Cub Driver wrote:

Perhaps because of the high density altitude in India and Burma, it
became routine? Perhaps it did. Obviously a C-47 could more easily
heft the glider at 100? mph than it could on a takeoff run.

It was used primarily to get things out of small clearings hacked out of jungle
areas. It was pioneered by groups like Wingate's Chindits. IIRC, it was Wingate's
idea.

Even for normal glider tows, the lines were coiled in such a way that the tow planes
had several hundred yards to gain speed and were off the ground before drag came on
the line. You can see film of this in "A Bridge Too Far."

I wonder what kind of line they used? Manila doesn't have any stretch
in it! Was there nylon line in WWII?

Nylon was invented prior to the war, and women were very disappointed that nylon
stockings became nearly unavailable within a year after Pearl Harbor. The U.S. used
it for parachute material (though "hitting the nylon" doesn't have quite the ring of
"hitting the silk"). Rope was also made. The main advantage to using nylon for glider
tow ropes, however, is that it's lighter than ropes made from natural fiber.

George Patterson
None of us is as dumb as all of us.