General Aircraft Hamilcar

what is it?

The General Aircraft Limited GAL.49 Hamilcar or Hamilcar Mark I was a large British military glider produced during the Second World War, which was designed to carry heavy cargo, such as the Tetrarch or M22 Locust light tank. When the British airborne establishment was formed in 1940 by the order of Prime Minister Winston Churchill it was decided to develop a large glider which would be able to transport heavy equipment in support of airborne troops. General Aircraft Limited were chosen in January 1941 to develop this glider, which they designated the GAL.49 'Hamilcar'.

base stats

• speed 241 km/htop speed
• size 16.3 tmax take-off weight
• built 412made in total

Bars compare against all aircraft: 3,500 km/h, 20,000 km, 850 seats; size and number built on a log scale up to 640 t (An-225) and 45,000 built (Cessna 172).

fun facts

• 🎂First flew 84 years ago, in 1942.
• 🏎️Top speed is 1.9× a car on the Dutch motorway (130 km/h).
• 🚗Wingspan of 33.5 m: about 7 cars parked nose to tail.
• 🐘Fully loaded it can weigh as much as 3 African elephants (~6 t each).

spec sheet

first flight

1942-03-27

introduced

1942

number built

412

role

tank-carrying and heavy loads glider

origin

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

makers

General Aircraft Limited

engines

—

crew

2

length

20.7 m

wingspan

33.5 m

height

6.2 m

max take-off weight

16.3 t

top speed

241 km/h

range

—

Specs are for the version in the Wikipedia article's specification section. Blank means the sources don't say.