Warbirds and Airshows- WWII Glider Manufacturing Sties and Output

WWII Aircraft Manufacturing Sites-Home Canada Aircraft US Aircraft US Cross Reference US Airships US Engines USA Gliders Propellers Plant Photos US WWII Aircraft Costs WWII Aircraft Manufacturers' Literature WWII US Glider Manufacturing Sites Below are statistics on the number and location of what was almost entirely CG-4A production in WWII. However, there is more to the story of than just statistics. That is the story of the Glidermen that rode these un-powered aircraft into combat. The book, "Glidermen of Neptune: The American D-Day Glider Attack" by Charles J. Masters, gives an excellent overview of what is really an untold and unique story from WWII. Also put on your list of important places to visit the Silent Wings Museum in Lubbock, TX. Lubbock, TX is in the middle of nowhere but it is well worth the trip to see the Silent Wings Museum located there. Actually, once one gets to Lubbock it is a very nice place with many good hotels and restaurants. If you can not get to Lubbock, there is a DVD available called "Silent Wings", which does an excellent job of telling the story of the Gliders in WWII and the pilots and troops that flew in them.
Company	Location	Glider Types	USAAF Code	History
Babcock Aircraft Corporation	Deland, FL	(60) CG-4A	BB	Was out of production by 1945. Unit cost of these CG-4A was $51,000. They manufacturing facility was a circus tent.
Cessna Aircraft Company	Wichita, KS	(750) CG-4A	CE	Cessna built a new plant in Wichita, KS that began shipping gliders nine weeks after construction of the facility. In November of 1942 it produced 409 CG-4As, which was twice the monthly output of any of the other producers. However, production of trainers was deemed more important by the US Army, so it terminated glider production not too long afterwards.
Commonwealth Aircraft Company (Formerly Rearwin Aircraft)	Kansas City, KS	(100) CG-3A (1,470) CG-4A	CM	CG-3A was used for training only and had nine seats.
Ford Motor Company	Kingsford, MI (Ford History refers to this as the Iron Mountain Plant)	(4,190) CG-4A; (85) CG-13A	FO	Largest producer. This was a former wood station wagon (Woody) plant that ran 24 hours a day with 4,500 employees which at peak production was producing 8 gliders a day. This was at a unit cost of $14,891, which was $4,500 lower than WACO, the next most efficient producer. After WWII the plant was converted to the manufacture of Kingsford Charcoal.
G&A Aircraft Corporation	Willow Grove, PA	(627) CG-4A	G&A
General Aviation Corporation	Astoria, NY	(1,112) CG-4A	GE
Gibson Refrigeration Company	Greenville, MI	(1078) CG-4A	GN
Jenter Corporation (former Ridgefield Manufacturing Corporation)	Ridgefield, NJ	(162) CG-4A	RI
Laister-Kauffman	St. Louis , Missouri	(310) CG-4A	LK
National Aircraft Corporation	Elwood, IN	(1) CG-4A	NA	Was out of production by 1943 and was a company organized by several persons with no previous aircraft manufacturing experience, which received a contract for 30 units. .When the contract was terminated by the Army a year later, the cost of the one unit stood at $1,741,808.88.
Northwestern Aeronautical Corporation	Minneapolis, MN	(1,509) CG-4A; (47) CG-13A	NW
Pratt-Read and Company	Deep River, CT	(956) CG-4A	PR
Porterfield Aircraft Company (former Ward Furniture Manufacturing Company)	Fort Smith, AR	(7) CG-4A	WA	Was out of production by 1945.
Robertson Aircraft Corporation	St. Louis, MO	(170) CG-4A	RO	In the most infamous glider accident during WWII a GG-4A fell from the sky after a wing broke off during an open house in front of 10,000 spectators on August 1, 1943.. Killed in the crash were three US Army personnel, the president and founder of Robertson Aircraft, the Mayor of St. Louis and other company officials and local dignitaries. The incident was traced to a faulty part from an outside supplier. The good thing about this is that the problem was corrected in other Robertson built gliders saving the lives of innocent glider pilots and glider infantry using the aircraft in service. Not the best way to find problems in one's product but it did get everyone's attention and the problem was corrected. This accident along with the disastrous Airborne Glider Invasion in Sicily almost ended the Glider program for the US Army.
Timm Aircraft Company	Los Angeles, California	(433) CG-4A	TI	Was out of production by 1945.
Waco	Troy, OH	(1) XCG-3 (2) XCG-4 (1,074) CG-4A	WO
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