BERLIN –
Members of the 315th Airlift Wing here had a lesson in history on a recent mission when they helped bring back a living piece of it for the National Museum of the Air Force in Dayton, Ohio, Dec. 9.
Per the Treaty of Versailles, post World War I German pilots were not allowed to fly airplanes with engines. They were, however, allowed to learn their basic aviation skills in gliders which were built out of wood and canvas.
In the 1930s, German pilots started their flight training on the ground and eventually worked their way up to a real flight, taking off from the top of a hill. Gliders of that generation were very basic, but got the job done in teaching this new skill to a generation of young German airmen.
Around 1990, workmen found an intact 1933 German SG 38 glider in the most unusual place.
"They found it in a wall at the Tempelhof airport [in Berlin]," said Greg Hassler, the full-time restoration supervisor with the National Museum of the Air Force. "The Royal Air Force restored it back in 1990."
Mr. Hassler and his team at the National Museum are caretakers for more than 350 aircraft showcasing the history of 104 years of aviation. When the museum was notified this glider was found and available, they jumped at the chance to add it to the amazing collection already on display at the museum located on Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio.
Mr. Hassler and a museum specialist, Mark Miller, joined the 317 AS crew who were already on a training mission delivering passengers to Ramstein Air Base, Germany, and with the approval from the Air Force, picked up the glider in Berlin.
"This is a real piece of aviation history," said Mr. Miller. "We'll take it back to the museum where it will go into restoration, be reassembled and put on display."
The national museum has more than 60 volunteers in their restoration shop including reservists who travel from Charleston on their annual tour. Tech. Sgt. Sherri St. John, an avionics technician with the 315th Maintenance Group, is one of the specialists lending their knowledge to keep history alive.
"We had to build a special frame and mount in the C-17 to fit the glider for shipping it back," she said proudly as she worked carefully with Tech. Sgt. Billy Brewer, 317 AS loadmaster, in the vast cargo bay of the airlifter. A 1933 German glider is not your ordinary cargo and takes special handling so as not to damage it.
Every aircraft in the national museum is a treasure with a rich history on display for all to see.
"We're proud to be able to help bring it to its new home," said Capt. Jamie Turner, the mission's aircraft commander. "It's hard to imagine actually flying that."
"It's made out of mostly wood and canvas," said Mr. Miller as he checked the condition of the glider like the proud owner of a new car. "For the age, it's in very good shape."
Like all the other aircraft on display at the National Museum of the Air Force, the SG 38 German glider will be yet another window into the past showing generations to come what the original days of German military flight were all about.