Early in World War II, the Germans had had success using gliders to land troops in combat zones, so the U.S. Army decided to develop a similar corps for itself. Glider transport had two advantages ...

Large gliders delivered German troops and weapons onto the battlefield, along with paratroopers. The widely reported successes of German glider troops in 1940-41 – Fort Ében-Émael, the Netherlands, ...

More than 1,500 aircraft and 1,300 gliders - carrying British, American, and Canadian airborne soldiers - participated in the operation. Sixty of those gliders were flown from Earls Colne.