [1]) was a Japanese military glider used during the Second World War. They were usually towed by Mitsubishi G3M or Mitsubishi Ki-21 aircraft.
The Messerschmitt Me 321 Gigant was a large German cargo glider developed and used during World War II.Intended to support large-scale invasions, the Me 321 had very limited use due to the low availability of suitable tug aircraft, high vulnerability whilst in flight, and its difficult ground handling, both at base and at destination landing sites.