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Airspeed Horsa
The Airspeed AS.51 Horsa was a British troop-carrying glider used during the Second World War. It was developed and manufactured by Airspeed Limited, alongside various subcontractors; the type was named after Horsa, the legendary 5th-century Germanic conqueror of southern Britain.
Having been greatly impressed by the effective use of airborne operations by Germany during the early stages of the Second World War, such as during the Battle of France, the Allied powers sought to establish capable counterpart forces of their own. The British War Office, determining that the role of gliders would be an essential component of such airborne forces, proceeded to examine available options. An evaluation of the General Aircraft Hotspur found it to lack the necessary size, thus Specification X.26/40 was issued. It was from this specification that Airspeed Limited designed the Horsa, a large glider capable of accommodating up to 30 fully equipped troops, which was designated as the AS 51.
The Horsa was used in large numbers by the British Army Air Corps and the Royal Air Force (RAF); both services used it to conduct various air assault operations through the conflict. The type was used to perform an unsuccessful attack on the German heavy water plant at Rjukan in Norway, known as Operation Freshman, and during the invasion of Sicily, known as Operation Husky. Large numbers of Horsas were subsequently used during the opening stages of the Battle of Normandy, being used in the British Operation Tonga and American operations. It was also deployed in quantity during Operation Dragoon, Operation Market Garden, and Operation Varsity. Further use of the Horsa was made by various other armed forces, including the United States Army Air Forces.
In the early stages of the Second World War, the German military demonstrated its role as a pioneer in the deployment of airborne operations. These forces had conducted several successful operations during the Battle of France in 1940, including the use of glider-borne troops during the Battle of Fort Eben-Emael. Having been impressed by the performance and capabilities of German airborne operations, the Allied governments decided that they would also form their own airborne formation. As a result of this decision, the creation of two British airborne divisions came about, as well as smaller-scale units. On 22 June 1940, the British airborne establishment was formally initiated when the Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, directed the War Office in a memorandum to investigate the possibility of creating a corps of 5,000 parachute troops. During 1941, the United States also embarked on a similar programme.
While the equipment for the airborne forces was under development, it was decided by War Office officials that gliders would be an integral component of such a force. It was initially thought that gliders would be used to deliver paratroops. Transport aircraft would both carry paratroops and tow a glider with a second party of troops. The idea arose as a response to the severe shortage of transport aircraft in the early part of the war, as in this way the number of troops that could be dropped in an operation by a given number of transport aircraft would be greatly enhanced. The empty gliders would be towed back to base.
However, thinking eventually evolved into using gliders to land both troops and heavy equipment in the theatre of operations. The first glider produced was the General Aircraft Hotspur, which first flew on 5 November 1940. Several problems were found with the Hotspur's design, the worst being its inability to carry sufficient troops. It was believed that airborne troops should be landed in larger groups than the eight that the Hotspur could carry, and that the number of towplanes required would prove to be impractical. There were also concerns that the gliders would have to be towed in tandem, which would be extremely hazardous at night or through cloud.
Accordingly, it was decided that the Hotspur would be used only as a training glider, while British industry continued with the development of several different gliders, including a larger 25-seater assault glider, which would become the Airspeed Horsa. On 12 October 1940, Specification X.26/40 was issued, calling for a large assault glider. The specification required the use of wood where possible to conserve critical supplies of metal. Airspeed would designate the Horsa the AS.51.
Airspeed assembled a team headed by aircraft designer Hessell Tiltman whose efforts began at the de Havilland technical school at Hatfield, Hertfordshire, before relocating to Salisbury Hall, London Colney. The Horsa was to have had paratroopers jumping from doors on either side of the fuselage, while the glider remained under tow, while combat landings would have been secondary. The widely set doors enabled simultaneous egress, as well as for troops to fire on nearby enemies while still in the glider. For this they were provided with several firing points in the roof and tail. That idea was dropped, and it was decided that the glider would simply land troops.
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Airspeed Horsa
The Airspeed AS.51 Horsa was a British troop-carrying glider used during the Second World War. It was developed and manufactured by Airspeed Limited, alongside various subcontractors; the type was named after Horsa, the legendary 5th-century Germanic conqueror of southern Britain.
Having been greatly impressed by the effective use of airborne operations by Germany during the early stages of the Second World War, such as during the Battle of France, the Allied powers sought to establish capable counterpart forces of their own. The British War Office, determining that the role of gliders would be an essential component of such airborne forces, proceeded to examine available options. An evaluation of the General Aircraft Hotspur found it to lack the necessary size, thus Specification X.26/40 was issued. It was from this specification that Airspeed Limited designed the Horsa, a large glider capable of accommodating up to 30 fully equipped troops, which was designated as the AS 51.
The Horsa was used in large numbers by the British Army Air Corps and the Royal Air Force (RAF); both services used it to conduct various air assault operations through the conflict. The type was used to perform an unsuccessful attack on the German heavy water plant at Rjukan in Norway, known as Operation Freshman, and during the invasion of Sicily, known as Operation Husky. Large numbers of Horsas were subsequently used during the opening stages of the Battle of Normandy, being used in the British Operation Tonga and American operations. It was also deployed in quantity during Operation Dragoon, Operation Market Garden, and Operation Varsity. Further use of the Horsa was made by various other armed forces, including the United States Army Air Forces.
In the early stages of the Second World War, the German military demonstrated its role as a pioneer in the deployment of airborne operations. These forces had conducted several successful operations during the Battle of France in 1940, including the use of glider-borne troops during the Battle of Fort Eben-Emael. Having been impressed by the performance and capabilities of German airborne operations, the Allied governments decided that they would also form their own airborne formation. As a result of this decision, the creation of two British airborne divisions came about, as well as smaller-scale units. On 22 June 1940, the British airborne establishment was formally initiated when the Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, directed the War Office in a memorandum to investigate the possibility of creating a corps of 5,000 parachute troops. During 1941, the United States also embarked on a similar programme.
While the equipment for the airborne forces was under development, it was decided by War Office officials that gliders would be an integral component of such a force. It was initially thought that gliders would be used to deliver paratroops. Transport aircraft would both carry paratroops and tow a glider with a second party of troops. The idea arose as a response to the severe shortage of transport aircraft in the early part of the war, as in this way the number of troops that could be dropped in an operation by a given number of transport aircraft would be greatly enhanced. The empty gliders would be towed back to base.
However, thinking eventually evolved into using gliders to land both troops and heavy equipment in the theatre of operations. The first glider produced was the General Aircraft Hotspur, which first flew on 5 November 1940. Several problems were found with the Hotspur's design, the worst being its inability to carry sufficient troops. It was believed that airborne troops should be landed in larger groups than the eight that the Hotspur could carry, and that the number of towplanes required would prove to be impractical. There were also concerns that the gliders would have to be towed in tandem, which would be extremely hazardous at night or through cloud.
Accordingly, it was decided that the Hotspur would be used only as a training glider, while British industry continued with the development of several different gliders, including a larger 25-seater assault glider, which would become the Airspeed Horsa. On 12 October 1940, Specification X.26/40 was issued, calling for a large assault glider. The specification required the use of wood where possible to conserve critical supplies of metal. Airspeed would designate the Horsa the AS.51.
Airspeed assembled a team headed by aircraft designer Hessell Tiltman whose efforts began at the de Havilland technical school at Hatfield, Hertfordshire, before relocating to Salisbury Hall, London Colney. The Horsa was to have had paratroopers jumping from doors on either side of the fuselage, while the glider remained under tow, while combat landings would have been secondary. The widely set doors enabled simultaneous egress, as well as for troops to fire on nearby enemies while still in the glider. For this they were provided with several firing points in the roof and tail. That idea was dropped, and it was decided that the glider would simply land troops.
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