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From: Miloch <Miloch_member@newsguy.com>
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Subject: Waco CG-4 military glider
Date: 9 Feb 2017 08:31:46 -0800
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waco_CG-4
The Waco CG-4A 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 named Hadrian (after the Roman emperor) in British military service.
Designed by the Waco Aircraft Company, flight testing began in May 1942, and
eventually more than 13,900 CG-4As were delivered
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
?1/4ton truck (i.e. a Jeep), a 75 mm howitzer, or a ?1/4ton trailer, loaded
through the upward-hinged nose section. 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 (17 mm) nylon, 350 feet (107 m)
long. The CG-4A pickup line was ?15/16inch- (24 mm)-diameter nylon, but only 225
ft (69 m) long including the doubled loop.
In 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.
From 1942-1945, the Ford Motor Company's Kingsford plant built 4,190 Model CG-4A
gliders for use in combat operations during World War II. The Kingsford plant
built more CG-4A gliders than any other company in the nation at much less cost
than other manufacturers. The primary builders of the Model CG-4A gliders were
located in Troy, Ohio; Greenville, Michigan; Astoria, New York; Kansas City,
Missouri; St. Paul, Minnesota; and Kingsford, Michigan.
Role
Military glider
Manufacturer
Waco Aircraft Company
First flight
1942
Primary users
United States Army Air Forces
Royal Air Force
Royal Canadian Air Force
United States Navy
Number built
>13,903
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 Ladbrooke. 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.
Specifications (CG-4A)
General characteristics
Crew: two pilots
Capacity: 13 troops, or quarter-ton truck (Jeep) and 4 troopers, 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)
Empty weight: 3,900 lb (1,769 kg)
Useful load:
"Troop Carrier (2 crew & 13 passengers): 4,197 pounds (1,904 kg)";"Cargo Carrier
- Jeep (2 crew, 4 passengers, 1 Jeep Car): 4,197 pounds (1,904 kg)""Cargo
Carrier - 75 MM howitzer (2 crew, 3 passengers, 1 Howitzer, 18 rounds
ammunition): 4,197 pounds (1,904 kg)
Loaded weight: 7,500 lb (3,402 kg)
Max. takeoff weight: 7,500 lb (3,402 kg)
Max take off (Emergency Load): 9,000 lb (4,082 kg)
Performance
Never exceed speed: 150 mph IAS (241 km/h)
Maximum speed: 150 mph CAS (240 km/h 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: IAS 72.6 mph (117 km/h)
Stall speed: 49 mph (79 km/h) with design load 7,500 lb (3,400 kg)
Rate of sink: About 400 ft/min (2 m/s) at tactical glide speed (IAS 60 mph, 96
km/h)
Landing run: 600-800 feet (180-244 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...")
Armament
none
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