At the Silent Wings museum exhibits we also learned about the 'workshop' that would fit into a Waco glider and when landed could be opened up to find just about everything needed to repair gliders in the field for return to the rear area for reuse. In Operation Varsity, as I recall, the operational concept was to use the airborne forces pretty much just across the river (the Rhine) to establish a bridgehead that would be immediately 'relieved' by the regular forces crossing the Rhine in amphibious craft and soon to be built bridges (the airborne forces having in theory pushed the Germans back far enough to allow the engineers to concentrate on bridge building rather than fighting.
Yes the workshop idea came from the Germans in Africa.They had a mobile service that followed the planes in and could repair them wherever they landed. Varsity was an amazing mission in many ways.The glider pilots were well organized and had pretty much assigned landing spots. One group of glider pilots were tasked in advance with becoming an infantry unit upon landing. They performed brilliantly in the Battle of Burp Gun Corner.
Britain’s Glider Pilot Regiment seems to have done a better job with their pilots than the Americans. At Arnhem the Glider Pilots had a specific part of the defense perimeter to hold since they couldn’t be withdrawn or move to the rear to fly another mission. Gavin was furious to learn that a group of American glider pilots were found enjoying the high life in Brussels rather than returning to the UK to fly again during Market Garden. On the other hand, there were the pilots like one memoir writer who tucked a Thompson submachine gun into the cockpit and after landing would join up with an infantry unit for some combat. He noted that having the SMG almost always made him a welcome addition.
Yes the advantage from the get go was the British Glider Pilots were under the command of the equivalent of the US Army and were highly trained in combat. The American glider pilots were under the Army Air Corps and uniform combat training only came about in 1943. By 1944 they were very sharp infantry troops.
Your comment about Gavin is interesting. How I wish I could sit down and talk with him. His quotes contradict each other. The instance you refer to was after Market Garden I believe. There was a Major Nelson who was also a glider pilot in command that the glider pilots leave their equipment behind and take one gun per two pilots and go to the front lines. In the foxhole one glider pilot was to do watch and/or fight while the other slept. They did so and all the equipment they left behind was stolen including the weapons. This is when Gavin stated the biggest problem was the glider pilots arrived disorganized and ill equipped. They were then evacuated and in attempting to get to Brussels their convoy was ambushed. They hit the ditch and then flanked the Germans, unhitched the trailers from the trucks and inched the trucks out of the line of fire. The command reports state they saved 17 our of 19 trucks if I recall correctly. Another researcher and I discussed the glider pilots taking off to Paris, Brussels etc. and could not find a single court martial. There was an attempt to court martial some glider pilots but when it came out they were fighting with a tanker unit for a month it was immediately dropped. Gavin after the war is quoted as saying the gliders and glider pilots were an integral part of the mission.
Another fact that I discuss in my book but is never discussed otherwise is that glider pilots were not always issued Escape and Evasion Kits. The documents I have come across for specific missions state to issue them to the glider pilots only if there are extras. That does not mean it was the same for every mission. That meant they had no id papers, no maps and no foreign currency which I have always thought would make it difficult to party in Brussels. Now that is not to say once released by that Command Post some didn’t take the long way home at times.
At the Silent Wings museum exhibits we also learned about the 'workshop' that would fit into a Waco glider and when landed could be opened up to find just about everything needed to repair gliders in the field for return to the rear area for reuse. In Operation Varsity, as I recall, the operational concept was to use the airborne forces pretty much just across the river (the Rhine) to establish a bridgehead that would be immediately 'relieved' by the regular forces crossing the Rhine in amphibious craft and soon to be built bridges (the airborne forces having in theory pushed the Germans back far enough to allow the engineers to concentrate on bridge building rather than fighting.
Yes the workshop idea came from the Germans in Africa.They had a mobile service that followed the planes in and could repair them wherever they landed. Varsity was an amazing mission in many ways.The glider pilots were well organized and had pretty much assigned landing spots. One group of glider pilots were tasked in advance with becoming an infantry unit upon landing. They performed brilliantly in the Battle of Burp Gun Corner.
Britain’s Glider Pilot Regiment seems to have done a better job with their pilots than the Americans. At Arnhem the Glider Pilots had a specific part of the defense perimeter to hold since they couldn’t be withdrawn or move to the rear to fly another mission. Gavin was furious to learn that a group of American glider pilots were found enjoying the high life in Brussels rather than returning to the UK to fly again during Market Garden. On the other hand, there were the pilots like one memoir writer who tucked a Thompson submachine gun into the cockpit and after landing would join up with an infantry unit for some combat. He noted that having the SMG almost always made him a welcome addition.
Yes the advantage from the get go was the British Glider Pilots were under the command of the equivalent of the US Army and were highly trained in combat. The American glider pilots were under the Army Air Corps and uniform combat training only came about in 1943. By 1944 they were very sharp infantry troops.
Your comment about Gavin is interesting. How I wish I could sit down and talk with him. His quotes contradict each other. The instance you refer to was after Market Garden I believe. There was a Major Nelson who was also a glider pilot in command that the glider pilots leave their equipment behind and take one gun per two pilots and go to the front lines. In the foxhole one glider pilot was to do watch and/or fight while the other slept. They did so and all the equipment they left behind was stolen including the weapons. This is when Gavin stated the biggest problem was the glider pilots arrived disorganized and ill equipped. They were then evacuated and in attempting to get to Brussels their convoy was ambushed. They hit the ditch and then flanked the Germans, unhitched the trailers from the trucks and inched the trucks out of the line of fire. The command reports state they saved 17 our of 19 trucks if I recall correctly. Another researcher and I discussed the glider pilots taking off to Paris, Brussels etc. and could not find a single court martial. There was an attempt to court martial some glider pilots but when it came out they were fighting with a tanker unit for a month it was immediately dropped. Gavin after the war is quoted as saying the gliders and glider pilots were an integral part of the mission.
Another fact that I discuss in my book but is never discussed otherwise is that glider pilots were not always issued Escape and Evasion Kits. The documents I have come across for specific missions state to issue them to the glider pilots only if there are extras. That does not mean it was the same for every mission. That meant they had no id papers, no maps and no foreign currency which I have always thought would make it difficult to party in Brussels. Now that is not to say once released by that Command Post some didn’t take the long way home at times.
Interesting when you put it all together
Thank you for the additional information!
Sur sorry it took so long -