General Aircraft Hotspur
| GAL.48 Hotspur | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Two Hotspur Mark IIs in free flight over the Oxfordshire countryside | |
| Role | Training glider |
| Manufacturer | General Aircraft Limited |
| First flight | 5 November 1940 |
| Primary users |
British Army Royal Air Force |
| Produced | 1940–1943 |
| Number built | 1,015 |
The General Aircraft GAL.48 Hotspur was a military glider designed and built by the British company General Aircraft Ltd during World War II. When the British airborne establishment was formed in 1940 by order of Prime Minister Winston Churchill, it was decided that gliders would be used to transport airborne troops into battle. General Aircraft Ltd were given a contract by the Ministry of Aircraft Production in June 1940 to design and produce an initial glider for use by the airborne establishment, which resulted in the Hotspur.
Conceived as an "assault" glider which necessitated a compact design and no more than eight troops carried, tactical philosophy soon favoured larger numbers of troops being sent into battle aboard gliders. Due to this, the Hotspur was mainly relegated to training where it did excel and it became the basic trainer for the glider schools that were formed.
The Hotspur was named after Sir Henry Percy, a significant captain during the Anglo-Scottish wars who was also known as "Hotspur".
The German military had pioneered using airborne formations, conducting several successful airborne operations during the Battle of France in 1940, including the Battle of Fort Eben-Emael. Impressed by the success of German airborne operations, the Allied governments decided to form their own airborne formations. This decision would eventually lead to the creation of two British airborne divisions, as well as a number of smaller units. The British airborne establishment began development on 22 June 1940, when the Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, directed the War Office in a memorandum to investigate the possibility of creating a corps of 5,000 parachute troops. When the equipment to be used by the airborne forces was under development, War Office officials decided that gliders would be an integral component, to transport troops and heavy equipment.
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