These problems were only partially solved and production of the glider continued to be slow, hampered by difficulties in finding suitable locations to store and construct them once their parts were produced.

They first saw action in June 1944, when approximately thirty were used to carry Ordnance QF 17 pounder anti-tank guns, transport vehicles and Tetrarch light tanks into Normandy in support of British airborne forces during Operation Tonga.

[6] Before being selected, the company had already been in the process of developing designs for a glider which would carry a single Mk VII 'Tetrarch' light tank.

[10] However, it only flew once; the test pilot approached the landing area too low, attempted to raise the flaps for extra glide, and instead crashed the prototype and wrecked it.

[11] However, the trial was considered to be a success and the first full-scale prototype model was finished at GAL's works in Hanworth, Middlesex in March 1942.

GAL produced an initial run of 22 Hamilcars, which included the two prototype models and ten pre-production aircraft required for evaluation trials.

Ultimately several senior managers and staff at GAL were replaced on the recommendation of the panel in an attempt to decrease internal conflicts and speed up production.

[16] In late 1943 the USAAF required 140 Hamilcars, which would be used to transport bulldozers and other construction equipment for airfield building, and in November it was agreed that 50 would be supplied to them by June 1944.

[20] The Hamilcar was constructed primarily from wood, mainly birch and spruce, with fabric-covered plywood forming the skin, and high grade steel reinforcement beams in critical areas.

[23] It was so large and heavy that it required the largest and most powerful aircraft to pull it off the airfield and subsequently tow it; four-engined bombers were used, most frequently the Handley Page Halifax.

[8][27] An initial design feature, which was eventually removed prior to full-scale production, was the installation of an under-fuselage hatch which would allow the prone firing of a Bren light machine gun as the glider approached the landing zone.

[12] The Hamilcar was fitted with tailwheel landing gear, with oleo-pneumatic shock absorbers that could be deflated to bring the fuselage nose down for loading or unloading purposes.

[18] Hamilcar training began with dual instruction, where an instructor accompanied the pilots for several hours, and then moved onto flying solo flights.

Planning for the invasion of Europe by the Allies had begun in May 1943 when President of the United States Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Churchill had met at the Washington Conference.

When dawn broke, it was discovered by German forces and attacked; four of the crew and passengers were killed and one captured, but the rest managed to escape.

[44][46] Another Hamilcar rammed several of the wooden poles that had been driven into the ground by the Germans to damage gliders, which resulted in one of its wings being completely torn off as it landed.

[54] Montgomery devised an ambitious plan called Operation Market Garden which would take place in mid-September; it was intended to bypass the Siegfried Line by hooking around its northern end and thereby allow the Allies to cross the Rhine in force and trap the German 15th Army between Arnhem and the shores of the IJsselmeer.

The US 101st Airborne Division (Major General Maxwell D. Taylor) would drop in two locations just north of XXX Corps to take the bridges north-west of Eindhoven at Son and Veghel.

The final three were packed with ammunition and stores, as well as sappers from the Royal Engineers; these were experimental loads, as it was believed that the Hamilcar might be a more efficient way of transporting supplies rather than the Horsa due to its larger size.

Finally on 21 September the weather cleared, but due to 1st Airborne Division's deteriorating situation it was decided that the 878th Aviation Engineer Battalion would not be delivered.

[66] Varsity was initially planned with three airborne divisions in mind, with all three to be dropped behind German lines in support of 21st Army Group as it conducted its amphibious assaults to breach the Rhine.

[68] 6th Airborne Division would be dropped in a single lift, unlike Operation Market Garden, and was to seize the high ground north of the town of Bergen, capture the town of Hamminkeln and several bridges over the river IJssel, and then hold the northern portion of the operational area until relieved by Allied ground forces.

[70] The loads assigned to the Hamilcars were similar to those used during Operation Market Garden, with sixteen of the gliders transporting 17-pounder anti-tank guns, as well as their vehicles and crews.

[72] Eight Hamilcars were to transport M22 Locust light tanks which belonged to 6th Airborne Armoured Reconnaissance Regiment, and another four were to carry panniers of supplies.

[71] All of the gliders successfully took off at 07:20 on 24 March, but seven were lost en route to the landing zones, the majority being forced to cast off and land in Allied territory due to their tugs suffering engine failures; however, one Hamilcar which carried an M22 Locust broke up in mid-air as it approached the Rhine, possibly due to structural failure, and all aboard were killed.

[73] Three more of the gliders were destroyed by German anti-aircraft fire as they approached the landing zones, as their slow speed made them easy targets.

[75] Operation Varsity was the last time that the Hamilcar would be used in combat, but the model did remain in service for several years after the end of the Second World War; they were particularly useful for transporting large and heavy loads.

The remainder continued to be used for routine flying exercises until July, when six more were disposed of due to 'glue deterioration', and by February 1947 only twelve were left in operation.

[79] As such, a powered version of the Hamilcar, the Mark X, was decided upon, as it offered the possibility of long-range airborne operations and the ability to retrieve the glider once it had been used.

With engines installed, a Mark X could be towed by a fully loaded Halifax and achieve an operational radius of approximately 900 mi (1,400 km).