Air Power

WACO CG-4A "HADRIAN"

The CG-4A was the most widely used U.S. troop/cargo glider of WW II. Flight testing began in 1942 and eventually more than 12,000 CG-4As were procured. Fifteen companies manufactured CG-4As, with 1,074 built by the Waco Aircraft Company of Troy, Ohio.

The CG-4A was constructed of fabric-covered wood and metal and was crewed by a pilot and copilot. It could carry 13 troops and their equipment or either a jeep, a quarter-ton truck, or a 75mm howitzer loaded through the upward-hinged nose section. C-46s and C-47s usually were used as tow aircraft.

CG-4As went into operation in July 1943 during the Allied invasion of Sicily. They participated in the D-Day assault on France on June 6, 1944, and in other important airborne operations in Europe and in the China-Burma-India Theater. Until late in the war, gliders were generally considered expendable in combat and were abandoned or destroyed after landing.

SPECIFICATIONS
Span: 83 ft. 8 in.
Length: 48 ft. 4 in.
Height: 12 ft. 7 in.
Weight: 7,500 lbs. loaded
Armament: None
Engine: None
Cost: $24,000

PERFORMANCE
Maximum towed speed: 150 mph.

Glider Troops - Waco Bump

"D-Day The Airborne Assault"

P-51B Mustangs escort C-47 Dakotas towing "Waco" gliders over the Normandy beaches on D-Day.

THE GLIDER INFANTRY

"The Glider Riders" "The Towed-Target Infantry"

"We will have airborne armies. Our present fortifications will become useless...our artillerymen will learn to shoot in flight. The kingdom will require the new position of secretary of state for the airforces."
-The Marquis of Argenson, 1720's

Glider Badge

Worn by airborne troops who rode gliders instead of parachuting into combat. After one combat mission, Glider Pilots were also entitled to wear this badge of distinction.

The Glider Infantry rode the gliders into combat, flying in the same sky convoys as their paratrooper comrades but, for some time, they were excluded from the hazard pay the paratroops received. Eventually, after it became apparent that riding a glider was often more hazardous than jumping, this injustice was corrected and they began to receive hazard pay although it was half what the paratroopers received. When asked, most paratroopers preferred jumping to riding a glider. This was easy to understand since Glider Pilots and Glider Infantry wore no parachutes in combat missions. The added weight of the parachutes meant that fewer troops and supplies could be carried in each glider.

These troopers consistently distinguished themselves in combat. As one veteran Glider Pilot explained after visiting this site, "You are very generous in your praise of the Glider Pilots but the real heroes were the Glider Troopers who were not volunteers but who covered themselves with glory in combat. For example: The 325th Glider Infantry Regiment of the 82nd Airborne Division received the Presidential Unit Citation for an outstanding combat record in Normandy. The Glider Troops were the equal of anybody on the ground."