General Aircraft Hamilcar Mk.I

Shown here is an aerial shot of an Hamilcar glider in flight whilst under tow. Note that the cockpit of the Hamilcar is located above the fuselage so allowing an uninterrupted cargo hold able to accommodate a 7.1 tonne (7 ton) Tetrarch light tank, or two Universal Carriers, or a single Bofors gun. It could also carry any other cargo load up to a maximum of 7,983 kg (17,600 lb), including a variety of tracked ansd wheeled vehicles. In 1944 a powered version (using 965 hp Bristol Mercury 31 radial engines) of the Hamilcar, the Mk.X was produced. Intended for deployment in the Pacific Theatre, one hundred of these were ordered as conversions from standard Hamilcar Mk.Is, only twenty-two (including prototypes) had been completed before VJ-Day brought work to an end. None of the Hamilcar Mk.Xs being used operationally.