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Glider Display Called SuccessAirborne DemonstrationWitnessed By ArnoldLaurinburg - Maxton Army Air Base, N. C., Aug. 7 (UP)—“These boys will have 50 per cent greater ability than members of airborne units that invaded Sicily.“By God, when they can pu gliders down in the pitch dark -when you can’t see a damned thing but the stars—it proves our boys wa are going to town.” Selt;General Henry H. Arnold, toi man of the army air forces, spoke these words after a two-day public I Q. demonstration of new techniques * in airborne warfare which military observers said was a reaffirmation of official faith in the glider as a military weapon. | G1Correspondents and high rankingofficers, including Arnold, witness ed the demonstrations, featuring a he simulated glider attack on an ene- O. my town, single and formation PI takeoffs, and'spot landings both'in rough terrain and, on water. JCArnold described the night landings—made on moonless nights and D: without either ground illumination a j or glider lights—as a new departure in glider warfare.“You couldn’t see a damned thing but the stars,” he said. “Then I heard music in the air—they had the post band in the first glider, and they came in playing ‘Coming in on a wing and a prayer.* After they landed, the band marched away playing ‘What the hell do we care/It was marvelous.”Twenty-two gliders from the 11th . troop carrier squadron staged a . simulated airborne attack on themake-believe enemy town of Max-base near here for the benefit of the press and military observers. Within 10 minutes after the first glider landed in a cloud of dust, clipping 10-foot pines in its path,5 the attack was in full swing. Two gliders opened their short noses and disgorged 75 mm. pack howitzers.'e The 75’s roared and from the cur-tain of dust raised by other incom-1 ing gliders, airborne infantrymen r in full battle dress ran for the woods and their objective.;f, Although officers frankly -said * they did not expect the demonstrate j tion to go off without accident, there was remarkably little damage tr the frail craft. Two assigned to land within a tiny clear island in the weeds collided with slight wingdamage, and inevitable brushes with smell trees damaged wings of several others.The gliders landed upwind, downwind and crosswind—and with ut-id ter disregard for the rutted, sandy terrain. In a planned water land-ts! ing, sone ship plumped into a tiny 1Ci | pond despite a brisk cross wind, and it- 15 troopers in battle dress and Mae se West life preservers jumped out and js swam ashore.v_’ All gliders used were the army’s or standard CG-4A’s standard troop carrier glider.WheYlt;saaT-Toip:TPVIs1
Newspaper Details
Moorhead Daily News
Moorhead, Minnesota, US
Sat, Aug 07, 1943
Page 7
Full Page
Clipped by
Laura K.
CT, USA 04 May 2018
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Moorhead Daily News
