TG-32/LNE-1 | |
---|---|
US Navy LNE-1 exhibited at the New England Air Museum wearing WW2 color scheme | |
Role | Training glider |
National origin | United States |
Manufacturer | Pratt, Read & Company |
Designer | Charles Ludington |
First flight | March 1942 piloted by Emil Lehecka |
Introduction | 1940s |
Primary user | United States Navy/Marine Corps. |
Number built | 75 |
The Pratt-Read TG-32 was a 1940s American military training glider, designed and built by the Gould Aeronautical Division of the piano manufacturer Pratt, Read & Company of Deep River, Connecticut, for the United States Navy. [1] The Pratt-Read glider was a monoplane glider having a fabric-covered steel tube fuselage and wooden wings and tail. [2] The unique "polywog (tadpole)" shape was the suggestion of aerodynamicist Charles Townsend Ludington, former owner of the Ludington Line.[ citation needed ]
The Pratt-Read PR-G1 was initially designed as a speculative effort to meet a United States pilot training program requirement that Charles Townsend Ludington and Roger Griswold II saw a need for when asked by James A. Gould, president of Pratt, Read & Company, as to what Pratt-Read could do to contribute to the war effort that was seen to be eminent. The civilian registered NX41802 two-seat side-by-side glider was built with the Army in mind and not the Navy. The completed glider was demonstrated before Army and Navy representatives, but the Army already had several contracts with other training glider manufacturers. The Navy was actually interested in the Schweizer two-seat glider as a trainer, but knew the Army had a contract with them and felt that this would delay production for the Navy. The Navy purchased NX41802 and gave it designation XLNE-1, serial number 31505. It was thoroughly tested and evaluated at the Naval Aircraft Factory (NAF) in Philadelphia where it passed its acceptance testing. A production contract for 100 LNE-1 gliders was entered into that were to be used for the training of the Marine Corps glider pilots (all Marine Corps glider pilots were rated Naval Aviation Pilots) for the Pacific campaign. [1]
The first of these contracted production gliders, serial number 31506 was also given the designation of XLNE-1, thus two training gliders had the same XLNE-1 designation and often confuse researchers and historians. It too had to pass evaluation by the Navy. NX41802, Navy XLNE-1 #31505, was returned to Pratt-Read where it underwent destructive testing and was destroyed. When the Navy began to question the effectiveness of a glider assault in the Pacific theater, the original order for 100 gliders was amended and reduced to 75. The short lived Marine glider program was cancelled before any LNE-1's were ever delivered to the unit.
When the decision was made not to use gliders in the Pacific campaign, 73 of the Navy aircraft were transferred to the United States Army Air Forces in exchange for two Pratt-Read manufactured CG-4A Army gliders which the Navy had been experimenting with. The LNE-1 gliders were then given the AAF designation of TG-32. [3] The Air Force did not use the gliders and they were stored until the end of the war and were sold on the civilian market. [1] [2]
Following the war, three Pratt-Read gliders were used in a joint venture of four federal agencies to study severe flying weather. The ventured was called the Thunderstorm Project. In the 1950s the glider was used in a high altitude weather and flight condition investigation called the Sierra Wave project. [2] In 1952 a TG-32 set a new world altitude record of 44,255 ft (13,489 m) for two-seat gliders, a record held for 54 years. [2] The altitude gain of 34,426 ft (10,493 m)achieved on this flight has only recently been superseded by the Perlan Project [4]
Two gliders, #31506 and #31507 were kept by the Navy for further testing.
A number of TG-32 and LNE-1 gliders are on public display in museums in the United States. [6]
General characteristics
Performance
Related lists
The Hiller YH-32 Hornet was an American ultralight helicopter built by Hiller Aircraft in the early 1950s. It was a small and unique design because it was powered by two Hiller 8RJ2B ramjet engines mounted on the rotor blade tips which weigh 13 lb (5.9 kg) each and deliver an equivalent of 45 hp (34 kW) for a total of 90 hp (67 kW). Versions of the HJ-1 Hornet were built for the United States Army and the United States Navy in the early 1950s.
The Stinson Reliant is a popular single-engine four- to five-seat high-wing monoplane manufactured by the Stinson Aircraft Division of the Aviation Manufacturing Corporation of Wayne, Michigan.
The Goodyear F2G Corsair, often referred to as the "Super Corsair", is a development by the Goodyear Aircraft Company of the Vought F4U Corsair fighter aircraft. The F2G was intended as a low-altitude interceptor and was equipped with a 28-cylinder, four-row Pratt & Whitney R-4360 air-cooled radial engine.
The Boeing P-12/F4B was an American pursuit aircraft that was operated by the United States Army Air Corps, United States Marine Corps, and United States Navy.
The Sikorsky R-4 is a two-seat helicopter that was designed by Igor Sikorsky with a single, three-bladed main rotor and powered by a radial engine. The R-4 was the world's first large-scale mass-produced helicopter and the first helicopter used by the United States Army Air Forces, the United States Navy, the United States Coast Guard and the United Kingdom's Royal Air Force and Royal Navy. In U.S. Navy and U.S. Coast Guard service, the helicopter was known as the Sikorsky HNS-1. In British service it was known as the Hoverfly.
The Lockheed YO-3 Quiet Star is an American single-engined, propeller-driven aircraft that was developed for battlefield observation during the Vietnam War. Designed to be as quiet as possible, it was intended to observe troop movements in near-silence during the hours of darkness.
The Aeronca L-3 group of observation and liaison aircraft were used by the United States Army Air Corps in World War II. The L-3 series were adapted from Aeronca's pre-war Tandem Trainer and Chief models.
The Budd RB-1 Conestoga was a twin-engine, stainless steel cargo aircraft designed for the United States Navy during World War II by the Budd Company of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Although it did not see service in a combat theater, it pioneered design innovations in American cargo aircraft, later incorporated in modern military cargo airlifters.
The Schweizer SGS 2-33 is an American two-seat, high-wing, strut-braced, training glider that was built by Schweizer Aircraft of Elmira, New York.
The Waco CG-4 was the most widely used American troop/cargo military glider of World War II. It was designated the CG-4A by the United States Army Air Forces, and given the service name Hadrian by the British.
The Chase XCG-20, also known as the XG-20 and by the company designation MS-8 Avitruc, was a large assault glider developed immediately after World War II by the Chase Aircraft Company for the United States Air Force, and was the largest glider ever built in the United States. The XG-20 did not see production due to a change in USAF requirements, however, it was modified into the successful Fairchild C-123 Provider twin-engined transport aircraft which saw extensive service in the Vietnam War.
The Martin T4M was an American torpedo bomber of the 1920s. A development by the Glenn L. Martin Company of their earlier Martin T3M, and, like it a single-engined biplane, the T4M served as the standard torpedo bomber aboard the aircraft carriers of the United States Navy through much of the 1930s.
The Schweizer SGS 2-8 is an American two-seat, mid-wing, strut-braced, training glider built by Schweizer Aircraft of Elmira, New York.
The Schweizer SGS 2-12 is a United States two-seat, low-wing, training glider built by Schweizer Aircraft of Elmira, New York.
The Briegleb BG-6 was a 1930s single-seat glider designed by William G. Briegleb to be both factory and homebuilt.
The Stearman-Hammond Y-1 was a 1930s American utility monoplane built by the Stearman-Hammond Aircraft Corporation and evaluated by the United States Navy and the British Royal Air Force.
Pratt-Read is an American manufacturing company based in Sycamore, Illinois, that produces screwdrivers. It is a subsidiary of Ideal Industries. Founded in 1798, it is one of the oldest companies in the United States.
The Taylorcraft LBT was a glider designed and built by Taylorcraft during World War II, in response to a United States Navy requirement for a glide bomb. One of three prototype "Glomb" models ordered by the Navy, the LBT suffered from technical and performance difficulties, and was cancelled early in production, none of the aircraft seeing operational service.
The Franklin PS-2 is an American, high-wing, strut-braced, single seat, glider that was designed by R. E. Franklin and produced by the Franklin Glider Corporation starting in 1930.
The Aero Industries TG-31 was a 1940s American military training glider, designed and built by students at the Aero Industries Technical Institute as the Aero Industries G-2 and impressed into military service as the Aero Industries TG-31 on 29 June 1942.