History

The Waco CG-4A was a mass produced assault glider produced in the United States during World War II. It was used in most of the major assaults by allied forces from 1943 including the Normandy invasion in 1944.

The Waco CG-4 was a glider designed to deliver troops and cargo in airborne assaults and was considered more or less expendable.

They were constructed mainly of wood and fabric and over 13,900 were manufactured in the United States by sixteen companies.

The first one flew in 1942 and they were first used in operations during the invasion of Sicily in 1943.

They were subsequently used in the D-Day invasion of Normandy, in the Operation Market Garden, the Rhine crossing and in Burma.

Though smaller than other gliders such as the British Horsa they also had a shorter landing run and could land in smaller spaces.

After the war most were declared surplus and sold, where some were converted into camping huts and other civilian uses.

This model represent a CG-4A used by the USAAC at Sicily in 1943.

Italeri 1/72 kit completed by Leigh Edmonds in March 2021.

Data

MODEL: Waco CG-4A

ROLE: Troop and cargo glider

TIME PERIOD: 1942-1945

WING SPAN: 25.5m

LENGTH: 14.8m

MAXIMUM TAKE OFF WEIGHT: 3,402kg

MAXIMUM SPEED: 240km/h

PAYLOAD: 13 equipped troops or 2,26kg of cargo

CREW: 2

SCALE: 1/72

KIT:

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