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.

Development

Background

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. 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. The specification required the use of wood where possible to conserve critical supplies of metal. Airspeed would designate the Horsa the AS.51. whose efforts began at the de Havilland technical school at Hatfield, Hertfordshire, before relocating to Salisbury Hall, London Colney. Early on, inquiries were made into the possibility of a further 400 being manufactured in India for the use of Indian airborne forces, however, this plan was abandoned when it was discovered the required wood would have to be imported into India.

thumb|left|Paratroops leaving an Airspeed Horsa trainer of No 21 Heavy Glider Conversion Unit at Brize Norton, 4 June 1943.

As specified in Specification X3/41, 200 AS 52 Horsas were also to be constructed to carry bombs. A central fuselage bomb bay holding four or two bombs was fitted into the standard Horsa fuselage. The concept of towing bombs was dropped as other bombers became available, resulting in the order for the AS 52 being cancelled.

In early 1942, production of the Horsa commenced; by May 1942, some 2,345 had been ordered by the Army for use in future airborne operations. production of the remainder was performed by an assortment of subcontractors. These same contractors would produce an improved model of the glider, designated as the AS.53 Horsa Mk II, while none would be manufactured by Airspeed themselves. The Horsa Mk II had been specifically designed for the carriage of vehicles, featuring a reinforced floor and a hinged nose section in order to accommodate such use. Other changes included the adoption of a twin nosewheel arrangement, a modified tow attachment and an increased all-up weight of .

As a consequence of the majority of subcontractors not having available airfields from which to deliver the gliders, they sent the sub-assemblies to RAF Maintenance Units (MUs), who would perform final assembly themselves; this process has been attributed as being responsible for the widely varying production numbers recorded of the type.|group=N

Design

thumb|The main components of a Horsa, as delivered by their manufacturers, and a group of civilian workers responsible for their assembly into a complete aircraft. [[RAF Brize Norton, Oxfordshire, 26 April 1944]]

thumb|Horsa Cockpit

thumb|Airspeed Horsa interior, with [[folding bike]]

The Airspeed AS.51 Horsa was a large troop-carrying glider. It was capable of transporting a maximum of 30 seated fully equipped troops; it also had the flexibility to carry a Jeep or an Ordnance QF 6-pounder anti-tank gun.

It was considered to be sturdy and very manoeuvrable for a glider. The design of the Horsa adopted a high-wing cantilever monoplane configuration, being equipped with wooden wings and a wooden semi-monocoque fuselage. The fuselage was built in three sections bolted together, the front section held the pilot's compartment and main freight loading door, the middle section was accommodation for troops or freight, the rear section supported the tail unit. Initially the tail was severed by detonating a ring of Cordtex around the rear fuselage. But this was thought to be hazardous, especially if detonated prematurely by enemy fire. In early 1944, a method of detaching the tail was devised that used eight quick-release bolts, and wire-cutters to sever the control cables. Even so, the loading ramp continued to be considered to be fragile and prone to damage, which would ground the glider if sustained during loading.

Operational history

Wartime use

thumb|Photograph taken from a Horsa cockpit while under tow by a [[Short Stirling during Operation Varsity, 24 March 1945]]

thumb|Troops seated in a Horsa, prior to take-off

The Horsa was first deployed operationally on the night of 19/20 November 1942 in the unsuccessful attack on the German heavy water plant at Rjukan in Norway (Operation Freshman). The two Horsa gliders, each carrying 15 sappers, and one of the Halifax tug aircraft crashed in Norway due to bad weather. All 23 survivors from the glider crashes were executed on the orders of Adolf Hitler, in breach of the Geneva Convention which protects prisoners of war (POWs) from summary execution. On 10 July 1943, the 27 surviving Horsas were used during Operation Husky, the Allied invasion of Sicily, which was the type's first large-scale operation. Capable of accommodating up to 30 troop seats, the Horsa was much bigger than the 13-troop American Waco CG-4A (known as the Hadrian by the British).

thumb|Horsas on the ground at [[Operation Market Garden|Arnhem]]

Operationally, the Horsa was towed by various aircraft: four-engined heavy bombers displaced from operational service such as the Short Stirling and Handley Page Halifax, the Armstrong Whitworth Albemarle and Armstrong Whitworth Whitley twin-engined bombers, as well as the US Douglas C-47 Skytrain/Dakota (not as often due to the weight of the glider) and Curtiss C-46 Commando. The gliders were towed with a harness that attached to points on both wings and also carried an intercom between tug and glider. The glider pilots were usually from the Glider Pilot Regiment, part of the Army Air Corps (AAC), although Royal Air Force (RAF) pilots were used on occasion. India also acquired a small number of Horsas for their own evaluation purposes. Due to low surplus prices in the UK, many were bought and converted into trailers, sheds and even holiday cottages.

On 5 June 2004, as part of the 60th anniversary commemoration of D-Day, Prince Charles unveiled a replica Horsa on the site of the first landing at Pegasus Bridge and talked with Jim Wallwork, the first pilot to land the aircraft on French soil during D-Day.

Ten replicas were built for the 1977 film A Bridge Too Far, mainly for static display and set-dressing, although one Horsa was modified to make a brief "hop" towed behind a Dakota at Deelen, the Netherlands. During the production, seven of the replicas were damaged in a wind storm; the contingent were repaired in time for use in the film. Five of the Horsa "film models" were destroyed during filming with the survivors sold as a lot to John Hawke, aircraft collector in the UK. Another mock-up for close-up work came into the possession of the Ridgeway Military & Aviation Research Group and is stored at Welford, Berkshire.

Variants

;AS.51 Horsa I

:Production glider with cable attachment points at upper attachment points of main landing gear. The Assault Glider Trust built a replica at RAF Shawbury using templates made from original components found scattered over various European battlefields and using plans supplied by BAE Systems (on the condition that the glider must not be flown). The replica was completed in 2014 and then stored at RAF Cosford until it was transferred to the Overloon War Museum in the Netherlands in June 2019.

thumb|The Pegasus Bridge after its capture by Allied troops during the Normandy Invasion, 1944. Horsa gliders used by the troops may be seen in the background.

thumb|upright=1.2|Horsa Glider Cockpit on display at the [[Silent Wings Museum in Texas]]

A fuselage section displayed at the Traces of War museum at Wolfheze, Netherlands, was retrieved from Cholsey, Oxfordshire, where it had served as a dwelling for over 50 years. It was recovered around 2001 by the de Havilland Aircraft Museum, of London Colney, where it was stored until being bought by museum owner Paul Hendriks. The airframe is believed not to have seen active service. A cockpit section is on display at the Silent Wings Museum in Lubbock, Texas.

BAPC.232 Horsa I/II Composite – Nose & Fuselage sections is on display in the Walter Goldsmith Hangar at the de Havilland Aircraft Museum. A full-sized replica, part of the Memorial Pegasus museum, stands close to Pegasus Bridge, Normandy, which was captured by Horsa-borne troops during the Normandy Invasion.

Specifications (AS.58 Mark II)

thumb

Notable appearances in media

In 2025 a D-Day memorial sculpture to the 6th Airborne Division, No. 38 Group RAF, and the Glider Pilot Regiment, inspired by the form of the fuselage of the wooden Horsa gliders was unveiled on the site of the former RAF Harwell.

References

Notes

Citations

Bibliography

External links

Austin & Longbridge Aircraft Production
The Assault Glider Trust
(1944) A.P. 2097A P.N. – Pilot's Notes for Horsa I Glider with Appendices for Tug Aircraft Pilots