RAE Gliders

[HighTow]

Can anyone help? Around 1945 the Royal Aircraft Establishment had a number of gliders on their books for various trials and testing and I'm wondering if anyone has a list of their serials and possibly what tests they were used for. For example, I know they had a Horsa Mk.II serial ??271 but can't find the missing letters.

[wieesso]

Do you know this article
http://www.rae-apprentices.co.uk/01aug03GlidingFlight.pdf

and looking at this
Airspeed Horsa Production (http://britishaviation-ptp.com/id109.html)

I only found a Horsa Mk II LJ271

[HighTow]

Wieeso, Thanks for that. I think LJ271 might of been what I was looking for. The fact it was a MkI converted to a MkII is what made it hard to find.

[Mechta]

Horsa TL348 was fitted with a DH106 Comet nose by Martin Hearn Ltd to test for the effects of rain on its windscreen. It is conceivable that it might have visited Farnborough or even have been based there for the trials. Once you get to the link below, click on it to enlarge to a legible version.

Imageshack - 002vx.jpg (http://imageshack.us/f/35/002vx.jpg/)

DFS 228 Luft '46 Prototypes Entry (http://www.luft46.com/prototyp/dfs228.html) says that the DFS228 high altitude reconnaisance rocket glider also went to Farnborough.

[VX275]

Talking of Rocket powered gliders Farnborough used Horsa 1 DG597 for RATO trials.

[India Four Two]

...Horsa 1 DG597 for RATO trials.

VX275, I couldn't help but think that maybe some Colonel Blimp thought that launching Horsas from one field and landing in the next, would be a good way of achieving tactical surprise! ;)

On a more serious note, I hope they started with very small rockets, to assist initial acceleration. I can think of nothing worse than being blasted towards the tail of the tug, over-running yards of slack tow rope.

[VX275]

The RATO trials were conducted with Hotspur gliders then Horsa and Hamilcar with a similar installation on Whitleys. All in the aid of getting heavy tug/glider combos airborne.
The installation looked like a barrel stuffed full of the same 3 inch rockets used to kill tanks and submarines - because they were those rockets. they were of course fired in a sequence, with up to 32 rockets in each pack.

[johnbunting]

Jenkins,
Re. the Christchurch 1940 glider activity, would that be the tests described by Philip Wills? Apparently he was towed out over the Channel by a 504, and released to see whether shore-based radar could detect an approaching all-wooden aircraft.

[JW411]

I had it in my mind that although the unit was based at Christchurch, the flying actually took place from Worth Matravers?