CG-4

CG-4, the principal U.S.-built glider of World War II. It was used in airborne operations to deliver assault troops to their objectives in formed groups and to deliver weapons, light artillery pieces, and vehicles too bulky or heavy to be dropped by parachute. It was also used to deliver supplies. The glider was popularly referred to by the name of the company that designed and produced it, the Waco Aircraft Company.

The CG-4 entered production in 1941. It was a high-wing monoplane with a fabric-covered fuselage of welded steel tubing and fabric-covered wooden wings and tail. It had a wingspan of 83 feet 8 inches (25.5 metres) and was 48 feet 4 inches (14.7 metres) long. The nose section, including the pilot’s and copilot’s seats and flight controls, hinged upward to facilitate loading and unloading of men and equipment. For airborne assault operations, the CG-4 could carry 13 fully armed troops, a jeep, and several soldiers or a 3-inch (75-mm) pack howitzer and crew. It could also carry a small bulldozer that was specially designed for airborne landings and was used to clear airstrips behind enemy lines. The glider was normally towed at a speed of about 125 miles (200 km) per hour by a C-47 transport aircraft.

The CG-4 was used in U.S. airborne assaults in Sicily, Normandy, and southern France and in the crossing of the Rhine River. It was also used to insert and supply British and U.S. “Chindit” raiders behind Japanese lines in Burma (Myanmar). More than 12,000 CG-4s were manufactured during the war.