I used to work at Davis Monthan AFB in 1978 where we would use H-3's to mid air snag Ryan Firebee drones that were dropped from the DC130 Hercules. The helicopter had a large winch that had hydraulic and electric feed to it. Upon catching the drone, the line fed out and was slowly braked to keep from snapping the cable. Midair catches can be found on YT. The program was defunded and some of the helicopters went into the boneyard storage and others went to Kirtland AFB. The Pima Air Museum has one of the Firebees on display.
I feel like “then and not until then” was learned through tragedy - this entire concept seems sci-fi level insanity, that they executed this routinely is mind blowing and proves it to actually be genius! There are so many potential points of devastation on this system though - the tow rope running below the elevators 😮😮 when he hooks and the initial climb is initiated it’s astonishing that the glider doesn’t nose up enough for the rope to force the tug elevators up, and how powerful is the Dak that it doesn’t jolt and stall the instant the shock load is taken up - just nuts!
In talking to tug pilots they say that when the snatch is made it is like the C-47 stops for a second in mid-air. As soon as the C-47 is about to hit the rope full throttle is made. You may find this article interesting on our website. www.ww2gp.org/gliderpickup/gberry.php
This is great. My grandfather was a gliderman during ww2. I wish I knew more about him and his experiences. I only know he trained with British troops in England and glided into Holland in Operation Market Garden. Enlisted in Boston May of 1942, designated AAF, flew in gliders called "Waco's". I never knew about what he did during the war until the series Band of Brothers came out when I recognized the parachute with glider patches were the same one as my grandfathers picture. The patch is on his garrison cover on the left side in his picture. I had read that those patches were sewn on the left in country and would be sewn back on the right side where they should be if they made it back home from the war. Not sure if that is true, just something I read years ago. I was told he never spoke of the war or any of his experiences, only that he would scream and cry in his sleep and that he was a kindhearted guy that would give you the shirt off his back. War is terrible but I understand a man must do what a man must do. Thank you to all that answered the call and mostly my eternal gratitude to those that never made it home!!!
And there I was thinking *winch* launching was a sudden high-G experience ;-p Those guys make it look almost easy - It really wouldn't have been. The debt and respect owed to tens of thousands of ordinary blokes doing utterly extraordinary jobs is immense.
You might be interested in this article on our website. www.ww2gp.org/gliderpickup/gberry.php Gerald "Bud" Berry just passed away last November. He was one of the best snatch gliders and he gave me an exclusive story about the first snatch out of Normandy. --Patricia
@@nationalworldwariigliderpi545 Thanks Patricia. For sure I'll take a look, it sounds interesting. How incredibly fortunate you caught up with the bloke before parts of his story were lost to the river of time. . Its more likely your organisation fed the BGA than vice versa when they worked on the article - But for such interest as it it may be, their magazine 'Sailplane & Gliding' carried a feature in 2019 or 2020 about volunteering, selection & training of the British glider pilots, plus the gliders themselves. Folk may or may not realise they were Army, not RAF. ('Though the RAF provided most of their training). Curiously enough, the one piece which stands out in my memory was a picture of the recruiting poster - A Red Devil or Demon with the words 'So, You want to be a Glider Pilot' as the 'Banner' headline. Guess it struck a chord.
What is amazing is that everything you see in the film, the glider, jeep, C-47, uniforms and equipment can't be more than a few years old. This is what the United States could produce in a hurry 85 years ago. And narrated by President Ronald Reagan.
This sounds so complicated, I wonder how they ever came up with it and then made everything required with the technology they have, then actually made it work in wartime under near impossible situations.
It started with the mail system in the 1920-30s. they used the snatch system in remote towns to pickup mail. Then when the war started and in Burma they needed to get injured troops out of the jungle so they perfected the system with the drum payout.
I once knew a farmer a little guy named Ernest Taylor from near Liberty ,Pa. One winter afternoon a couple of them spoke about their war as I listened. Ernie was one of the Unwanted Bastards told about taking along steel plate to sit on ,it was against regulations, and the piece of steel saved his life. I asked Ernie if he ever took one back ? Ernie looked up fast with big eye and reddening face , ONCE I DID. After that i crashed them so not to fly again. They hang up a rope from outa the glider up on poles ,then some damn fool flying C 47 snags it . Here I go from sitting still to about 200 miles . He said I was the likely fool that first ride ,Id been Stupid to do a ride like that anymore. Said he seen them come apart in flight killing people . To him they was best a one use only and not worth mens lives for money. Mr Erie Taylor was short in size with a heart of lion he stood taller than most.
Sorry for the late reply. He was exaggerating of pulling your leg. The engineers made sure they were flight worthy. It would be on them if something went wrong with the glider on snatch. That is in regards to reclamation after a combat mission. However they were snatch when they had to release for other reasons and not on an air field. Also the snatch takes them to 120 MPH. Yes 200 could damage the glider. C-47 is not to fly the glider over 120. A friend certified to do snatches said that when he was in the glider it was no more Gs than a carnival ride. However, when he was copilot in the C-47 he said that the C-4, when it makes the snatch, seems to come to a complete stop in the air for a split second. The C-47 is only 25 feet off the ground to do the snatch.
James Winnie will be attending our reunion in October 3rd 4th 5th 2024. He was a Crew Chief on the C-47 during WWII and trained other Crew Chiefs how to operate the snatch drum on the pickup. In Europe he helped to keep the C-47 running. We also have a glider pilot and and glider power pilot attending. Do not miss this opportunity. Become a member and then register for a great opportunity. www.ww2gp.org/reunion
We have some great closeup photos and additional information on our website at ww2gp.org/gliderpickup/ There is also statistics in Keith Thoms article on the right sidebar. The system was used extensively in Burma to get tractors and equipment into the jungle to create landing strips for the C-47s . Once a glider landed it needed to be extracted from the jungle so the snatch was used. In our membership Briefing there has been articles on the question mark symbol that was put on the C-47 tails and the Project Nine work. I need to add those eventually to the website. In the ETO after combat missions the gliders were repaired and snatched for another mission. Had they not done this work there would not have been enough gliders for the last major operation of the war in the ETO VARSITY. One of our current members is a WWII glider mechanic who not only repaired the gliders but piloted them out on the snatch. I was told that it is no different than a carnival ride. One minute you are on the ground the next you are going 120 miles an hour. Those in the C-47 says when the hook connects it is like the C-47 stops in mid air for a second.
Why does history channel not show this type of stuff? I actually like these videos. I am amazed they had this in ww2! It’s pretty technical! It’s better then recreating battle zones by CGI on History channel
In my opinion, the best snatch pilot in the European Theater was Gerald "Chuck" Berry. The logistics of altitude and crossing the top of the snatch line with the length of the propeller coming below the belly of the C-47, to me, is interesting. Chuck had an issue with his pickup pole when snatching a glider out of Normandy and had to decide if he could go any lower to make the pickup. Check it out: www.ww2gp.org/gliderpickup/gberry.php Snatching gliders were necessary in Burma to get the gliders out of the jungle. They even did night snatches. www.ww2gp.org/burma/nightRetrieval.php Check out our website at www.ww2gp.org Not sure why flim or TV never picks up on the glider program. Those who do mention it often get the information wrong because they do not take the time to do the research. I think they look at it as a taxi driver only. Thanks for your comment! Kind regards, Patricia Overman
Great video and to think not a single microprocessor anywhere, all electro mechanical and hydraulic systems. There are still some glider launch system using the elastic properties of nylon rope to get airborne :)
Between the six and ten minute mark, I couldn't stop thinking about the turbo-entabulator video: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-yjXTOlsE8k0.html
What was your father's name? We have all glider pilots in our database. As far as deaths with snatch pickups that did not happen. The gliders in combat did controlled crashes with the terrain unknown however, the enemy fire knocking out controls and those crashes often resulted in injuries and death. The actual controlled snatch were safe. I would very much like to know the circumstance of your father's death. Please contact me at nwwiigpa@gmail.com I am a member of the National WWII Glider Pilot Association's research team. Kind regards, Patricia Overman
@@nationalworldwariigliderpi545 -i know all the history of the glider pilots===my sister was in contact with your group and shared all the data she had,pictures,his unit,etc--dad not die in ww2--the guy i am named after did,another glider pilot-thank you for your interest--my dad died of alcoholism in 1968--my son was a helicopter pilot in the Iraq,afghan wars--soloed a glider at age 14 at Bishop Calif at the age of 14 in a rain storm--his instructor was old school,said stay away from those clouds!!! soloed a 150 on the day he turned 16 by SLC utah--joined the 160th on the day he turned 18--downed aircraft recovery team,nightstalkers--i am afraid we are headed to ww 3 with nukes Patricia,wish you well
