The CG4 Waco (named Hadrian in Royal Air Force use) was the most widely used United States troop/cargo military glider of World War II. Flight testing began in 1942 and eventually more than 12,000 CG4A's were procured. Fifteen companies manufactured CG4's, including the Wicks Aircraft Company of Kansas City, Missouri and Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation of Kansas City, Kansas, with 1,074 built by the WACO Aircraft Company of Troy, Ohio.

The CG4 was constructed of fabric covered wood and metal and was crewed by a pilot and copilot. It could carry 13 troops and their equipment or a jeep, a quarter ton truck, or a 75 mm howitzer loaded through the upward-hinged nose section. Also a small bulldozer was loaded into some of these gliders. C46's and C47's were usually used as tow aircraft.

Whiteman Air Force Base was originally activated on 6th August 1942, as Sedalia Glider Base. In November 1942, the installation became Sedalia Army Air Field and was assigned to the 12th Troop Carrier Command of the United States Army Air Forces. The field served as a training site for glider tactics and paratroopers, and assigned aircraft included the CG4A glider, and the Curtiss C46 Commando and Douglas C47 Skytrain. CG4's went into operation in July 1943 during the Allied invasion of Sicily. They participated in the American airborne landings in Normandy on 6th June 1944, and in other important airborne operations in Europe and in the China Burma India Theater. Until late in the war, gliders were generally considered expendable in combat and were abandoned or destroyed after landing.

The CG4 found favor where its small size was a benefit; the Allies had the larger Airspeed Horsa could carry more troops (seating for 28 or a jeep or an anti tank gun) and the General Aircraft Hamilcar could carry a light tank but the CG4A could land in smaller spaces. It was used to send supplies to partisans in Yugoslavia.

Charactaristics

Performance