The WACO glider
© Airborne Museum
The gliders used for the first time in large-scale combat, are important at this time as they are the only way to bring in the much-needed equipment, including ammunition, food, jeeps and side arms (small hand guns). They also supply reinforcements in the form of extra troops. More than 4,000 men are sent into the heart of the battle using 512 gliders on D-Day and D+1. They contributed, through their bravery, to the success of paratroopers.
The glider of the Airborne Museum
On demande of the former mayor of Sainte-Mère-Eglise, the US army went looking for years trying to locate a glider, as to have it on display in the furture musem. This research was difficult because many of the gliders made of metal and wood and canvas had been destroyed during the war.
In the early 60’s the US Army found the remains of a glider in really bad shape it was a WACO CG4A dating from 1943. The remains are confined to the workshops of Salis de la Ferté Alais in the Paris suburbs.
Completely restored the glider with a 25,50 meter wing span and 14,80m long joins the collection of the museum, it’s the only life-size one of a kind sample that can still be seen today in France.
At the end of 2023, as part of an extension-renovation project, the aircraft was dismantled and removed from the building it had occupied for almost 60 years, to be repainted and displayed in a new building entirely dedicated to gliders. Since May 2024, it has been displayed in its new scenography, just landed in a Normandy field, surrounded by soldiers unloading it.
