Profiles and Logos
The Airspeed AS.51 Horsa glider was a British World War II troop carrying glider designed by Airspeed Limited and was used by British and Allied forces. British gliders were all had namesstarting with H, the name Horsa came from the legendary 5th century conqueror of Southern Britain.The aircraft was built with a wooden semi-monocoque fuselage built in three sections that were bolted together.
The front section consisted of the cockpit and main freight loading door,the main section accommodated up to 28 troops or freight and the rear section supported the tail assembly. The wing had large “Barn Door” flaps which allowed steep approaches and were actuated by a small air bottle, but could only be deployed once, this allowed the aircraft land in confined spaces. The tricycle undercarriage was fixed and could be jettisoned aftertake off, although it often was not. If jettisoned, the aircraft landed on a sprung skid under the fuselage.
The aircraft first flew on 12th September 1941 with a total of 3,655 being built by Airspeed, Austin Motors and furniture manufacturer Harris Lebus.