I READ Mr Stephenson's letter with interest (June 4).
I have almost completed the 'war diary' of Full Sutton airfield and I am afraid there is no record of gliders either operating or being tested from this airfield; in fact the first operation was not flown from this airfield until the night of June 22-23 1944 when 12 aircraft attacked the marshalling yard at Orleans for the loss of one Halifax (five of the crew were killed and two became prisoners of war)
Perhaps Mr Stephenson is confusing Full Sutton with the gliding site at Sutton Bank, though this was I believe a dummy airfield during the war.
So far as towing gliders with Spitfires, I doubt if this was possible, the maximum permissible speed of the glider would be slightly less than the minimum speed of the Spitfire.
The usual glider tugs were Miles Masters and Martinets for the Hotspur which was the training glider but the heavy Horsas, Hamilcars and Hadrians were towed mainly by Halifaxes, Stirlings and Dakotas.
Mike Usherwood,
Mendip Close,
York.
Updated: 10:16 Thursday, June 10, 2004
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