World famous became the Horsa when it was used in the motion picture 'The Longest Day' when a couple lands besides the bridge across the Caen canal. In the movie it looks all very smooth, but it was very dramatic in real time. The first Horsa had to deploy his chute very short because of the high speed. Major John Howard, commander of D Company in the first glider, who had six Horsa’s in his outfit to attack two bridges (three for the Caen canal bridge and three for the Orne bridge), had asked the pilot of his Horsa to put it as close to the bridge across the Caen canal as possible. The pilot did a great job in the dark, by smashing it through the barbwire, and landed just meters from the bridge.

The second glider had to take evasive action because number three cam in too fast. Number three landed so hard, that the impact made the Horsa turn a quarter, and the nose was destroyed, and one of the pilots was drowned. Number two landed behind number three, a smooth landing by using his parachute as a break. The bridge across the Caen canal was secured in minutes.
The other three Horsa’s for the Orne bridge landed wide spread, but these commando’s had no trouble to secure their objective. The bridge across the Caen canal was later named 'Pegasus' after the insignia of the British 6th Airborne Division, and the one across the Orne, was named; Horsa.

After three initial actions (Pegasus, Orne and Merville Battery), 68 Horsa’s arrived around 03.30 hours , on June 6, with reinforcements of the 6th Airborne Division. Also 4 Hamilcars came down during this tow. Because of a crosswind, only 47 Horsa's and 2 Hamilcars reach their designated 'landingzone' (LZ), the others are spread in the area around the rivers Orne and Dives. Later that day another 250 gliders, mostly Horsa's, swooped in and brought an additional 7.500 men into the British sector.

During the American Mission Keokuk 32 landed in the evening of June 6 in Normandy. At that same moment Mission Elmira landed with 140 Horsa’s (beside 36 Waco’s, see below). The next day, during Mission Galveston 20 Horsa’s and 84 Waco’s landed, and Mission Hackensack brought another 30 Horsa's, and 70 Waco’s to the Cotentin.

The work horse under the gliders used by the United States in the Second World War, was the Waco CG-4A (C = Combat, G = Glider, 4A = Model). The Waco Aircraft Company in Troy, Ohio build a craft with a wooden floor, a welded steel frame covered with fabric. A hinged cockpit, that swung upwards, gave way to 13 men or a Jeep with a 75mm cannon.

It was far from a beauty, but the glider was used for one mission only and after landing it was destroyed or abandoned. Test flights were started in 1942. Fifteen company's took on the production of the CG-4A. When the CG-4A arrived in Great Britain it wa given the nickname 'Hadrian'.

The first action with the CG-4A comes during Operation 'Husky', the invasion of Sicily on July 10, 1943. Unknown to the fact that Americans were using gliders during this operation, Allied gunners on ships were unsure what went overhead, and started shooting on these ‘things’. And so a number was shot down, killing the men onboard. Not only friendly fire took their toll, also bad weather and the inexperienced crews brought casualties.

New built Waco’s arrived in England in crates, and were put together by unschooled Brits. This was lack of schooled personal mend that there were not enough Waco’s ready for D-Day on June 6, 1944. IX Air Force jumped in, and by April 1944 910 were put together.

The American 82nd- and 101st Airborne Divisions used plenty of Waco gliders. During Mission Chicago some 155 paratroopers from the 101st Airborne came in 52 Waco’s. Because of the dark, it was around 04.00 hours, many of them crash in the earth walls and in the so-called 'Rommel-asparagus' (long poles in the fields, especially against gliders). At the LZ 'E', near Vierville and St-Marie-du-Monde crashed the glider with Brigadier-General Donald F. Pratt on board. He becomes the first high officer to be killed on D-Day. With Mission Detroit 53 Waco's, with 220 paratroopers from the 82nd Airborne Division on board, were flown in. In the evening of D-Day D-Day Mission Elmira brought another 36 Waco’s with reinforcements. On D-Day+1 during Mission Galveston (84 Waco’s) and Hackensack (70 Waco’s) more reinforcements were flown in (a total of 295 Waco’s were used during the invasion in Normandy).

Despite that the gliders used, during D-Day, were made out of canvas and triplex, are the losses (just) acceptable taking in account all the dangers they encountered during their flight in. Some were lost over the Channel, were shot at, crashed in to trees or poles in fields. Just seven were lost and missing, and 165 were damaged during the first days of deployment during D-Day. Heavy landings took their toll. Casualties under American troopers in Horsa's were 340, and in Waco's 123 men. Glider crews suffered 68 victims. But despite these losses, 3937 troopers came unharmed on the ground in glider, and could start their fight with the German occupation.

Because of the significant losses with the gliders, the decision was made to bring the last 101st Airborne troopers in landingcraft across the Channel.

During D-Day their were just enough Waco gliders, but in September, just three months later, IX Troop Carrier Command could muster 2160 Waco’s. On 17 September 1944, 588 Horsa's, 58 Hamilcars with bren-/universalcarriers and Morris C8 trucks and 4 CG-4A Hadrians took off to bring the 1st Airborne Division near Arnhem. Most of the American 82nd and 101st Airborne used the Waco.

It was a lost battle from the start. After four days against a tough German resistant the Allies realised that all their efforts were going awash. Of the Glider Pilot Regiment, 23 officers and 124 NCO's got killed, 31 officers and 438 NCO's were made prisoner by the Germans. This group of men was responsible for bringing in, with 660 gliders, 4500 men, 95 heavy guns and 544 jeeps or other heavy equipment. Without any doubt an enormous achievement.

Between October 1944 and January 1945, some gliders were rescued by C-47's in a spectacular manner. These saved gliders were used again for crossing the Rhine river in March 1945.