DFS 230A Glider

 Ten Luftwaffe DFS 230A gliders were used in the famous Gran Sasso raid on 12 September 1943 to rescue Mussolini from the hilltop hotel where he was imprisoned after the fall of his government. The force of paratroopers and SS commandos led by Hauptsturmführer Otto Skorzeny was able to grab il Duce with two Italians killed and 10 Germans wounded.

 The glider was 11.24m long with a wingspan of 22m. The width of the body was less than one meter so that the passengers sat in a single file. It had a crew of a pilot and nine troopers. The glider was developed by Deutsche Forschungsanstalt für Segelflug (DFS - "German Research Institute for Sailplane Flight") This model is shown in the livery of the Schleppgruppe 2.

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Antonov A-7 Glider

The Antonov A-7 was one of two Soviet military gliders (see Gribovsky G-11) employed in WWII. It was 11.5m long with a wingspan of 19m. The wooden glider carried a crew of two and eight equipped troops. About 400 were built from 1941 to 1945.

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Horsa AS.51

 The Horsa, Airspeed AS.51, was the British WWII troop and equipment carrying glider. As well as the British Army Air Corps, it was used by the USAAF, RCAF and the Indian Air Force. 3,799 Horsas were built by Airspeed Ltd between 1941 and 1945. The glider was 20.4 m long with a wingspan of 26.8 m. It could carry up to 30 equipped paratroopers. This model is shown in the D-Day livery.

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