The General Aircraft Limited GAL. 49 Hamilcar or Hamilcar Mark I was a large British military glider produced during the Second World War, which was designed to carry heavy cargo, such as the Tetrarch or M22 Locust light tank. When the British airborne establishment was formed in 1940 by the order of Prime Minister Winston Churchill it was decided to develop a large glider which would be able to transport heavy equipment in support of airborne troops. General Aircraft Limited were chosen in January 1941 to develop this glider, which they designated the GAL. 49 'Hamilcar'. It was designed to transport a single light tank or two Universal Carriers. A number of problems, which included vacillation by the War Office on the number of gliders it wanted, and poor management by GAL, led to delays in the production of the Hamilcar, and the first production glider was assembled only in mid-1943. These problems were only partially solved, and production of the glider continued to be slow, hampered by difficulties in finding suitable locations to store and construct the Hamilcars once their parts were produced. A total of 344 Hamilcars had been built when production ended in 1946.
The London Gliding Club (LGC) is a members' club whose airfield is located at the foot of the Dunstable Downs. Many privately owned gliders are based there. It has the facilities to train pilots in powerless flight, and in the skills necessary to fly cross country using nature's sources of energy. Aerobatics and instructor training are also available. The LGC is open 364 days a year and is one of the largest and oldest Gliding Clubs in the United Kingdom. The club provides gliding courses, one day courses and trial lessons for members of the public.
The LS11 or AFK1 is a prototype Two-Seater Class sailplane currently in development at Akaflieg Köln e.V.. The LS11 first flew on 5 November 2005.
Binz is the largest seaside resort on the German island of Rügen.
The European Gliding Championships is a gliding competition held every two years.
Manfred Binz is a German former professional footballer who played as a defender. He is the current assistant manager of SC Hessen Dreieich.
The Junkers Ju 322 Mammut was a heavy transport military glider, resembling a giant flying wing, proposed for use by the Luftwaffe in World War II; only two prototypes were completed, a further 98 were scrapped before completion.
Gollenberg is a municipality in the Havelland district, in Brandenburg, Germany consisting of Schönholz-Neuwerder, Stölln and Ohnewitz.
The Fauvel AV.22 was an unorthodox glider produced in France in the 1950s, 60s, and 70s. Originally intended to be produced in series, it was later marketed to homebuilders. Like other Charles Fauvel designs, it was a tailless aircraft, and this particular design featured wings with a slight forward sweep.
The Battle of Fort Eben-Emael was a battle between Belgian and German forces that took place between 10 May and 11 May 1940, and was part of the Battle of Belgium and Fall Gelb, the German invasion of the Low Countries and France. An assault force of German paratroopers, Fallschirmjäger, was tasked with assaulting and capturing Fort Eben-Emael, a Belgian fortress whose strategic position and strong artillery emplacements dominated several important bridges over the Albert Canal. These carried roads which led into the Belgian heartland and were what the German forces intended to use to advance. As some of the German airborne forces assaulted the fortress and disabled the garrison and the artillery pieces inside it, others simultaneously captured three bridges over the Canal. Having disabled the fortress, the airborne troops were then ordered to protect the bridges against Belgian counter-attacks until they linked up with ground forces from the German 18th Army.
The Ith is a ridge in Germany's Central Uplands which is up to 439 m high. It lies about 40 km southwest of Hanover and, at 22 kilometres, is the longest line of crags in North Germany.
Gliding is a recreational activity and competitive air sport in which pilots fly unpowered aircraft known as gliders or sailplanes using naturally occurring currents of rising air in the atmosphere to remain airborne. The word soaring is also used for the sport.
Kairouan Airfield is an abandoned military airfield in Tunisia, which is located approximately 11 km south-southeast of Kairouan, 126 km south of Tunis. It was a major Troop Carrier unit base of the United States Army Air Force Twelfth Air Force during the North African Campaign. Known units assigned were:
Nancy-Ochey Air Base is a front-line French Air and Space Force base located approximately 11 km west-southwest of Neuves-Maisons in the Département de Meurthe-et-Moselle, France.
Gliding at the 1936 Summer Olympics was a demonstration sport. The sport of gliding had been developed in Germany in the 1920s but had spread widely by 1936, allowing an international demonstration to the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
During World War II civilian flying schools, under government contract, provided a considerable part of the flying training effort undertaken by the United States Army Air Forces.
Lasham Airfield is an aerodrome located 3.6 miles (5.8 km) north-west of Alton in Hampshire, England, in the village of Lasham.
Ostseebad Binz is a terminus railway station in the town of Binz, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. The station lies at the end of the Lietzow-Binz railway and was opened in 1939. The train services are operated by Deutsche Bahn.
The Urft is a 46.4-kilometre-long (28.8 mi) right-hand tributary of the Rur in the county of Euskirchen in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It flows through the village of Urft in the municipality of Kall. The Urft rises in the North Eifel region of the Eifel Mountains.
Rügen Airport, also known as Bergen Airfield or Güttin Airfield, is the only airfield on the German Baltic Sea island of Rügen. The airfield lies in the municipality of Dreschvitz in its subdistrict of Güttin, about 8 kilometres south of the town of Bergen next to the B 96 federal road. Use of the tarmac runway is restricted to aeroplanes with a maximum weight of 5/7 tonnes. It can be lit for night-time operations.
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