A.S. 51 HORSA + BRITISH PARATROOPERS - STARTER SET

The Horsa glider is a British transport glider that was mass-produced by Airspeed Ltd, Austin Motor Company and Harris Lebus during World War II. Wooden, half-shell structure with high wing configuration. Horsa type gliders were intended to transport troops and equipment directly to the enemy's rear. These gliders were designed so that they could be produced independently in separate factories and the assembly was carried out by RAF mechanics, who assembled in this way about 3,000 devices, while the Airspeed factory only 700. The Mk.II version had a movable nose, which allowed loading heavy equipment such as Jeep. The first major operation carried out with this type of glider was the invasion of Sicily in July 1943, where 27 machines were used. Then, Horsa gliders were used during the Normandy landings in 1944, the Rhine crossing in 1945 as part of Operation Varsity. Technical data: length: 20.4 m, wingspan: 26.8 m, height: 6.4 m, empty weight: 3400 kg.Winston Churchill, impressed by the action carried out by the German airborne forces in Crete in 1941, led to the formation of the first British airborne units. The first such unit was The Parachute Regiment, and the first operation was carried out by British paratroopers in 1942. A year earlier, the 1st Parachute Division was formed, and two years later (in 1943), the 6th Parachute Division. It is worth adding that next to these two divisions there was also the 2nd Independent Parachute Brigade formed in 1942. Both British parachute divisions had four to five parachute and glider infantry brigades and support units, such as anti-tank troops, a sub-unit of light tanks or engineering and sapper units. British parachute troops fought both during the fighting in North Africa (1942-1943), during the landing in Sicily and southern Italy (1943), and during the fighting in Normandy (1944) or during the unsuccessful Operation Market-Garden (1944). They were also used during the forcing of the Rhine (1945) and in the last fights in Germany.