To Fly the Gentle Giants
The Training of U.S. WW II Glider Pilots
by
Book Cover & Preview Text
General Henry H. (Hap) Arnold, Chief of the
took note of (the German’s success) at Eben Emael and in February 1941
announced that “a study should be initiated into the possible use of combat
gliders.” Late that month,
of a statement on proposed military glider characteristics and tow planes.”
General Arnold’s statement thus began our lurching, awkward, and sometimes
naively conceived glider program…(ultimately) the glider of choice
was the Waco-designed CG-4A. For most pilots it was gentle and
relatively easy to fly. In that sense, it was a gentle giant.
Despite a slow and awkward start, a glider program finally evolved
in the
and well-trained pilots. Between 9 July 1943 and 23 June 1945,
British gliders delivered men and materiel in eight combat operations. Six
of those were in Europe…and two were in
The German taking of
two glider pilot training programs for the
six skilled Army Air Corps pilots began a 24-day training period at the
Lewis School of Aeronautics near
of six started a somewhat similar program at a glider facility on Harris
Hill in
In the fall of 1941, the Army decided to focus its first phase of glider
pilot training on teaching student pilots to fly sailplanes. This “preliminary
training” began at a civilian operated school at Twenty-nine Palms,
Formats
Book Details
About the Book
This is the story of the training of U.S. W W II glider pilots, mainly in the This book is a synthesis of diverse information, and based on over 190 sources. One hundred fifty-four of those are either oral or written histories from the men and sometimes the women involved. A large number of these are unique and previously unrecorded. Most of the information has been collected by the author between 1981 and 2004. Almost immediately it became a labor of love and I became, in spirit, a "family" member with these fine men and women.
Excitement, daring adventures, and horror were not exclusive experiences of WW II pilots flying combat missions in bombers, fighters, and gliders. Rest assured, the training of glider pilots was replete with stories of nearly equivalent adventures and misadventures. Some of those were comical, but often they were frightening, frustrating, painful, and/or perplexing. Sadly, some were deadly
About the Author
J. Norman Grim (Ph.D.) is a retired, emeritus, biology professor from Northern Arizona University, and decades-long member of the National WW II Glider Pilots Association, and the Soaring Society of America. He and wife, Carole, reside in Flagstaff Arizona where he continues research in both biology and military history. He is also a retired Colonel (Army Reserves) after serving 32 years as such. He has flown sailplanes for 40 years; remembering fondly two of his sailplane instructors (in 1968) both of whom were WW II glider pilot instructors at Twenty-nine Palms, California. He was still flying sport sailplanes in 2008.