The Slingsby Hengist was a British military glider designed and built by Slingsby Sailplanes Ltd. Like other British troop carrying gliders in the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, it was named after military figures whose name began with H, in this case the

Jute Jute is a long, soft, shiny bast fiber that can be spun into coarse, strong threads. It is produced from flowering plants in the genus ''Corchorus'', which is in the mallow family Malvaceae. The primary source of the fiber is ''Corchorus olit ...

invader

Hengist Hengist and Horsa are Germanic brothers said to have led the Angles, Saxons and Jutes in their invasion of Britain in the 5th century. Tradition lists Hengist as the first of the Jutish kings of Kent. Most modern scholarly consensus now rega ...

Design and development

The use of assault gliders by the British was prompted by the use by

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

of the DFS 230 transport glider, which was first used in May 1940 to land assault troops on the

Eben Emael Fort Eben-Emael (french: Fort d'Ében-Émael, ) is an inactive Belgian fortress located between Liège and Maastricht, on the Belgian-Dutch border, near the Albert Canal, outside the village of Ében-Émael. It was designed to defend Belgiu ...

fort in

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

.Simons 1996, p. 99. Their advantage compared to

parachute A parachute is a device used to slow the motion of an object through an atmosphere by creating drag or, in a ram-air parachute, aerodynamic lift. A major application is to support people, for recreation or as a safety device for aviators, who ...

assault was that the troops landed in one place, rather than being dispersed. The Slingsby T.18 Hengist was designed by John "Jack" Frost. It was a 15-seat glider designed to meet Specification X.25/40 (in accordance to O.R.98), issued in February 1941. The specification was issued in case sufficiently powerful tugs were not available for the larger

Airspeed Horsa The Airspeed AS.51 Horsa was a British troop-carrying glider used during the Second World War. It was developed and manufactured by Airspeed Limited, alongside various subcontractors; the type was named after Horsa, the legendary 5th-century c ...

.Ellison 1971, p. 188. Four prototypes were ordered in late 1940, the first prototype DG570 flying in January 1942, towed by an

Armstrong Whitworth Whitley The Armstrong Whitworth A.W.38 Whitley was a British medium bomber aircraft of the 1930s. It was one of three twin-engined, front line medium bomber types that were in service with the Royal Air Force (RAF) at the outbreak of the Second World ...

.Swanborough 1997, p. 89. A total of 14 production Hengist Mk I were delivered to the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

(RAF) between February 1943 and March 1944. One of Frost's unique design touches was to fit the Hengist with a rubber bag as a landing device. A strengthened undercarriage was used on the production aircraft and was called the Mk III, but this name was not carried over to the RAF. The Hengist had a distinctive appearance with curved upper and lower surfaces and a flat sided fuselage.

Operational history

Two Hengist Mk Is were delivered to the Glider Pilots' Exercise Unit while others were issued to experimental units or remained in storage. Production was halted when Waco Hadrian gliders became available under

lease-lend Lend-Lease, formally the Lend-Lease Act and introduced as An Act to Promote the Defense of the United States (), was a policy under which the United States supplied the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union and other Allied nations with food, oil, ...

. As a back-up type, it saw no operational service and was phased out of service in 1946.

Specifications (Hengist Mk I)

References

Notes

Bibliography

* Bishop, Chris. ''The Encyclopedia of Weapons of World War II: The Comprehensive Guide to Over 1,500 Weapons Systems, Including Tanks, Small Arms, Warplanes, Artillery, Ships and Submarines''. New York: Sterling Publishing Company, Inc., 2002. . * Brown, Robert G. ''On the Edge: Personal Flying Experiences During the Second World War''. Renfrew, Ontario, Canada: General Store Publishing House, 1999. . * Ellison, Norman. ''British Gliders and Sailplanes''. London: A & C Black ltd, 1971. . * Flint, Keith. ''Airborne Armour: Tetrarch, Locust, Hamilcar and the 6th Airborne Armoured Reconnaissance Regiment 1938–1950''. Solihull, W. Midlands, UK: Helion & Company Ltd, 2006. . * Lynch, Tim. ''Silent Skies: Gliders At War 1939–1945''. Barnsley, UK: Pen & Sword Military, 2008. . * March, Daniel J. ''British Warplanes of World War II''. London: Aerospace Publishing, 1998. . * Mondey, David. ''The Hamlyn Concise Guide to British Aircraft of World War II''. London: Chancellor Press, 2002. . * Munson, Kenneth. ''Aircraft of World War II''. New York: Doubleday and Company, 1972. . * Otway, Lieutenant-Colonel T.B.H. ''The Second World War 1939–1945 Army: Airborne Forces''. London: Imperial War Museum, 1990. . * Simons, Martin. ''Slingsby Sailplanes''. London: Airlife Publishing Ltd, 1996. . * Smith, Claude. ''History of the Glider Pilot Regiment''. London: Pen & Sword Aviation, 1992. . * Swanborough, Gordon. ''British Aircraft at War, 1939–1945''. East Sussex, UK: HPC Publishing, 1997. . * Thetford, Owen. ''Aircraft of the Royal Air Force 1918–57''. London: Putnam, 1968. . {{Slingsby aircraft 1940s British military gliders Glider aircraft