Germans Lead the Way

The first glider competition was held in 1920 in Germany, a nation forbidden to build powered airplanes after its defeat in World War I (1914-1918). German pilots led the way in glider flying, and German manufacturers have remained at the forefront of glider design ever since. In 1922, a German made the first glider flight lasting more than an hour.

Sport gliding became popular in other countries, too. German pilots set

up the first gliding school in the United States at South Wellfleet, Massachusetts, in 1929. The first U. S. gliding champi­onships were held at Elmira, New York, in 1930. Sport gliding is now an inter­national pursuit, with championship competitions for the different classes of gliders.

During World War II, large gliders carrying troops were used by the Germans in their attacks on Belgium in 1940 and on Crete in 1941. Gliders were used by the Allies, too, during the liber­ation of Western Europe in 1944. More
than 300 Allied gliders were used to land assault troops in Normandy, France, during the D-Day landings of June 1944.