The Waco CG-3A was a
US light troop
military glider
Military gliders (an offshoot of common gliders) have been used by the militaries of various countries for carrying troops (glider infantry) and heavy equipment to a combat zone, mainly during the Second World War. These engineless aircraft were ...
of
World War II
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 ...
.
Design and development
The CG-3A was the
United States Army Air Force
The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...
's first production troop-carrying glider. 300 CG-3A 9-place gliders were initially ordered, but 200 of these were cancelled. A few of the 100 built by Commonwealth Aircraft (formerly Rearwin Aircraft) were used as trainers for the improved
CG-4A, but most remained in their shipping crates in storage. The production CG-3A was developed from the experimental XCG-3 which was the only one built by Waco and given Army Air Forces Serial No. 41-29617.
[Development and Procurement of Gliders for the Army Air Forces 1941–1944, AAF Historical Office, Headquarters, Army Air Forces, March 1946]
Operational history
The CG-3A became obsolete with the development of the much improved Waco designed CG-4A 15-place glider with its alternate load of military equipment. The CG-3A did not see any combat and several were used in limited training roles.
Variants
*XCG-3 : Prototype 8-seat glider. One built 1942.
[''Air Enthusiast'' June 1972, p. 321.]
*CG-3A : Production 9-seat glider. 100 built by
Commonwealth Aircraft.
Specifications (CG-3A)
See also
References
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Waco CG-03A
1940s United States military gliders
1940s United States military transport aircraft
World War II transport aircraft of the United States
CG-3A
Aircraft first flown in 1942