Waco CG-4A Glider
Built by Richard Marsden in September 2019 for the D-Day Secretary’s Challenge
The Waco CG-4A glider was used in several Allied WWII landings, including D-Day.
Made from fabric-covered wood and metal, they could carry 13 troops or a small military vehicle such as a jeep or a light gun and its crew. Towed to altitude by a transport plane, they would then be released towards their target. Some were shot down, many crash-landed; the remainder were simply abandoned.
Those declared surplus at the end of the war were usually sold for their materials (including the large wooden crates they were shipped in) or converted into wood cabins or house trailers. So, although almost 14,000 were made, fewer than a dozen are know to have survived, some only partially restored, and none in flying condition.
Their wingspan was 83’ 8”, their length 48’ 4”. My model is about 31” by 19”, which works out to a scale of just under 30:1.