Avro 685 York

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The Avro York was a British transport aircraft developed by Avro during the Second World War. The design was derived from the Avro Lancaster heavy bomber, several sections of the York and Lancaster being identical. Due to the importance of Lancaster production, York output proceeded at a slow pace until 1944, after which a higher priority was placed upon transport aircraft.

The York saw service in military and civilian roles with various operators between 1943 and 1964. In civilian service, British South American Airways (BSAA) and British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) were the largest users of the type. In military service, large numbers of Yorks were used for air-supply missions during the Berlin Blockade 1948–49. A number of the type were used as air transports of heads of state and government; VIPs who flew on Yorks included British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, French General Charles de Gaulle, Indian Governor-General Lord Mountbatten and South African Prime Minister Jan Smuts.

Dornier Do 31 - 67-2-10

Germany’s Insane Hover Jet Transport: Dornier Do 31 > .  

The Dornier Do 31 was an experimental vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) jet-propelled transport designed and produced by West German aircraft manufacturer Dornier.

The development of the Do 31 was motivated principally by heavy interest expressed by the German Air Force in the acquisition of short take-off and vertical landing aircraft (STOVL)-capable aircraft. Such ambitions received a further boost from the issuing of NATO specification NBMR-4, which called for a VTOL-capable tactical support aircraft that would be operated in conjunction with the EWR VJ 101, a West German VTOL strike aircraft designed under the NATO contract of BMR-3. A total of three [Do 31] aircraft, two flight-capable and one static airframe, were constructed and used for testing. On 10 February 1967, the Do 31 performed its maiden flight; the first hovering flight of the type took place during July 1967.

In addition to performing test flights, Dornier often demonstrated the Do 31 prototypes to officials and the general public, such as at the 1969 Paris Air Show. Several world records were set by the type during its limited flying career. When the high cost, technical and logistical difficulties of operating such an aircraft were realized, the German Air Force opted to cease trials involving VTOL aircraft, such as the Do 31, VJ101, and the later VFW VAK 191B. In the face of limited sales prospects and a lack of state support, the Do 31 and other VTOL projects lingered as research projects for a time prior to their manufacturers abandoning all activity. The Do 31 remains the only VTOL-capable jet-powered transport aircraft to ever fly.

Ekranoplan - ground-effect vehicle

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Fieseler Storch - STOL

Captured German Storch Aircraft Used by Allied Leaders > .

Senior WWII British commanders were much enamoured of the German Fieseler Fi. 156 Storch spotter plane, and many, including Field Marshal Montgomery, used captured examples, including Rommel's plane, throughout the war in North Africa and Western Europe.

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Gliders

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Airspeed Horsa  

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The use of assault gliders by the British was prompted by the use by Germany of the DFS 230, which was first used in May 1940 to successfully assault the Eben Emael fort in Belgium. Their advantage compared to parachute assault was that the troops were landed together in one place, rather than being dispersed.

With around 28 troop seats, the Horsa was much bigger than the 13-troop American Waco CG-4A (known as the Hadrian by the British), and the 8-troop General Aircraft Hotspur glider which was intended for training duties only. As well as troops, the AS.51 could carry a jeep or a 6 pounder anti tank gun.

The AS.58 or Horsa II had a hinged nose section, reinforced floor and double nose wheels to support the extra weight of vehicles. The tow was attached to the nose-wheel strut, rather than the dual wing points of the Horsa I.

The Horsa was first used 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, and one of the Halifax tug aircraft, crashed in Norway due to bad weather. The survivors from the glider crashes were executed on the orders of Hitler.

On July 10, 1943, 27 Horsas were used in Operation Husky, the invasion of Sicily. Large numbers were subsequently used in Operation Tonga and the American airborne landings in Normandy (Battle of Normandy), Operation Dragoon (southern France), Operation Market Garden (Arnhem), and Operation Varsity (crossing the river Rhine). In Normandy, the first units to land in France did so by Horsas, capturing Pegasus Bridge.

On operations they were towed variously by Stirling, Halifax, Albemarle, Whitley and Dakota tugs, using a harness that attached to both wings. The pilots were usually from the Glider Pilot Regiment, part of the Army Air Corps, although Royal Air Force pilots were used on occasion. The Horsa was also used in service by the USAAF. On June 5, 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 the original pilot of the aircraft, Jim Wallwork.

General characteristics 

Crew: 2 

Capacity: 25 troops 

Length: 67 ft (20.4 m) 

Wingspan: 88 ft (26.8 m) 

Height: 21 ft (6.4 m) 

Wing area: 1,148 ft² (106.7 m²) 

Empty weight: 7,500 lb (3,400 kg) 

Loaded weight: 15,250 lb (6,920 kg) 

Max takeoff weight: lb (kg) 

Performance Maximum speed: 127 mph on tow; 100 mph gliding (204 km/h / 160 km/h) 

Wing loading: 13.3 lb/ft² (64.8 kg/m²)

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Transatlantic Glider '43 - WACO CG4 - Voo Doo > .

Pilots of a WACO glider named 'Voo-Doo' and her daring pilots undertook an incredibly dangerous transatlantic flight in 1943 in order to prove the notion of creating a glider air bridge between North America and Britain.

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Airspeed_Horsa .

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US '43 - WACO CG-4 The Most Used Military Glider Of WW2 > .
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The WACO CG-4 was the most used U.S. troop/cargo glider of the World War II. The United States Army Air Force called it the CG-4A and the British military service called it Hadrian – however, it was known universally as WACO; which are the initials of the company that created it – The Weaver Aircraft Company of Ohio.