Whiteman Air Force Base[?] was originally activated on August 6, 1942, as Sedalia Glider Base[?]. In November 1942, the installation became Sedalia Army Air Field[?] and was assigned to the 12th Troop Carrier Command of the US Army Air Force[?]. The field served as a training site for glider tactics and paratroopers, and assigned aircraft included the CG-4A glider, and the Curtiss C-46 Commando[?] and Douglas C-47 Dakota. The CG-4A was constructed of fabric-covered wood and metal and was crewed by a pilot and copilot. It could carry 13 troops and their equipment or either a jeep, a quarter-ton truck, or a 75mm howitzer loaded through the upward-hinged nose section. C-46s and C-47s usually were used as tow aircraft.
CG-4As went into operation in July 1943 during the Allied invasion of Sicily. They participated in the D-Day assault on France on June 6, 1944, and in other important airborne operations in Europe and in the China-Burma-India Theater. Until late in the war, gliders were generally considered expendable in combat and were abandoned or destroyed after landing.
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