G stands for guts by Richardphotos
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yesterday I was out all day showing my friend from Manchester, UK around Dallas.we finally went to the Frontier of Flight museum.His father was a glider pilot during WWII.I told him about a Englishman that volunteers at the museum.this is him.he is a very spry 88 years old
this is Wing Commander Rick Brown Retired RAF.he volunteers at the Frontiers of Flight at Love Field,Dallas, Tx.he was a Glider pilot(inset) in world war II .he entered the service in 1938 at fifteen years old.he took part in perhaps the Horsa's finest hour came in the early stages of the Normandy Invasion when six Horsas loaded with infantry descended in the darkness of the morning of June 6, 1944, to capture and hold bridges over the Orne and Caen Canal, bridges that would allow German reinforcements to counterattack the Normandy landings. Carrying a company of the Oxford and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry, six Horsas piloted by members of the famed British Glider Pilot Regiment found their insertion points. This exceptionally difficult and dangerous mission, so critical to the success of the beach landings, was accomplished due in no small part to the skilled airmanship of the six Horsa aircrews. (Source: The Wings of Pegasus by Brigadier George Chatterton, D.S.O., O.B.E. pages 136-140)
Rick Brown was personally congratualated by Prince of England many years later
Gib Endrizzi was a Design Engineer for Consoweld. Each mosaic piece in the artistic Glider rendering is made from the original Consoweld product that was used in WWII.
The Consoweld product was the precursor of plastic. The original material was a phenol-saturated sheet of "papreg." Papreg had been developed by the U.S. Forest Products Laboratory in Madison and shipped to paper manufacturers in the state. The phenol-saturated sheets, when heated, bonded together is a hardened product. Today, we know the product as the trade name "Formica." Consoweld and Formica were competitors
The Story of the Gliders that were used in World War II is overshadowed by the glamour of the evolving powered aircraft, both propeller and jet. After the success of the German capture of Eben Emael in 1940, the interest in Gliders was heightened. During WWII, five (5) major types of Gliders were put into production in the U.S.: the CG-3A, CG-4A, CG-10A, CG-13A, and the CG-15A . By far the greatest effort was put into the CG-4A. Of the various glider models built, the total number exceeded 14,400. Only three powered aircraft models built in WWII exceeded the CG-4A gliders in total production: 1) P-47, 2) P-51, and 3) B-24. The Gliders were used in every Theater of Operation during WWII. There was also the HORSA Glider that was developed and built by the British
(I HAVE A SIGNED RELEASE GIVING ME PERMISSION TO POST THIS PICTURE OF RICK BROWN)
Comments (56)
flora-crassella
a wonderful portrait!!!!!
Bossie_Boots
A very interesting story and a superb capture !!
emmecielle
Excellent portrait and interesting story! :)
TallPockets
TERRIFIC narrative and SALUTE!!
efron_241
A real hero.. .thanks for the photo and the touching story
sandra46
outstanding portrait! thanks for sharing this story!
alanwilliams
a man of military bearing, a great portrait
mgtcs
Being in WWII and enlisting at the tender age of 15 is something mind-boggling in and of itself. However, I can only imagine what it must have been like to go on those dangerous missions on glider aircrafts made out of little more than plywood and plastic. Gutsy indeed! As Winston Churchill famously said regarding the RAF pilots: "Never was so much owed by so many to so few". All my respect
Minda
Great photo of your friend and excellent story Richard..
bimm3d
great story, great man, perfect photo!!
Rhanagaz
Excellent photo of this old glider pilot. And thank you for the story! These gliders missions very also extremely dangerous because the gliders were towed by slowly transport planes and completely depended of these, and the gliders were at the same time possible "sitting ducks" if enemy planes attack and every landing was more or less a crash landing. - and finally, relieved after landings the men were quite on their own. The pilots simply participate with the soldiers! These were really brave men! R.
RodolfoCiminelli
Wonderful history and fantastic photography my friend......!!!!
sharky_
Great story and history of his time in glory. Salute to him. Excellent portrait. Aloha
moochagoo
Very interesting story and portrait.
MarciaGomes
FANTÁSTICA FOTO E HISTÓRIA MEU AMIGO,ESTE SENHOR É UM HOMEM DE CORAGEM.++++++5 BELA DEDICATÓRIA.
sazzart
Great Historical Tribute Richard
bmac62
Well done Richard...love the history and this spry old boy's picture:)
Hendesse
Excellent portrait and thanks for the informations too.
bazza
Interesting info Richard well done..
jocko500
wow he led a life to the full. wonderful shot of him
MagikUnicorn
Nice shot
Cosme..D..Churruca
so interesting Richard! many many thanks for sharing this.
momof4rugrats
terrific story and person!nice work!
three_grrr
Wow. Richard, this is a remarkable posting .. and history/story! Thanks for this, I knew that gliders had been used, but not to what extent, and had NO idea that the English produced and used such large gliders!!
Rainastorm
Awesome story and fantastic image thank you for sharing
mapps
awesome :-)