Horsa Glider: Exploring the Hero of D-Day and Arnhem.

Viewers to the Museum may have noticed this massive Airspeed HORSA. But why is an Unpowered Glider from a company called Airspeed included in the de Havilland Aircraft Museum? The HORSA Glider was a key to military operations including D-Day ("Overlord"), and Arnhem ("Market Garden"). Thanks to the meticulous research by our volunteers, we can now tell you more facts about this amazing aircraft, and why it deserves such a prominent place at Salisbury Hall. As a result, we are able to launch the longest and most extensive aircraft video we have published to date. We hope this will be a fitting tribute to the men and women who designed and built the HORSA, and the brave soldiers who flew in her. Our special thanks to Martin from the Horsa Restoration Team at the de Havilland Aircraft Museum for showing us around this exhibit.

[@donjaksa4071]

No flight pay, no jump pay but never a dull moment - Glider motto

[@rickdommett]

I'm a 77year old man in an independant living unit in British Columbia, Canada and was wowed and amazed by the workmanship and the relatable stories along with the commentary. I found myself, living alone..............saying right out loud.........wow or I didn't know that or that's amazing, thank you very much for the well done video. just subscribed as well.........cheers.

[@peterwatts4163]

My father was a cabinet maker and worked at Lebus's in Tottenham. When war came, he was drafted into the work force that built the Horse Gliders and De Havilland Mosquitos

[@martinbull5307]

That's fascinating ! The dH Museum Horsa fuselage was built by Harris Lebus and we have been doing much research into the aviation history of HL, which is perilously close to being forgotten.

[@alanstansfield2944]

In 1974, when I was a furniture design student, I wrote my thesis on the subject of the furniture industry in World War Two. After qualifying, my first job was with a company in Burnley, Lancashire. Stuffed in the bottom of a drawer in the drawing office, I discovered an amazing and forgotten collection of photographs showing aircraft recognition models; submarine battery boxes and Horsa glider fuselage sections. This was the wartime output of the factory and a foreman further enlightened me when he told me the completed glider parts used to be towed through the streets to nearby Salmesbury aerodrome for assembly and flight testing. Some of the photos of Horsas in action were 16" x 20" prints marked "Ministry of Supply" and bore simple captions on the reverse. I'm guessing these were a kind of PR "thank you" to the company in recognition of its war work. I was told the photos would probably be thrown out before long so I kept them until deciding they were deserving of a wider audience and I donated them to Museum of Army flying some ten years ago. As a footnote, my late father used to be a church organ builder who used his woodworking skills at A V Roe making timber components for Lancaster bombers.

[@martinbull5307]

Thanks for the info ! The amount of Horsa production documentation which has been lost/destroyed since WW2 is actually quite heartbreaking (but we never give up looking....)

[@martinbull5307]

...and possibly a 'red herring', a Burnley company which was involved with the Horsa was Earnshaw & Booth acting as subcontractors to Waring & Gillow whobuilt wing centre-section components.......

[@alanstansfield2944]

@@martinbull5307 Yes! Earnshaw Brothers & Booth were my employers. I never met my predecessor, a Mr Bob Graham, and only recently discovered he'd had been a draughtsman at A V Roe during the war. I also managed to rescue some bits of recognition models from EB & B that were about to way their way up the factory chimney! Close up they were crude, but good enough for training purposes when silhouetted against a wall. When I was working on my thesis I received some useful information in a hand written note from author, C Martin Sharp, who was deHavilland's archivist at the time, if I remember correctly. The contribution the furniture industry (and let's not forget the piano makers) made to WW2 is not always fully recognised, in my opinion. They rose to the challenge - anything from tent pegs to brilliantly conceived Mosquito.

[@alanstansfield2944]

@@martinbull5307 Yes! I was employed by the company that took over Earnshaw Brothers & Booth. I have seen some photos of Waring and Gillow's Lancaster factory (location, not aeroplane!) that shows what look like Horsa outer wing sections having camouflage paint applied. Someone with greater knowledge than me would need to verify this.

[@dennisattwood6392]

1:28

[@kevintengvall4642]

My father was aglider pilot who flew Horsa Gliders during D Day and Arnem land, I grew up on stories of Horsa gliders and their role in WW2

[@wolfgangschoonderwal5791]

Arnem land? You mean Arnhem(The Netherlands) or arnem land (Australia)

[@kevintengvall4642]

@@wolfgangschoonderwal5791 Sorry Arnhem land (The Netherlands) as an Australian it was a typo, oops.

[@josephalvaro5244]

Your father and his fellow glider pilots were very brave men.Not really knowing what problems they were going to be faced with on their landing. You must have been very proud of him.

[@kevintengvall4642]

@@josephalvaro5244 Indeed I was. thank you.

[@Blackcloud_Garage]

Just when you think you’ve seen enough to understand why they were the greatest generation you see something like this and hear the stories and you realize all over again just how great they are.

[@johndallman2692]

Much of the Glider Pilot Regiment was recruited from experienced Army NCOs, of which there was a good supply by 1942. They were a useful stiffener for the troops they landed; in contrast, US Army glider pilots had only basic training and often had to be guarded by the troops after their landing.

[@russ1046]

For me, Victor Miller's Nothing is Impossible is a really interesting glider pilot's account of participation in Sicily, Arnhem and the Rhine crossing.

[@gerardhogan3]

Greetings from Australia. You blokes have done a bloody absolutely magnificent job. Well done. I like the kit like the thermos flask, bergan rucksack and first aid kit. Really enjoyed learning about the Horsa glider, the people who built them and the tough lads who fight from them. Lest we forget those courageous men. Nothing like a bit of fair dinkum British ingenuity huh.

[@deHavMuseum]

Thanks 👍

[@davidpeters6536]

My dad used to tow these behind the Halifax he flew in during WWII.

[@kevinbarrett9615]

The greatest sacrifice by the greatest generation.

[@MrUxbridge]

When I was at Secondary School in the mid 70s our Technical Drawing Teacher (Mr Mead), had been a draftsman at Airspeed in Christchurch where he'd been involved in working on the design of the de Haviland Comet's nose which was tested on a Horsa Glider.

[@martinbull5307]

Thank you for that ! The Museum archive contains a set of professional photographs of the Comet nose trials taken in snowy weather at Radlett.

[@MrUxbridge]

@@martinbull5307 Thanks for that Martin, I'd love to visit but a bit unsure if the museum is within the ULEZ are or not. If it is where's the best place to park?

[@martinbull5307]

@@MrUxbridge The Museum is located adjacent to J22 of the M25 and is (at present) outside the ULEZ.

[@yt.602]

I've only been to the museum twice as I live 200 miles away, it's a fine place to visit with great exhibits and staff. Very interesting video about the Horsa with all sorts of stuff I didn't know. Thanks.

[@Braun30]

In 1976 I met one of the test pilots for the Horsa. He did have some interesting stories about the Horsa.

[@californiadreamin8423]

Neville Shute worked with De Havilland after WW1 and later with Barnes Wallace on the R100, not least in structural analysis.

[@alankjosness2093]

Having grown up with many adults who'd experienced WWll around me, including a few who were on the Normandy beaches, I take exception to having one machine labelled THE Hero of D-Day!

[@martinbull5307]

Actually a fair point - in retrospect 'A' Hero may have been better ( personally,I think the term 'Hero' is rather over-used these days). We certainly meant no offence.

[@user-kw5qv6zl5e]

Thank you for this Professional...and more...

[@LeeAirVideos]

Very informative and well presented video.

[@mathewdunstan4142]

I had an uncle who trained to be a glider pilot and would have flown an Airspeed Horsa however I gather that they were all loaded in and were about to take off when the tug aircraft failed so they never joined the operation, my uncle said he was one of a very few pilots who actually survived

[@Oligodendrocyte139]

Really enjoyed listening to that, and excellent work on the restoration! Worth mentioning that although one operational flight was as much as could be expected, the gliders would have been used for training as well. I've never seen any records of glider "flight hours" though 😊. And we should note that after the GPR losses at Arnhem, a lot of RAF pilots were recruited for Varsity 👍. Nice to see the Hamilcar photo too. I've never been to the Museum but I feel a visit coming on. Thanks again.

[@martinbull5307]

Glad you enjoyed it. You're quite right about the RAF pilots - GPR losses after Arnhem were so high and at the same time, large numbers of qualified pilots were coming from the Training Schemes for the RAF. I do sympathize with the RAF pilots who all hoped to be flying Spitfires or Lancasters only to be told they'd be moving to gliders.......

[@joe2mercs]

Neville Shute Norway seems to have been a bit of a renaissance man. Apart from his novels such as ‘On The Beach’ he worked with Barnes Wallis ( he of Bouncing bomb, Tallboy and Grand Slam fame) on the geodesic metal frame fuselage of the Vickers Armstrong Wellington bomber. I am impressed that the Mk2 glider had a hinged front end that allowed all the flight controls to swing out of the way to allow access. This was no small feat of engineering for a ‘use once’ aircraft.

[@ollebrandt]

Thank you so much. I would really have much more of the glider, D-day and other moments of its great moments, like the assault in "one bridge too far". Being the next to clean parashute landing delivering heavy equipment etc. it is a marvel (constructed in the 30-sh)

[@jeffreycrawley1216]

Interesting video - a lot of accounts say that the glider pilots on D-Day were under strict orders to get themselves back to England as soon as possible as they were needed to fly in cargo gliders and were too few and too valuable to engage in fighting on the battlefield. As to the durability of the Horsa, S/Sgt Jim Wallwork DFM (pilot of No1 glider at Pegasus Bridge but he also flew gilders on Operations Husky/Ladbrook, Market Garden and Varsity) recalled that they carried out no less than 42 practice runs for "Deadstick" and only lost one glider in training out of their complement of 7 (six for the operation and one "spare"). I wonder if any of the aircraft carried a CC41 stamp? 😉

[@nickdanger3802]

Hello, do you have a source, preferably something on the internut, for practice runs for Deadstick ? Ta

[@jeffreycrawley1216]

@@nickdanger3802 YT keeps wiping out my responses! Google S/SGT JIM WALLWORK DFM, PILOT OF THE FIRST GLIDER TO LAND AT PEGASUS BRIDGE, RECOUNTS HIS PERSONAL STORY and you should get it!

[@jeffreycrawley1216]

@@nickdanger3802 Google Jim Wallwork, Operation Deadstick, in his own words.

[@ianseddon9347]

Excellent video, I enjoyed seeing the Horsa when I visited the DH museum a few years ago , but listening to an expert always adds so much to the experience . It was a wonderful piece of kit. Thank you for this video.

[@deHavMuseum]

Thank you

[@michaelguerin56]

Thank you. Both the narration and viewers’ comments are highly informative.

[@deHavMuseum]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@MrSunlander]

Hope the museum gets a presence on Instagram. Exciting.

[@deHavMuseum]

Check out dehavillandaircraft on insta

[@AI.77169]

Beautiful strong capable plywood fuselage!!!

[@user-wd4ti8gn3o]

The Gliders to Pegagus and Horsa Bridgess was from RAF Aylesbury and the infantry unit was in of 2bt Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry

[@jeffreycrawley1216]

Not from RAF Tarrant Rushton as generally recorded then?

[@jeffreybishop9478]

Very impressive a glider. Designed without the us of a computer.

[@einarbolstad8150]

Excellent video.

[@rogerhowell6269]

Great history story, thanks for sharing! 🤔👍

[@deHavMuseum]

Our pleasure!

[@14rnr]

I really enjoyed this, thank you.

[@smalcolmbrown]

Thanks :)

[@kidmohair8151]

that was fascinating!

[@prs00001]

Great video as usual 👍

[@Daniel-S1]

Thanks.

[@christopping5876]

Excellent! Thank you!

[@deHavMuseum]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@stuartosborne6263]

Excellent documentary, thank you.

[@deHavMuseum]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@mattbrettle6614]

Very informative! Thank you.

[@deHavMuseum]

You're welcome!

[@gaz11h]

Great and very interesting video on one of your fine exhibits nice to learn about the Horsa glider had a good look at it the couple of times I've visited the museum thought it to be very workman like and a great addition to the museum

[@jimomaha7809]

15:45 A few times mentioned that the Horsa was a one flight aircraft. Not entirly true. The Glider pilot regiment and RAF had devised a methode to recover gliders. This was done a few times, also after an operation RAF teams went to the landingzones to recover and repair useable gliders also parts of gliders. Some were transported by aircraft trailers some were flown back by the glider snatch methode. They made a rope loop attached this to the glider and hung this loop between 2 poles. A transport aircraft would fly low and with a hook would snatch the loop. A glider pilot claimed you could hold a cup of thee and you would not spoil a drop. There is footage on youtube of Waco CG4 glider recovery using this methode. Thus some Arnhem used gliders could have been used in Normandy. Probably some Horsa gliders that were used in Sicily were reused in Operation Dragoon, airborne invasion in Southern France. I know and have seen Photograhs of Hamilcar gliders being transported back by RAF trailers after operation Varsity.

[@martinbull5307]

It's documented that no Horsas were recovered from Normandy and certainly none from behind enemy lines at Arnhem. None from Sicily and only a small number of Horsas in pieces b yroad (not 'snatched' )from Varsity. The Waco (at half the weight of a Horsa ) was a different story which was outside the scope of our video.For anyone seriously interested, we recommend the article 'Austere Recovery Of Cargo Gliders' by Thoms/Berry/Jett available online from National Defense University, INSS.

[@jimomaha7809]

@@martinbull5307 Early 1944 the British started investigations to see if it would be possible to glider snatch Horsas with a dakota.The aircraft came in at150knots enabeling the Horsa to take of the groundin about 70 yards at about 110knots. (The Eagle magazine of the glider pilot regimental association, august 2003) The American National WWII Glider Pilots Association shows a photo and info about the Horsa glider snatch. An article in The Eagle, December 1985, written by Glider pilot Capt. Carn MC about how he was involved in the Horsa glider recovery at Poitiers France together with Captain Appleyard , November 1944. This glider was on a grass strip and guarded by the French. A Dakota landed the pilots it turned out the glider was in perfect condition. Although its wheels sunken in the mud. The next morning the French provide 2 oxen to pull it out of the mud and into start position. Two days later the dakota returned snatched it up, 3 hours later the glider released and landed at Netheravon. Photo CL796, to be found at the IWM, shows an RAF carpenter of the Heavy glider servicing unit, repairing a Horsa centre fuselage bulkhead in a field near St Aubin- dÁrquenay Normandy. This is one out of a serie of photographs taken by RAF photographer Fg Off Clark Photo. CL793 shows about 6 men working on a Horsa in the same field. Indeed after Arnhem nearly all glider were burned by the Germans. Only 1 complete survived. This was towed by a farmer to his farm for his children to play with. Although it also got burned, the farmer claims by jealous neighbours. I do not know of any Horsa glider being recovered after Varsity, Photos of the Hamilcar recovery can bee seen on the Hamilcar co uk website.

[@malcolmgibson6288]

A very interesting and informative video. Thank you.

[@deHavMuseum]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@timp3931]

The V-22 tilt-rotor still uses a nitrogen bottle for emergency release of it's landing gear.

[@Joe-lb8qn]

I recall my father telling me he saw gliders with the spars glowing white hot on the ground, he assumed (i think) they had crashed, but i guess it looks like the self destruct was used sometimes?

[@paulmanson253]

Hi. Terrific presentation. I will add a correction. A WW2 Jeep weighed just shy of 2,500 lbs. It was designed as a quarter ton vehicle. As opposed to a half ton or three quarter or one ton vehicle. US specification ton,2000 lbs. Quarter ton is 500 lbs. So the speaker ,referring to the Jeep,yes it was a quarter ton vehicle. Given how overloaded most Jeeps would have been in service,a testament to its design. Given the flight stresses,a testament to the designers of the Horsa glider for coming up with sufficient flexibility,but look at all the extra doohickies that must be incorporated into the whole machine to come up with that flexibility. Again, terrific that there is this one remaining display left.

[@deHavMuseum]

thanks for your feedback !

[@philipgrice1026]

My father was a WWII glider pilot, flew into Sicily and survived to be sent to India to train US and British glider pilots in preparation for an anticipated glider invasion of Japan from China. He told me that the gliders were always, always, overloaded, even when flying infantrymen. The soldiers' motto was, "You can never have too much ammunition", so they always carried as many rounds as they could. He stated that every soldier that flew into combat was probably carrying at least 60lb more stuff than they were rated to weigh. He flew the Horsa and the American Waco CG4 'Hadrian' extensively while instruction new British and American army airmen.

[@ClausB252]

The rope did not bear the 7 ton weight of the glider, rather the wings did that. The rope bore the drag, around 1 ton.

[@Lord.Kiltridge]

My Grandfather was killed in 43 flying Mosquitoes with RCAF 410 sqn. I heard a pilot talking about making a dead stick landing. I said engineless landings are no big deal. I told him not only have I had many engineless landings, but in fact _all_ my landings were engineless. In context of course, it's obvious. I flew gliders. I'm told that the first two Allied servicemen on the ground in June 6 1944 was Staff Sergeant James Harley Wallwork DFM and his co-pilot John Ainsworth at Pegasus Bridge. Neither were aware of it however as they had been thrown headfirst through the Horsa's windshield and knocked unconscious.

[@alastairmellor966]

Good video, just one minor correction, the Army unit at Arnhem with the highest percentage of losses were the RASC Air Despatchers.

[@martinbull5307]

We can only offer the defence that we did say 'Regiment' with the highest percentage losses.......

[@garyowen9044]

Home built aircraft, such as the Pietenpol, use high grade, Canadian spruce plywood to this day.

[@juniusvindex769]

I just wonder if after the war if some of the designers went on to the railways. The front of the horsa is very reminiscent of some DMU/ rail cars that were used in the 50's..............🤔

[@jabonorte]

Elegant solution to the problem. How many were recovered from Normandy to serve in Holland and Germany?

[@martinbull5307]

A question we're often asked ! The answer is simple : no Horsas were recovered at all from Normandy (mostly damaged by enemy shelling or broken up by the British army for use as slit-trench shelters ) and none from Arnhem ( they all ended up behind enemy lines and were burnt bythe Germans). Some were recovered in pieces from 'Operation Varsity 'by road to Continental airfields. At 3.5 tons unloaded the stresses of 'snatch'recovery were too high. US Forces recovered a number of Waco gliders,but at1.5 tons, that's another story.......

[@jabonorte]

@@martinbull5307 Thanks for the answer. I knew that WACOs were recovered but hadn't realised the weight difference. I won't ask about Hamilcar......

[@martinbull5307]

@@jabonorte Yes,the Hamilcar weighed over 8 tons (without tank..). Again, none survive but there's a good exhibit at the Army Flying Museum at Middle Wallop. (A photo did sneak in to the video )

[@Americal1970]

How bout that Mosquito in the morning background..? This video was really interesting. 100% 👍

[@marekohampton8477]

7 tons loaded, 6 tons of that was the massive balls on the soldiers inside

[@jpdunamislodge]

The worlds greatest generation built these

[@hallodaar8702]

These gliders were actually recovered and reused during the war.

[@martinbull5307]

But no Horsas, according to the documentation we've accessed in the NA at Kew......

[@hallodaar8702]

@@martinbull5307 Alright, I didn't knew that. I have seen pictures of Scammell Pioneer trucks recovering gliders. I assumed they did that with all types of gliders.

[@tomcummings711]

Monty 's Screw Up prolong the War and cost Thousand of Lives !

[@robertwaters6208]

Nevil Shute Norway was also one of the original boffins of the department of miscellaneous warfare.

[@derrickthatcher8150]

Spruce isn't a hardwood.

[@martinbull5307]

Thanks for that. I keep making that mistake - it's like saying balsa is a softwood when,of course, it isn't.....

[@joncox2572]

Heroe?!? Those things failed time after time. Especially Market Garden.

[@Curmudgeon2]

Have seen a WACO but never a HORSA.

[@neiloflongbeck5705]

Stop repeating lies.The German could build powered commercial aircraft, within prescribed limits, in the 1920s.

[@martinbull5307]

We do try our best to stop 'repeating lies'. The point we were trying to make is that Germany faced considerable restrictions in building (and training pilots for) any type of military aircraft with offensive capability. I wonder why they didn't use allthose powered comemrcial aircraft to train future Luftwaffe aircrew & airborne forces ?

[@neiloflongbeck5705]

@martinbull5307 then say that and stop repeating the lie that the Germans couldn't have powered commercial aircraft. Many of those commercial aircraft became medium bombers and transport aircraft and would have been used by the German military.

[@q.e.d.9112]

Correct me if I’m wrong, but I was under the impression that there were limits, under the Treaty of Versailles, to the number of pilots they could train but these limits didn’t apply to glider pilots. So they encouraged gliding as a way to create a pool of future military pilots.

[@neiloflongbeck5705]

@@q.e.d.9112 partially correct. The German air forces were limited to 1,000 men by the treaty, but the treaty in regard to civil aviation lapsed on 1/1/1923 or whenever Germany joined the League of Nations and agreed to its Aerial Navigation Orders. As far as I can see, after 1/1/1923, Germany could have as many civilian pilots as it could afford to employ.

[@davidgibbings6085]

A heart breaking thing to me was my mums dad🎉 died in Malta in one Of these so called coffins fighting a war that wasn’t his to bear and never getting to meet me me , , it saddens me , but a new war is coming on our own turf , And Like him ile meet him maybe in a different life , I think you know also xx❤️

[@user-wd4ti8gn3o]

The Gliders to Pegagus and Horsa Bridgess was from RAF Aylesbury and the infantry unit was in of 2bt Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry

[@gmf121266]

"Up the ox and bucks!"