WHEN KITCHENER CALLED

When they hear the recruiter’s call

And they take the King’s shilling

They’re trained and uniformed

And marched towards the killing 

THE DOUGLAS DAKOTA

 

The Douglas C-47 Skytrain

Or as the RAF preferred the Dakota

Was a military transport aircraft

A successful development

From the civilian Douglas DC-3 airliner

A valuable asset to the Allies

During World War II

And like the Hercules

The Dakota’s uses

Were too numerous to mention

And it would be easier to list

What the Dakota can’t do

THE AIRSPEED HORSA

 

The Airspeed AS.51 Horsa

Was a British World War II

Troop-carrying glider

Used for air assault by British

And allied armed forces

Like other British gliders

Of the Second World War,

Gliders were named

After military figures

Whose name began with H,

So it was named after Horsa,

The legendary 5th century

Jutish Conqueror of southern Britain.

But on D-Day 1944

The Horsa showed

It was not a conqueror

But a liberator of Europe

THE GENERAL AIRCRAFT HOTSPUR

 

The General Aircraft

GAL.48 Hotspur

Was a military glider

Commissioned at the behest

Of the then Prime Minister

Winston Churchill

In order to transport

Airborne assault troops into battle

The Hotspur was the result

But its tactical limitations

Meant it was only used for training

THE GENERAL AIRCRAFT HAMILCAR

 

The General Aircraft

GAL. 49 Hamilcar

Was a large British military glider

Produced during World War II

Commissioned at the behest

Of the then Prime Minister

Winston Churchill

In order to transport

Airborne assault troops

And heavy cargo into battle,

When completed

The Hamilcar was capable

Of transporting heavy equipment

In support of airborne troops.

The glider could transport

A single light tank

Or two Universal Carriers.

Hamilcars were only used

On three occasions,

But only in support

Of British airborne forces.

They first saw action in June 1944

Transporting anti-tank guns

Assorted armoured Vehicles

And Tetrarch light tanks

Into Normandy during Operation Tonga

They were used in a similar way

During Operation Market-Garden

And finally in March 1945

During Operation Varsity

When they landed in Germany

THE LOCKHEED HERCULES

The Lockheed C-130 Hercules

Is a four-engine turboprop

Military transport aircraft

An uncomplicated work horse

Take-offs and landings

Can be made on any unprepared ground

And its uses are too numerous to mention

In fact, it would be easier to list

What the Hercules can’t do 

THE WACO HADRIAN

 

The Waco CG-4A

Was the most widely used

Troop/cargo military glider

Of World War II

Named the Hadrian