We weren't sure what to expect when we went to this museum but it was very interesting! We had never heard about these glider pilots and what a huge impact they had on the war.
Lubbock played a big part as a pilot training field. There was a very good film to watch which showed the importance of these gliders, the dangers that their pilots faced, and how they impacted the war.
It's a pretty large museum with displays, posters, and paintings as well as actual gliders, uniforms, and weapons on display.
This poster is pretty famous but it really highlights the contributions women made to the war when they stepped into the jobs left open by men going to war. They kept the home front going and supplies available.
Pilots had to be armed and ready to fight because glider trips were usually one way journeys. The gliders were launched by being towed by a plane and then glided silently to their destination bringing needed supplies to troups or dropping bombs.
This photos was taken when the second pilot misjudged the distance ad landed on top of the glider landing before him.
Rationing at home was a big fact of war.
The glider hanging from the ceiling shows what they were like.
We could see inside this glider. They had wood frames covered by canvas. It is absolutely amazing at the cargo they could transport.
England also had gliders but they were different from those in the U.S. Some of our pilots served on the English gliders that were in the war before we were.
This is what the cockpit looked like.
Interior of a glider. Definitely nothing fancy or elaborate.
Glider pilot uniforms.
Glider pilot barracks.
Gliders actually carried jeeps like this inside.
Once the glider landed, the pilots had to be prepared to defend themselves.
All in all, it was a great museum, much more than we expected to see and learn.
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