Original photo caption:

THE WACO CG-3A NINE PLACE GLIDER

In general the Waco designed and engineered CG-3A troop carrying glider is an externally braced high-wing monoplane of wood and steel tube and fabric covered construction. This, the first of the big troop carrying gliders, has a wing spread of 73 ft 1 in (22.27 m) and has an over-all length of 48 ft 5.56 in (14.77 m).

The Waco CG-3A carries nine fully armed and equipped men each carrying 40 lb (18 kg) of equipment. The total weight per man plus his equipment can be 240 lb (109 kg), thus this glider has a useful load of better than 2,000 lb (907 kg). Two of the nine men act as pilot and co-pilot. This glider was designed with the primary purpose in mind of transporting nine fully equipped troops on attack missions.

The Waco CG-3A weighs more than 4,000 lb (1,814 kg) gross weight when fully loaded and flies as well at 20,000 ft (6,096 m) as at 200 (61 m). It is usually towed by an airplane at a speed of 120 mph (193 kmh) and has a landing speed of approximately 38 mph (61 kmh).

The ratio of a Waco CG-3A glider's forward progress due to loss of altitude ranges from 6 to 1 to 15 to 1, depending on wind direction, weight and other variables. This means, however, even at the minimum ratio a glider towed to an altitude of 25,000 ft (7,620 m) could fly more than 25 mls (40 km) into enemy territory without its presence being detected by enemy sound detectors.

The CG-3A glider was Waco's FIRST WAR GLIDER. (The SECOND was the CG-4A fifteen place carrier and the THIRD was the CG-13 thirty place carrier.)