Army air corps united states army air forces, royal canadian air force, indian air force. Kit features raised and engraved surface detail, detailed sidebyside cockpit, detailed cargo bay walls and floor with bench seats, optional position passenger doors with ladders, injectionmolded clear parts for nose canopy and. A british horsa glider could carry more than twice the number of troops as a waco. Released by testors, manufactured by italaerei this is a 172 scale plastic model kit of a ww ii as 51 horsa mk 1 glider. See more ideas about gliders, wwii and world war two. The purpose of gliders was to set a body of airborne soldiers or heavy equipment down in one place, rather than being scattered by the wind. Airspeed as51 horsa glider pilots notes, flight manual. The air ministry had witnessed the success of german troops moved by gliders during the early stages of blitzkrieg. Footage of airspeed horsa gliders landing and takingoff. B 24 liberator aircraft complete flight manual book liberator. The airspeed horsa series of gliders proved evercritical to the allied advances during world war 2. It was capable of transporting a maximum of 30 seated fully equipped troops.
The two horsa gliders, and one of the halifax tug aircraft, crashed in. Dday normandy june 1944 dk earth fs30118 dk green fs34079, black. Initially it was planned that the horsa would be used to transport paratroopers who would jump from doors installed on either side of the fuselage, and that the actual landing would be a secondary role. They could deliver jeeps, trailers, antitank and aa guns, complete with ammuntion and crews, into restricted spaces. The company airspeed received a specification for a glider in december 1940 from the air ministry. The american 15place, waco cg4a and british 30place, airspeed horsa gliders were first used in a major invasion operation husky on july 9, 1943 the start of the 38day battle for sicily. Over 3600 were built, and were used in a number of allied operations including the invasion of sicily, during the dday landings in normandy, in operation market garden, and in operation varsity, where 440 aircraft carried the 6th airborne division over the rhine. The horsa is perhaps the best known glider of wwii. The prototype of the horsa glider takes off on september 12, 1941 and production begins a few months later.
Maximum speed was 241 kmh on tow, dropping to 160 kmh in the glide. Plastic models plastic model airplanes 9 scale airspeed a. I was a british world war ii troopcarrying glider built by airspeed limited and subcontractors and used for air assault by british and allied armed forces. The airspeed horsa glider is best known for its participation in the d day invasion of france, operation market garden and operation varsity the crossing of the rhine, this 7000 kg glider could carry 25 fully equipped troops or a small vehicle such as a jeep. Dp383, coded 46, of the heavy glider conversion unit, on the ground at brize norton, oxfordshire in the uk. Find great deals on ebay for horsa glider and wwii glider. British gliders were all had names starting with h, the name horsa came from the legendary 5th century conqueror of southern britain. An order for 400 aircraft was placed in february 1941, with full production beginning in february 1942. The first attempt the front end of the horsa glider came off. Download airspeed horsa plans at aerofred model airplanes plans. How effective was the use of the horsa glider during operation varsity of world war two. Able to transport more than 25 troops or a large amount of essential equipment and supplies in its large fuselage.
This is the british companion piece to my previous american airborne post. Practical information concerning the ceremonies and festivities of the 76th anniversary of the normandy landings. Includes assembly instructions, painting guide, and decals. I with british paratroops airplane model building kits. He told me someone came up with the idea of picking up the english horsa gliders which was considerably larger and heavier than the waco gliders. Navigator and electronic warfare training at randolph afb, nas. The horsa was the primary glider used in the paratrooper landings at both dday in june 1944 and arnhem in september 1944. It was named after horsa, the legendary 5th century conqueror of southern britain. Trailed by bombers or transport planes, horsa gliders are used for the first time in norway. The name horsa was chosen to follow the british convention of. Employed in all major allied airborne assaults, the horsa proved maneuverable and robust.
British and american glider recovery teams found later that less than 25 percent of the gliders landed unscathed. In world war 2, towed transport gliders were built in large numbers to airland troops with their heavier weapons. The united kingdom had several glider designs, but the airspeed horsa was the most common. Testorsitalaereiworld war ii as 51 horsa mk 1 glider. The horsa mark i had a wingspan of 88 feet 27 m and a length of 67 feet 20 m, and when fully loaded weighed 15,250 pounds 6,920 kg.
Horsa glider instrument panel and cockpit lay out rc groups. Taking a page from hitlers book, america and britain developed their own combat glider programs. The airspeed horsa could carry up to 30 fully equipped troops, or a jeep and 6pdr antitank gun. Large and ungainly looking, the horsa could carry up to 28 troops, a jeep, or an artillery piece. Room 11, 3f, mansfield industrial center, 19 hong yip street, yuen long, n. In world war 2, towed transport gliders were built in large numbers to airland troops with their heavier weapons behind enemy lines, without using parachutes, and with far less scattering of the troops. The horsa, given the designation of as 51, was produced to meet specification x. It was named after horsa, the legendary 5thcentury conqueror of southern britain. Glider rider and glider pilot casualties were estimated at 40 percent for some missions. This led me to research the history of the british 6th airbourne and the horsa glider.
Airspeed horsa invasion glider, revellitalaerei h2011. The airspeed horsa was a british transport glider developed by the airspeed limited and produced by the same company and by the austin motor corporation and by harris lebus, in the 40s. This item testorsitalaereiworld war ii as 51 horsa mk 1 glider plastic model kit. It took part in the main airborne landings of wwii but its name is particularly connected to the two most famous missions. Airspeed horsa towed glider transport military factory. Inside, a maximum of 25 passengers could be carried onboard and a. An airspeed airplane pilots manual pdfis above the page. Airspeed horsa, gal hamilcar, gal hotspur, slingsby and waco hadrian gliders in the united. Airspeed aircraft manual pdf aircraft pilots flighting. Gliders being loaded 1940 men loading gliders with boxes of supplies. As a piece of history this model is a very valuable teaching tool.
Note fred slingsby in an article he wrote for the 1965 the gliding book said. It was developed and manufactured by airspeed limited. Operation overlord normandy june 1944 matt dark eart matt dark green matt black matt white. Kit features raised and engraved surface detail, detailed sidebyside cockpit, detailed cargo bay walls and floor with bench seats, optional position passenger doors with ladders, injectionmolded clear parts for nose canopy and windows, 15 figures with separately molded weapons and equipment. Greatest sky armada in history 1944 large numbers of aeroplanes and gliders with dday markings take off for holland. I model kit boms5195 with fast shipping and toprated customer service. Experimental and optional rules are always fun, try these out as soon as your gliders land. In ww2, such gliders were the only way of delivering such large loads.
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