AS-51 Horsa I AS-58 Horsa II British Combat Glider

The AS-51 "Horsa I" was also used by American glidermen because of it's ability to carry much heavier loads then the CG-4a glider. Being designed completely of wood it had a wing span of 88 feet and a length of 67 feet. It had a crew of two and could carry over 7100 pounds of equipment or up to 25 fully equipped men. The AS-51 "Horsa I" was loaded via a large side door on the left side just behind the cockpit. To unload heavy equipment from the glider, the tail section was unbolted and pushed to one side. Having trouble removing the bolts during training, small explosive charges were attached to the bolts to aid in the speed of unloading in combat.

The AS-58 "Horsa II" was of the same design, but had a hinged cockpit that was swung to the right side. This was a major improvment in speeding up the loading and unloading of the glider. The Horsa II also had a slightly larger fuselage to better aid in carring larger and newly designed  peices of equipment that were needed to support the Airborne forces..

The 101st AB used the Horsa gliders in all of it's landing operations during WWII and played a major role in the delivery of Artillery, men, Jeeps, and heavy equipment that the division needed to fight behind the enemies lines. 32 such Horsa gliders were used on the evening of D-Day to deliver Artilley, men and ammunition to LZ E. It was also greatly used in the "MARKET" operation by the 101st to carry it's men and material to the LZ in Holland.

Although a well made and sturdy aircraft, it was still prone to breaking apart upon landing causing damage to equipment, injury and lose of life to the glider riders.

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