Transport Gliders - what happens to the tow line?
 

I was thinking about the use of transport gliders over the weekend and was wondering how the tow rope was released. In particular, what happened next to the tow rope?

If the glider released it, was it manually winched in by people in the towing aircraft? Some of the footage I've seen shows three gliders being towed at once so someone must have thought about what happens next to the ropes. The tow rope isn't attached to the glider when it lands so it must still be attached to the towing aircraft but I would be surprised if tow lines were left dangling out the back of the towing aircraft until it landed?

Also, what happened if the tow line couldn't be released, was there a manual method or did it have to return home?

Can someone shed some light on what the procedure was?

Transport gliders were considered expendable, so who worries about the tow rope that the tug releases as soon as the glider is free.

The tow rope was ditched from the tug after the glider had released.
When I was towing at Netheravon many years ago, we would drop the tow rope in a designated area for recovery.
Of course, in action, it didn't matter!

Speaking of transport gliders, look on youtube for 'the secret war..if...' a BBC documentary in 6 parts well worth watching if you haven't see it yet.

The tow ropes would be dropped in a designated area away from the LZ after the glider had cast off. Tugs like the Halifax, Stirling, Albermarle, Whitley, Wellington, Lancaster, York, Hastings and Valletta all had a simple mechanisim at the rear to which the tow was attached and released as required by the pilot. The Majority of Dakotas were the same but a few were fitted with snatch gear which comprised a hook (rather like a long arrestor hook) and a winch. The aircarft flew at low altitude past the glider on the ground and caught the glider's tow line which was suspended from two poles. The winch had a slipping clutch (think fishing reel) that allowed the cable to pay out instead of snapping as the glider accelerated up to flying speed. Once everything had settled dwn the excess cable was winched back in so that the glidert the normal distance (300ft) from the tug.
The tug and glider tow points were manufactured by R Malcolm Ltd Slough who's other contributions to WW2 included the bubble canopy on the early Mustangs and the fuselage and tailfeathers for the Haffner Rotabuggy flying Jeep. :\

Ah memories! The Snatch Dak. I think I still have the handling notes somewhere.

Glory: You may find this of interest.
My brother-in-law was a private in the KOSBs, and the following is a short extract from his war time story.

"We went to Brize Norton for glider training, it was as much to give the glider pilots a chance to fly with live loads as for us to get the feel of flying, which I enjoyed very much.
After I had done nine flights I was offered the job of flying as tailend charlie in the Stirling.
The job was to tell the pilots over the intercom when the glider was flying high or low tow, which means above or beliow the plane, and also when he dropped the tow rope in a special field."

After that the army made him an offer he was not allowed to refuse.... a free one way trip to Arnhem in a glider in 1944.

"After that the army made him an offer he was not allowed to refuse.... a free one way trip to Arnhem in a glider in 1944."

Oh dear but what an excellent story !


I just couldn't see tow ropes being jetisoned over civil populations but it makes sense over designated areas. Couldn't have been much fun for the people who had to fetch them back :\.

Thanks for the great input everyone (as usual).

The answer to the original question has been bugging me since I first read it and I can now give a definative answer.

Whilst copying the 38 group RAF Operations Order for Operation Comet - The planned attack on Arnhem cancelled a week before Operation Market Garden, I came across the order in para 17 (i) To the effect that tug aircraft were to drop the tow ropes 2 minutes after releasing the gliders, they were then to turn and follow a reciprocal course home.

I've no doubt that this was standard procedure and as such little or no thought was given to what was under the aircraft when the tow cables were released other than to avoid gliders on or over the LZ.