On Jan 11, 7:14*am, Tom wrote:
Over the years, we had several WWII glider pilots show up at Ridge
Soaring Gliderport for a glider ride. For most, it would be their
first glider ride since a harrowing invasionary flight into enemy
territory.

Usually, the family would have bought a gift certificate, and they
would all show up, cameras in hand, for what was a very *moving event.
Often, the man would wear some of the uniform he wore during his
service. One gave us a photo of himself standing beside a CG-4A
glider. The photo hangs on the pilot lounge wall.

A great book is titled, "The Glider Gang."

As I recall, they typically received 25 training flights, including
night landings, then made their next, invasionary flight, some three
months later. The casualty rates were horrific.

Tom Knauff

No doubt, the WWII glider pilot and the troops they carried were
extremely brave men. One only wishes the Allied war planners had used
them more intelligently.

It's interesting to compare the use of gliders by the Allies and
Luftwaffe. The Allied planners seemed to regard gliders as simply
cheap flying delivery trucks. The Luftwaffe seemed to see them as
stealth assault aircraft to carry small unit commandos on raids. The
German DFS-230 was much more of a sailplane than, for example, the
Waco CG-4. The DFS-230 carried only 8 lightly equipped commandos.

We all know the story of gliders used in the D Day landings. Less
well known is the story of Germany's use of gliders in the 1940 Battle
of Fort Eben-Emael in Belgium or the 1943 Gran Sasso Raid to rescue
Mussolini.