General Airborne Transport XCG-16 Combat Glider

[jzichek]

[font=verdana, sans-serif]Check out this article at RetroMechanix.com on the General Airborne Transport XCG-16, an American flying wing type combat glider with twin booms and a single rudder dating from 1944:

The article reproduces an Army Air Force preliminary evaluation report on the type, which features 21 high resolution photos of this innovative but ultimately unsuccessful aircraft.


-Jared[/font]

 

[Retrofit]

Very interesting information and photos! Thanks Jared.

 

[Stargazer]

Very interesting information and photos! Thanks Jared.

Splendid. Many pics in this article I had never seen before!

 

[Johnbr]

Great find.

 

[theponja]

Fantastic!!! Thank's a lot for the report. BTW Is this glider a bit "Burnelli-like"?

 

[Tophe]

Well, this is a famous prototype, not a secret project... Maybe the Aerospace forum would have been a better place, no? It has been photographed in flight, more than the Carplane modern project (a topic I made, that has been moved to Aerospace).
Even the MC-1 first prototype (the XCG-16A being the second, twice bigger) has been photographed (I have a copy somewhere, from Aeroplane Monthly May 1990)

 

[jzichek]

A second post on the XCG-16 has been added to RetroMechanix.com featuring an additional 17 photos of this unusual lifting fuselage military transport/assault glider:

The high resolution photos include some interesting shots of the glider being towed by a B-17.

-Jared

 

[Stargazer]

Very nice! Thank you so much for sharing all this great material. Wish you could find similar pics of the Bowlus/Douglas CG-7 and CG-8!

 

[Boxman]

Very nice! Thank you so much for sharing all this great material. Wish you could find similar pics of the Bowlus/Douglas CG-7 and CG-8!

I don't know if you have seen these yet, but they are posted at the San Diego Air & Space Museum Archives' (SDASM) Flickr site (link). When SDASM first started posting photos on Flickr, they were purposely posted in a degraded resolution. Since they were accepted into the Flickr Commons program, they have posted full resolution photos. Unfortunately, these were posted before that period. However, I am aware that SDASM is making an effort to update these earlier posted photos with full resolution versions.


Bowlus XCG-7
http://www.flickr.com/photos/sdasmarchives/4564659712/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/sdasmarchives/4564029233/in/photostream

http://www.flickr.com/photos/sdasmarchives/4564659640/in/photostream

http://www.flickr.com/photos/sdasmarchives/4564029149/in/photostream/

 

[Stargazer]

Very nice, thanks a lot!!

 

[robunos]

...the MC-1 first prototype (the XCG-16A being the second, twice bigger) has been photographed (I have a copy somewhere, from Aeroplane Monthly May 1990)

Here are the images and relevant text from the above :-

"At around the same time Bowlus began work on a twin-boom flying-wing glider for military transport work. In order to test his design he began work on half-scale proof-of-concept flying model, forming the Airborne Transport Company in Los Angeles, California for the purpose. Construction of the test model was carried out in his tiny shop, a former dry cleaning shop where there was just sufficient room to build the two-seat open-cockpit prototype. On completion. the glider was flown at Muruc Dry Lake, now the site of Edwards AFB. The glider flew well and
Bowlus and partner Albert Criz set about designing, building and marketing the full-size glider, the XCG-16."


cheers,
Robin.

 

[Stargazer]

Awesome, Robin! Hadn't seen these before.

So if I'm not mistaken, there were three separate designs (although the MC- designations are often different depending on the sources):

• Bowlus MC-1, the scaled-down glider seen in the above photos.
• General Airborne MC-2 (Sept. 43), a twin-boom 42-place flying-wing cargo glider. XCG-16-GA (not built).
• General Airborne MC-1A (1944), a 14-place cargo glider, two built as XCG-16A-GA (44-76193 and ?). Scaled-down version of above.

What I haven't been able to determine is if the second XCG-16A did exist or not.

 

[robunos]

Sorry, I've posted all I have.......

cheers,
Robin.

 

[Boxman]

Color 1943 test flight footage of the Hawley Bowlus and Albert Criz designed Airborne and General MC-1 (NX-21757) and the subsequent General Airborne Transport XCG-16A (USAAF Ser. No. 44-76193) transport gliders has recently been posted on YouTube by the Southern California Wing of the Commemorative Air Force (CAFSoCAL). CAFSoCAL describes the footage as 1943 test flights taking place at Oxnard Air Force Base, California (known today as Camarillo Airport (CMA / KCMA)) that was "donated to CAFSoCal museum along with the center section of the wind tunnel model of the aircraft."

YouTube - XCGS 16 Bowlus Glider Test Flights

 

[Boxman]

Higher quality color footage of the General Airborne Transport XCG-16A (USAAF Ser. No. 44-76193) posted on YouTube by Periscope Film. The film is described, "This fascinating, silent 16mm movie comes from the estate of William Hawley Bowlus (May 8, 1896 - August 27, 1967) or someone who was close to him."
YouTube - Periscope Film "WWII FLIGHT TESTS OF XCG-16 CARGO GLIDER DESIGNED BY HAWLEY BOWLUS 28754"

 

[blackkite]

Hi!

Back to the Future with the XCG-16 Bowlus Transport Glider - CAF SoCal

Historic model of Sci-Fi looking glider from 1940s on exhibit at the museum

www.cafsocal.com

 

[blackkite]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1_TZFj_igYA

 

[Maveric]

Awesome, Robin! Hadn't seen these before.

So if I'm not mistaken, there were three separate designs (although the MC- designations are often different depending on the sources):

• Bowlus MC-1, the scaled-down glider seen in the above photos.
  
• General Airborne MC-2 (Sept. 43), a twin-boom 42-place flying-wing cargo glider. XCG-16-GA (not built).
  
• General Airborne MC-1A (1944), a 14-place cargo glider, two built as XCG-16A-GA (44-76193 and ?). Scaled-down version of above.

What I haven't been able to determine is if the second XCG-16A did exist or not.

Is a drawing of the MC.2 possible ?

 

[hesham]

Hi,

THE RETURN OF THE GLIDER

 

[riggerrob]

I don't know if you have seen these yet, but they are posted at the San Diego Air & Space Museum Archives' (SDASM) Flickr site (link). When SDASM first started posting photos on Flickr, they were purposely posted in a degraded resolution. Since they were accepted into the Flickr Commons program, they have posted full resolution photos. Unfortunately, these were posted before that period. However, I am aware that SDASM is making an effort to update these earlier posted photos with full resolution versions.


Bowlus XCG-7

https://flic.kr/p/7Xn5iw

View: http://www.flickr.com/photos/sdasmarchives/4564659712/

https://flic.kr/p/7XiQTc

View: http://www.flickr.com/photos/sdasmarchives/4564029233/in/photostream

https://flic.kr/p/7Xn5hh

View: http://www.flickr.com/photos/sdasmarchives/4564659640/in/photostream

https://flic.kr/p/7XiQRK

View: http://www.flickr.com/photos/sdasmarchives/4564029149/in/photostream/

That Bowlus was based upon a much earlier concept. Remember that Bowlus was a leading maker of competition sailplanes back during the 1930s. XCG-7 was designed to carry 2 pilots plus 7 other soldiers. Think of the Eban Emal raid where 8-man gliders released several kilometers from the target at higher altitudes and flew in silently to land on top of the fortress. 8-man teams of assault pioneers leapt out to place explosive charges against fortress turrets.

Later in the war, most assault gliders were larger (20 -30 passengers) and were towed in at low altitudes 2,000 -3,000 feet and released en-mass.

Nowadays, SOF soldiers perform the first mission via high altitude high opening tactics. They exit transport planes flying at 20,000 or 30.000 feet and glide down-wind to cross a swath of territory far larger than any army can search. One of the first demonstrations was during the mid-1980s when a combined force of British SAS and SBS opened over Dover Castle and landed in France!

 

[Stargazer]

Awesome, Robin! Hadn't seen these before.

• General Airborne MC-2 (Sept. 43), a twin-boom 42-place flying-wing cargo glider. XCG-16-GA (not built).

I think I made a mistake here. Further research led to the following:

Airborne Transport Co. was founded in 1942 by Hawley Bowlus and Albert Criz. The company produced the MC-1, although the MC-1A appears under the name Albert Criz Co. Then it became General Airborne Transport Co. (GATC), located in Glendale, Calif. — although some souces give San Fernando or Los Angeles. Don Mitchell worked as Director of Projects for that company.

MC-1	1942	1​	none	Half-scale model of MC-1A lifting body glider; later converted to flying wing by Don Mitchell, one of Hawley Bowlus's friends and a colleague at Bowlus Sailplanes. Also called the Bowlus-Criz MC-1.
MC-1	1944~	(1)​	none	Same aircraft converted to a flying wing by Don Mitchell, using external stabilators for control and stability. Flown "many times at the Dry Lakes". Photo above appeared in W. D. Heideman's personal documents and corresponds to this description, so it might depict this aircraft but there is no certainty about it.
MC-1A	1943	1​	NX21757 (c/n 1)	Full-scale private venture lifting body transport glider. Crashed fatally, killing pilot Richard Chichester du Pont (who had become the glider specialist with the USAAF chief of staff). Registered as plain MC-1.
MC-2	Sept. 43	0​	—	Twin-boom 42-place flying-wing cargo glider project. Not built.
XCG-16 (GATC)	1944	1​	44-76193	Second example of MC-1A for U. S. Army Air Forces evaluation; wooden construction, fabric-covered moveable surfaces.
XCG-16A (GATC)	nd	0​	—	Second military prototype with revised crew accomodation. Cancelled.

Is a drawing of the MC.2 possible ?

Unfortunately I don't have any.

 

[publiusr]

Hi,

THE RETURN OF THE GLIDER

Any attempt to put missile batteries to either side?