CG-4A-BB Gliders - 60 examples built
Built by: Babcock Aircraft - 1942-1943
Babcock Aircraft Corporation, DeLand, Florida
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| A CG-4A-WO glider built by WACO in 1942 - Wikimedia Commons |
With plans to produce the LC-13A put on hold, Babcock
Aircraft Corporation turned to building the WACO CG-4A military glider. A
wooden, metal tubing and canvas covered affair, the CG-4A was an unpowered ship
designed to be towed to its target and then released near a drop zone to make its
decent. [1][2]
On April 27, 1942, Babcock Aircraft Corp, received an
initial contract to build 50 of the gliders, designated CG-4A-BB, the last two
letters designating manufacturer. This order was increased to 152 gliders in
May, 1942. Unfortunately for Babcock Aircraft, they neither had personnel
trained in glider construction, nor the proper facilities. [2][3][4]
The high humidity of Florida played havoc with the gluing
process, in one series of destruction tests, 95% of glued samples failed to
pass. Factory space was also a problem and the company had to lease the Volusia
Fair Grounds were they assembled gliders under a large circus tent. [2]
Even the weather refused to cooperate, as one of the largest
record storms in the region swept through on March 2, 1943. Gusts as high as 80
miles an hour tore through Volusia County. Just prior to the storm, six gliders
had been taken from the factory and were being assembled for inspection when
the storm hit. [5]
One of the gliders became airborne with a Babcock employee
on top. The individual had been on top of the CG-4A, trying to help secure the
ropes to tie the ship down. Clinging tightly to the top of the ship he rode the
windswept glider for a distance of roughly 1,000 feet before the glider touched
down and he was able to get off, unharmed, but quite shaken. All six gliders were
damaged beyond repair. Another storm in July destroyed the circus tent and the
renting agency later sued Babcock Aircraft for the loss. [2][5]
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| Mary Babcock (left), daughter of V.C. Babcock, paints identifying marks on crates for the Babcock Aircraft Corp - Library of Congress |
Inadequate facilities, poor production and strife between
the company and the Army Air Force Inspector insured the contract’s premature
end. On June 24, 1943, the number of gliders required was reduced to 60.
Fifty-four of the gliders were delivered from April to August of 1943, with the
six destroyed ships counting towards the total. The individual cost of each
CG-4A-BB glider was put at $50,906 apiece, just $8,000 dollars shy the cost of
a new P-51 Mustang fighter. [2][6][7]
Of the 54 CG-4A-BB gliders, information has been found on
two of them: Glider #42-57524 was attached to the 38th Troop Carrier
Squadron stationed at Mackall Field in North Carolina. The glider was destroyed
in a crash on November 25, 1943. [8]
Glider #42-47411 was given to the United Kingdom as part of
the Lend-Lease agreement and was designated a Hadrian Glider (the name the UK
gave to the WACO CG-4A’s). No final disposition was discovered. [9]
Without the government contracts and lacking the ability to
sell civilian aircraft per the National Defense Program of 1941, Babcock
Aircraft Corporation was reorganized as Del-Air in late 1943 and Vearne C.
Babcock left the company. [2][10]
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| A CG-4A awaits airborne pick-up in Weasel, Germany 1945 - National Archives |
REFERENCES:
1. Jane's Encyclopedia of Aviation - 1989 - Compiled and
edited by Michael J.H. Taylor - Pg 888
2. Development and Procurement of Gliders in the Army Air
Forces; 1941-1944 – Army Air Forces Historical Studies, No. 47 – Pg 117 - 120
3. U.S. Military Aircraft Designations and Serials;
1909-1979 – compiled by John M. Andrade – Pg 96
4. Aircraft Record Cards of the United States Air Force;
How to read the Codes – by Robert A. Mann – Appendix H, Pg 85.
5. “Eight Men injured, Six Gliders Damaged by Storm in
DeLand” – Daytona Beach Morning Journal, Daytona, Florida – 3-Mar-1943, Pg
1&2
6. Airborne Combat – by James E. Mrazek – E-Book,
Appendix D.
7. World War II Glider Pilots – by George F. Brennan,
Edward L. Cook and David H. Trexler – National WWII Glider Pilots Association –
Pg 16
9. Lend-Lease Aircraft in World War II – by Arthur Pearcy
– Pg 131
10. “Sale of Fair Grounds to Babcock is Completed” –
Daytona Beach Morning Journal, Daytona, Florida – 19-Nov-1943 – Pg 1
They must have been doing something right, or at least they were according to my Uncle Max, who worked at Babcock manufacturing gliders. He once told a story that he met a glider pilot after the war who told him they had more confidence in the Babcock gliders than in those manufactured by other companies.
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