Second World War aviation art prints of the Horsa aircraft. Our collection of prints and original paintings of the Horsa aircraft of World War Two.
The Airspeed AS 51 Horsa named after Horsa the legendary conqueror of southern Britain in the 5th century was built by Airspeed Ltd during the second world war. The Horsa was a troop carrying glider that also could carry light vehicles. On the 19th / 20th November 1942 the Horsa was used for the first time for Operation Freshman, the unsuccessful attack at Rjukan in Norway on the German heavy water plant. The two Horsa gliders, each carrying 15 sappers, and one of the two Halifax Bombers used to tow the gliders, crashed in Norway due to bad weather. All 23 survivors from the glider crashes were executed on the orders of Adolf Hitler. In preparation for further operational deployment, 30 Horsa gliders were air-towed by Halifax bombers from Great Britain to North Africa but three aircraft were lost in transit. On 10 July 1943, 27 surviving Horsas were used in the invasion of Sicily during Operation Husky. During the Normandy landings over 250 Horsa Gliders were used by British and US Forces. The first units to land in France during the Battle for Normandy were at Pegasus Bridge where 6 Horsas were used in the capture of the bridge over the Caen canal, and a further bridge over the River Orne. In 1944 large numbers were also used for Operation Dragoon and Operation Market Garden, and in March 1945 Horsas again were used during Operation Varsity and the final operation for the Horsa when 440 gliders carried soldiers of the 6th Airborne Division across the Rhine. The Horsa Glider was towed by a variety of aircraft, usually bombers. The Short Stirling, Handley Page Halifax, Armstrong Whitworth Whitley and the Armstrong Whitworth Albemarle and also the Douglas C-47 Dakota. During Operation Market Garden, a total of 1,336 C-47s along with 340 Stirlings were employed to tow 1,205 gliders, and Curtiss C-46 Commando. They were towed with a harness that attached to points on both wings, and also carried a intercom between tug and glider. The glider pilots were usually from the Glider Pilot Regiment, part of the Army Air Corps, although Royal Air Force pilots were used on this occasion.
Operation Deadstick by Michael Turner
At 0016hrs on 6th June 1944 three Airspeed Horsa gliders, flown with outstanding skill by pilots from the Glider Pilot Regiment, and carrying airborne troops from the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry and Royal Engineers, landed within yards of the bridge over the Caen Canal at Benouville, Normandy. The audacious attack achieved complete surprise, and some fifteen minutes later the bridge had been secured, an objective of vital importance to enable the advance of the Allied Liberation Forces on D-Day.
Item Code : GT0086
Operation Deadstick by Michael Turner - Editions Available
LZ S-17, Operation Market Garden, September 1944 by Jason Askew.
1 Border Regiment (1st Airborne division) unload their Horsa gliders, and push on to the next stage of the operation, forming a defensive perimeter around the LZs and DZs, ready for the next lift.
Item Code : DHM1506
LZ S-17, Operation Market Garden, September 1944 by Jason Askew. - Editions Available
The Longest Day Begins - Pegasus Bridge by Geoff Lea
Features the successful Horsa glider borne assault on the Caen Canal bridge at Benouville in Normandy at approx. 00.15hrs on D-Day, the 6th June 1944. Troops from the second battalion of the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry led by Major John Howard took the bridge which later became known as Pegasus Bridge.
Item Code : DHM0286
The Longest Day Begins - Pegasus Bridge by Geoff Lea - Editions Available
Out of the Night - The First To Go In by Robert Taylor.
Silently out of the night they came. With flaps deployed, three timber and plywood Horsa gliders swept swiftly down through the night skies, rapidly closing with their objective – Pegasus Bridge over the Caen Canal. On board, with tension etched deep into their blackened faces, men from the Oxfordshire & Buckinghamshire Light Infantry, part of the British 6th Airborne Division, braced themselves for landing. They, and sappers from the Royal Engineers, were about to become the first fighting force to land in France on D-Day. They were about to make history.
Item Code : DHM1818
Out of the Night - The First To Go In by Robert Taylor. - Editions Available
D-Day Invasion : Tribute to the Glider Troops by Ivan Berryman.
A tribute to the glider crews and airborne troops who participated in the glider operations during D-Day. The British Horsa glider (known as the flying coffin) was used by British, Canadian and American airborne forces during the invasion. Approximately 100 glider pilots were killed or wounded during the D-Day operations.
Item Code : B0313
D-Day Invasion : Tribute to the Glider Troops by Ivan Berryman. - Editions Available
Coup de Main, Pegasus Bridge, Normandy, 6th June 1944 by David Pentland.
As a prelude to the invasion of Europe, certain important targets were attacked by airborne forces. Among them the bridge over the Caen canal which would protect the allies left flank. Major John Howard (D Company Ox and Bucks Light Infantry) gliders achieved complete surprise and the bridge was taken in a matter of minutes. Ever after it has been known as Pegasus Bridge in honour of the airborne forces emblem.
Item Code : DHM1840
Coup de Main, Pegasus Bridge, Normandy, 6th June 1944 by David Pentland. - Editions Available
Tugs of War (Stirling & Gliders) by Ivan Berryman.
Wearing the distinctive black and white identification stripes of the D-Day operations of June 1944. Airspeed Horsa MkII assault gliders, towed by their Short Stirling MkIV tugs of No.620 Squadron, make their way across a moody English Channel en route for Normandy during the tumultuous Operation Overlord.
Item Code : B0011
Tugs of War (Stirling & Gliders) by Ivan Berryman. - Editions Available
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Limited edition of 250 prints, with crew signature. Full Item Details
Lishman Y. Easby (Wireless Operator) joined the RAF in 1941 after service in the Home Guard. He was selected for training as a Wireless Operator/Air Gunner but after training as a W/Op he was posted to Coastal Command 159Gp HQ, Liverpool, and served in 1942 as a ground wireless operator. Later in the year he was called for training as a W/op (air) which was followed by an air-gunner course. Following this he was posted to an Operational Training Unit and joined Ron Clark and his crew as a W/op on 4 engined aircraft – the two jobs were separate. The crew were later posted for further training, first on Halifax and then on Lancasters; then posted to 100 Sqn, Waltham, near Grimsby, where they were given a brand new Lancaster which they named the Phantom of the Ruhr. Their Flight Engineer, Harold Bennett DFM painted its name and insignia on the nose of the aircraft. The same name today adorns the Lancaster which flies as part of the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight. In the Phantom they completed 21 ops to Germany and two to Italy, after which the Phantom was taken in for extensive repairs due to enemy damage. The crew completed a further four ops which then completed their tour. For their 27th op the crew were transferred to 625 Sqn Kelstern (Lincs) which turned out to be their final operation and they were then disbanded. Lishman Easby was then posted to OTU near Shrewsbury to help with the training of new crews. Later he was posted to 298 Sqn Transport Command with another pilot (Ian Forbes) and crew where they received training in towing Horsa Gliders in preparation for an airborne attack on Singapore. However, the war ended suddenly and the Sqn was posted to India and eventually to Burma to take part in Operation Hunger. This entailed dropping sacks of rice on isolated villages thus saving them from famine. This ended his service and he was released from service in 1946. He agreed to his name being held in reserve as a Minute Man until aged 45. During this time he could be called back in an emergency for immediate service. However, this never happened.
One of the pilots in the third glider to arrive alongside what was to become famous as Pegasus Bridge, Boyle had a key role in perhaps the most dramatic action by airborne forces on D-Day. The Horsa landed heavily on the edge of a pond throwing two officers through cockpit windows and temporarily trapping some of the troops in the aircraft - one had been killed, the only fatal casualty in the landings. Boyle then joined in the actions across bridge. Although demanding very accurate flying (all three gliders landed within 500 metres of the bridge), they had been rigorously trained for the landings; Boyle remembers more than 40 individual rehearsals. A few months later he landed another Horsa at Arnhem but was taken prisoner in the subsequent fighting.
