Design
The GAL.48 was primarily designed by F.F. Crocombe (team leader) to the Air Ministry specification X.10/40, and was to be similar in design to the German DFS 230 assault glider which had been used in the Battle of the Netherlands. The first prototype of the glider, designated GAL.48 and which would receive the service name Hotspur Mk I, flew in November, only four months after General Aircraft Ltd had been given the requirement for the glider. An initial order of 400 Hotspurs was placed with General Aircraft Ltd in September by the Ministry of Aircraft Production, nearly two months before the prototype first flew.
The Hotspur Mark I was constructed from wood and was designed to accommodate eight fully armed airborne troops. Its wingspan was 62 feet (18.90 m) and it was 39 feet 3.5 inches (11.98 m) in length. With a full load (approximately 1,880 pounds (850 kg)), it weighed approximately 3,600 pounds (1,600 kg). The Mk I was distinguished from its other variants by the addition of cabin portholes along its fuselage, and hooks on the nose and tail to allow multiple Hotspurs to be towed together. The two pilots, and later the pilot and instructor when the Hotspurs were used as training gliders, sat in tandem in the cockpit. It had a jettisonable undercarriage, and its unusual fuselage functioned like a lid; once the Hotspur had landed, the troops inside would throw off the top half of the fuselage and then climb out of the lower half, much like leaving a small boat. A total of 18 Hotspur Mk Is were produced, 10 by GAl and eight by Slingsby Aircraft.
The first operational Hotspur arrived at the Central Landing Establishment between February and April 1941, with 15 being delivered by 22 August. Towing trials began in February 1941 with a Boulton & Paul Overstrand bomber.
Read more about this topic: General Aircraft Hotspur
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