Airspeed Horsa World War 2 glider
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 names starting with H, the name Horsa came from the legendary 5th century conqueror of Southern Britain.
The Horsa was first used operationally on the night of 19/20th November 1942 on Operation Freshman, a raid on the German Heavy Water plant in Norway. The next use was on 10th July 1943 on Operation Husky, the invasion of Sicily but the most famous use was during Operation Tonga, the pre D-Day airborne operation of 5th July including the capture of Pegasus Bridge. Other operations included Operation Dragoon, the invasion of Southern France, Operation Market Garden, Arnhem and Operation Varsity, the crossing of the Rhine.