Douglas XCG-17

The Douglas XCG-17 was an experiment cargo carrying glider produced by removing the engines from a standard C-47 Skytrain. The engine nacelles remained, and were simply faired over. The design reached the prototype stage in the summer of 1944, and was a technical success. The XCG-17 could carry up to 15,000lb of cargo, giving it the biggest capacity of any Allied glider (although well behind that of the Messerschmitt Me 321 Gigant, which could carry a 44,000lb tank). It handled better in the air than the Allies’ existing cargo gliders, with a lower stalling speed, which made landing safer, a flatter gliding angle and a higher towing speed. The biggest problem with the XCG-17 was that it arrived too late. The single prototype was stored until the end of the war, and was then given new engines and sold as surplus.

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