COLLECTION - The Glider Pilot Regiment
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Prompted by the successful use of parachute and glider forces by the Germans, in May 1940 Winston Churchill directed that a parachute force of 5,000 troops should be formed. As the Royal Air Force could not provide sufficient numbers of troop carrying aircraft for this force, it was decided that an additional unit which delivered troops by glider should also be created and the Glider Pilot Regiment was formed. This Regiment, along with the Parachute Regiment and the Special Air Service Regiment, formed the first Army Air Corps.
Photograph: General Aircraft Hotspur Mk. III. This type of glider was used extensively for training.
The purpose of the Glider Pilot Regiment was to fly troops and heavy equipment in large towed gliders into areas behind enemy lines. After landing, the glider pilots would fight as infantry soldiers.
Photograph: Airspeed Horsa Mk. II. These gliders could carry 28 fully equipped soldiers or two jeeps or a jeep and a 75-mm howitzer with gun crew and ammunition.
Photograph: 1942 Ford ¼-ton Truck (Jeep).
Gliders were first used operationally in 1942 for Operation Freshman, an attack on a heavy water plant at Vermork in Southern Norway. In July 1943, the Glider Pilot Regiment was involved in Operation Ladbroke and Operation Fustian. These were the airborne elements of the invasion of Sicily. In Operation Ladbroke, the Regiment had to convey 1st Air-Landing Brigade to Syracuse to capture the Ponte Grande – a vital bridge over the Anopo Canal. In Operation Fustian, the Regiment was to land anti-tank guns in support of 1st Parachute Brigade’s capture of Primasole Bridge over the Simeto River. Losses on these operations were high (of the 145 gliders despatched for Ladbroke, just 54 landed on Sicily) but they were successful. The value of glider-borne forces was proven and valuable lessons were learnt.
Photograph: WACO CG-4A Hadrian Glider. This American glider was used in large numbers for Operation Labroke.
In the invasion of German occupied Europe (D-Day) the British 6th Airborne Division was given the task of protecting the left flank of the seaborne invading forces. This was called Operation Neptune. To achieve this aim, there were to be three waves of gliders sent in during the night before the seaborne landings (Operation Tonga) and massed glider landings during the evening of D-Day (Operation Mallard). During Tonga, six Horsas flew in 138 men of the 2nd Battalion the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry, along with 30 men of the Royal Engineers, to capture vital bridges over the River Orne and the Caen Canal. Superb flying by the glider pilots in difficult conditions ensured that all the assault troops and their equipment landed intact and both bridges were quickly captured, despite heavy German resistance. Gliders were also used to convey troops, weapons, equipment and ammunition for the attack on the Merville gun battery, a well defended position which posed a serious threat to the troops landing by sea. In Operation Mallard, 248 gliders landed in Normandy, carrying the bulk of the 6th Air-Landing Brigade.
Photograph: Soldier’s pay book and inspection competency certificate for Staff Sergeant Baacke GPR. S/Sgt. Baacke landed his Horsa glider within yards of the Caen Canal bridge during the D-Day landings. His medals are also on display at the museum.
In the D-Day invasion the Glider Pilot Regiment successfully carried out 95% of its tasks, but not without cost. Thirty-four members of the Regiment lost their lives and many more were injured.
Photograph: General Aircraft Limited Hamilcar. This was the largest of the Allied gliders and was used operationally for the first time during the D-Day assault on German occupied Europe. It could carry a light tank.
By September 1944, the Allies were advancing from the west towards the River Rhine while the Russians were approaching Germany’s eastern border. The decision was made to accelerate the advance by thrusting into Germany through Belgium and Holland. In this operation, codenamed Market Garden, the British 1st Airborne Division was to capture a bridge over the River Rhine at Arnhem. The Division was to be flown in by the Glider Pilot Regiment in three separate waves, beginning on 17th September 1944. There was thought to be a heavy concentration of anti-aircraft guns at Arnhem, so the gliders landed at zones as far as eight miles away from the bridge. Several problems beset the operation. Weather conditions delayed plans, communications failed, essential reconnaissance troops didn’t arrive and the staged nature of the landings allowed the formidable German forces in the area to react.
The 2nd Battalion, the Parachute Regiment, along with its supporting arms and members of the Glider Pilot Regiment, did capture the bridge and gallantly defended it against heavy German attacks for four days until they ran out of ammunition and most of their number were killed or wounded. Thereafter, the 1st Airborne Division concentrated in an area incorporating the Arnhem suburb of Oosterbeek. Attempts to re-supply the beleaguered force by air drops failed and the order was given to evacuate on 25th September. During the operation, the Gilder Pilot Regiment had flown in 4,500 men, 95 guns, 544 jeeps and other vehicles across 200 miles of sea and enemy held territory and had landed 60 miles behind enemy lines. They had subsequently fought alongside other members of the Division, proving their value as “total soldiers”. In doing so, 229 men had been killed and 469 wounded or taken prisoner.
(Click here to see picture) - Awaiting.
Photograph: The medals and Pilot’s Flying Log Book of Squadron Sergeant-Major Lawrence Turnbull CGM GPR. Turnbull was one of only six members of the Regiment who served in, and survived, all of the major airborne operations of the war. He was awarded the Conspicuous Gallantry Medal for his actions during Operation Varsity and was the only soldier ever to be granted this medal for bravery in the air.
On 24th March 1945, the last airborne operation of the war in Europe was launched. Codenamed Operation Varsity, it was an assault on Germany’s last natural line of defence, the River Rhine. The British 6th and American 17th Airborne Divisions were landed on the east bank at Hamminkeln whilst 21st Army Group crossed the river. The Glider Pilot Regiment, severely depleted after Arnhem, could not supply enough pilots for the 440 gliders required for the operation. Specially trained Royal Air Force pilots made up the shortfall. Many of the lessons learned in previous operations were put into practice and the Rhine Crossing was a great success. Despite 75% of the gliders being hit by flak or small arms fire, by 1pm on 24th March, all objectives had been captured.
The original Army Air Corps was disbanded in 1950. As the need for gliders diminished, members of the Glider Pilot Regiment were trained to fly light aircraft and manned the Royal Air Force Light Liaison Flights. The Regiment was finally disbanded in 1957 when it was amalgamated with the Air Observation Post Squadrons to form the Army Air Corps of today.
Photograph: Part of a chess set given to Sergeant J R Cameron GPR who was shot down and captured by the Chinese whilst serving as a pilot with 1913 Light Liaison Flight during the Korean War. The chess pieces were carved from local wood by a fellow prisoner of war.