325th Glider Infantry Association

Glider Infantry
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"We stood so alone under the only light at the Leicester railway station the night the 325 men returned after thirty-three days of battle without relief. It was Sunday, 9th July, and the night was pitch black. The light we stood under must have been a twenty-five watt. It gave out so little light I could not recognize any of the men as they marched by us. When I asked Colonel Lewis how many men were returning, he got all choked up. He wasn't too sure but he thought about a third! I was prepared for a few hundred but a third, never!

"The soldiers got off the train slowly and walked up the stairs like tired old men. I strained my eyes to recognize a face but didn't see anybody I knew. The men were unshaven, mud-caked and they slumped.

"Back at the camp that night Colonel Lewis insisted on going to the mess hall where the men were to be fed but a coughing spell racked him and he had to sit down on the ground. He leaned on the driver and me and went to his HQ shack where he put his head on his arms to get comfortable at his small desk. I left the Colonel and ran to the mess hall to help pour coffee, but the men just sat there staring into space. They didn't eat. They fell asleep at the table. I didn't say a word to anybody. I noticed, however, that the GIs sat here, there and everywhere in the hall as though returning to a place where they had sat before. I dare not ask where this or that boy was. I knew."

~ Edith Steiger, Red Cross volunteer assigned to the 325th GIR

Most everyone knows at least a little something about the paratroopers of the legendary 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions, but only a few people remember that there was another unit type in the WWII airborne division, the glider-borne infantry. The glider infantry was unique to WWII, it was developed in the early days of the war by the Germans, and was disbanded in the years just after the completion of the war.
 

The Glider Infantryman’s primary mode of transportation was the Combat Glider model #4A, designed and built by the WACO (pronounced wah-co) Aircraft Company.  Although the US Army also used the British Horsa Glider (which was constructed completely of plywood, was much bigger, and could carry a larger payload) in limited numbers, the mainstay of US airborne operations involved the CG-4A.  The CG-4A was 48 feet 4 inches long, with a wingspan of 83 feet, 8 inches.  Construction was of tubular steel frame with canvas covering, and plywood flooring and wings.  It could carry a normal load of 7,500 lbs., but in emergencies could handle up to a maximum 9,000 lbs.  The glider was designed for a maximum speed of 150 mph, with a normal glide (descent) speed of 72 mph; landing speed was 60 mph, and its stall speed was 49 mph.  Quite obviously speed was not one of the CG-4A’s strong points.  In practical terms the CG-4A would normally carry one of the following loads:

 

            13        fully-equipped glider troops

            1          37mm AT gun

            1          1/4 ton truck (JEEP)

            1          field kitchen

            1          75mm pack howitzer

            1          photographic lab

            1          weather station

            1          field set - radio or radar

            1          field repair shop

            6          litters for evacuation of wounded

 

Glider troops who rode in the CG-4A were issued Mae West life jackets, but not parachutes.  The gliders were towed behind transport aircraft, usually the C-47, then released from their tow line once over the "LZ", the landing zone. The highly trained and courageous glider pilots would then have a few scant minutes to pick out a likely landing spot, avoid all the other gliders also trying to make their landings, put the glider down on the ground without cracking it up in a ditch or slamming into trees or hedgerows, and accomplish all this while under withering fire from the enemy. And you only got once chance, there were no "go-arounds" in a powerless aircraft!
 
Why submit the pilots and soldiers to such an experience? The purpose was to put a squad of men on the ground, ready to move out and fight as a team. Quite often the paratroopers were scattered during their drop, and precious hours were lost while trying to regroup and get enough men together so that they could function as a capable fighting unit.
 
Before the invasion of Normandy, it was feared that the glider forces could face 50%-70% losses before even getting into combat, due to crash landings and the German defenses especially designed to stop the glider landings. It was felt by some that these men were simply being sacrificed for no gain. General Eisenhower insisted that the glider assault take place. The actual initial losses in crash landings and other causes were only 10-15%, and the glider forces proved crucial to the success of the invasion at Utah Beach.