Update Archive

July 2003

New Photo Gallery 5

The latest pictures of the work in progress can be viewed in the Photo Gallery Section

Tail Section progresses well

Good progress is being made on the tail section of the Horsa, with the rudder being completed and ready for covering. The remainder of the tailplane is being covered, and hopefully the whole tailplane will be mounted on the tail section soon.

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17th June 2003

Visit by Professor Richard Holmes CBE TD JP Professor Holmes (Left) discusses the restoration The renowned historian and author Professor Richard Holmes, visited the project in June 2003. He is best known for Firing Line (US title Acts of War), a study of human behaviour in battle, and Soldiers, the book of the prizewinning BBC TV series, which he wrote in association with John Keegan.  He has written and presented several television programmes, including two six-part BBC TWO series, War Walks I and War Walks II, as well as a series on the Western Front which was televised in the summer of 1999.

Silent Wings Museum Visit The President of the Association and one of the Trustees visited the Silent Wings Museum in Lubbock Texas USA, to discuss the exchange of Horsa and Waco parts. The visit was highly successful, and is hopefully the start of a long and mutually advantageous union between our two organisations. (Click on the picture for more pictures)

June 2003

Royal Visit The highlight of this period was the visit by His Royal Highness the Duke of Kent, who inspected the work and talked to veterans and volunteers as part of a visit to RAF Shawbury. This visit just is one of many, and demonstrates the interest in the project and acknowledges its importance as a memorial to all those who went to war by glider. (Click on the picture to go to the Royal Visit Page)

Photo Gallery 4 Posted

A selection of the latest pictures have been posted on the website. Work is still progressing well on the tail section, with the elevators being covered and doped. The rudder will be better than the original when it is complete - well done Gerry - and the fin is being built using a fair degree of reverse engineering and a lot of head scratching. The control runs under the fuselage floor are being worked out, again, the plans leave a bit to the imagination, so this has provided plenty of opportunity for discussion.

Paintings by David Thorp

There are pictures of two superb paintings of the Horsa in action on the Glider Pilot Regiment page. These are displayed by the kind permission of the artist, David Thorp. It is hoped that it will be possible to offer prints of these pictures for sale in the near future. It is also planned to have a separate "Art Gallery" page where appropriate pictures can de displayed and made available for purchase.

April 2003

Horsa Parts Needed

The discovery of the caravan gives us great hope that many more Horsa parts might be waiting to be discovered. May gliders were broken up or sold off at the end of the War, particularly in the West Midlands. Farmers would use the wheels on their trailers, and use the fuselage sections as sheds. If you think that you might know where there are parts that we could use for the glider rebuild, please contact the Chairman or the Webmaster. Even if the parts don't turn out to be Horsa bits, a day out in the country is always welcome!

The Horsa Rebuild

The Horsa continues to progress well, with detail work being completed on the fuselage prior to skinning. Work on the tail surfaces is well advanced, and the next major task will be to mount the fin, rudder, and elevators to the tail section. The work has generated a great deal of local TV interest, with a number of appearances on regional news programmes. More visits have been made by Airborne veterans and their families to see the glider, and to recount their experiences.

Dakota

We are still hopeful that the Dakota will be moved from Coventry to Shawbury at minimal cost, however, the date of arrival has now slipped to August 2003. Unfortunately, the aircraft that has been donated does not come with engines or propellers, and the acquisition of non-airworthy display units would cost as much as £3,000.

March 2003

Lottery Heritage Fund

The response to the initial letter to the Lottery Heritage Fund was encouraging, and an application is to be submitted as soon as possible. It takes 3 months to obtain a decision, so a March 2003 application would result in a decision in late June. If successful, the aim would be to receive the Dakota in late June/early July for restoration on a fully commercial basis.

Dakota

The Association Chairman has written to the RAF Museum at Hendon seeking guidance regarding the colour scheme of the Dakota in 1944. The Chairman recalls being towed by Daks in American colours, but with RAF roundels. We have also asked for a towing bracket which the RAF Museum has on a surplus Dakota. Air Atlantique has been approached to confirm that the engines and propellers can arrive with the Dak, and have been informed that June 2003 is the target date for the move.

VIP Day August 2003

Following the highly successful event last year, a fund raising VIP day will be held in August 2003. We are approaching an expensive period of buying materials for construction of the cockpit and wings, and should not be complacent in our hopes for a grant from the Lottery. Attendance will be limited, and the event is expected to be well attended.

Fund Raising

Many individuals and companies have donated funds to the project, however, there is still a long way to go. Any ideas for fund raising would be most welcome, one being considered is "Sponsor a frame/bulkhead" with sponsors receiving a cutaway print of the fuselage showing their frame or bulkhead. There are 8 bulkheads and 18 frames making up the centre fuselage, so this will be a fairly select group of sponsors. If you are interested, contact the Chairman or the Webmaster quickly to avoid disappointment. Each frame/bulkhead could be marked with the sponsors name - if the Chairman can be persuaded to have some non-authentic additions to the glider!

January 2003

On Silent Wings

In World War two, American glider pilots were trained at Lubbock, Texas. The City of Lubbock donated US$3M for the construction of a new Silent Wings Museum at Lubbock, and US$600,000 per year to run it. The new museum was opened in October 2002.

The American 17th, 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions used about 350 British Horsa's on operations in Europe. The Horsa had a much greater load carrying capacity than the American Waco CG4A. The Silent Wings Museum wants a Horsa. They have agreed to supply us with enough parts to build a Waco in exchange for us making complicated Horsa parts for them. DH Support Ltd of Duxford have provided the Americans with copies of the original working drawings and their Horsa is to be built in full view of visitors to their Museum. The American director visited us in October 2002 and two of our trustees fly to Lubbock soon. The Waco is a vital element of our Memorial, to illustrate British airborne operations at Sicily and in the Chindit operations behind Japanese lines in the Burma campaign.

December 2002

VIP Day 7th November 2002

As a direct result of the VIP day, we raised more than £1000 which is good because funds are running low and we have an expensive year ahead.

Dakota

Waco CG4A Hadrian

This American glider is of great importance to us, because it was used in large numbers by the British in the invasion of Sicily. It was exclusively used in Burma. The second Chindit Campaign had 6 British brigades (more that twice as many as in other operations), behind Japanese lines, entirely supported by air.

A few Horsas were taken as far as India, but being constructed of wood, they were immediately devoured by termites and never saw action. The Silent Wings museum at Lubbock Texas, USA, is going to send us a Waco fuselage and cockpit frame complete with instruments. This is a very useful start for us, and valuable because on the open market these could fetch US$20,000. The American museum wants a Horsa. About 350 Horsas were used by the 17th, 82nd, and 101st US Airborne divisions in Normandy, Operation Market Garden, and the Rhine Crossing. The Waco is of a very complicated tubular steel construction, so to receive an original ready made fuselage is an enormous boost to us. In return, we are to make complicated Horsa assemblies for the Americans. They have great difficulty in getting metalwork done, so we have volunteered to make the complicated bulkheads and frames to hold the wings and undercarriage, a skid, undercarriage complete, and a cockpit carcass.