A Halifax bomber tows the first General Aircraft GAL 56 tailless glider, the “Medium V”, which had a sweep of 28-4° at one quarter chord.

The Horten Ho IX was built as the Gotha Go 229 jet fighter-bomber. It is seen at Freeman Field in the USA after capture.

The GAL 56/03 “Maximum V”, TS513, had a sweep of 36-4°. The strange reverse tricycle undercarriage was a distinctive feature of the GAL.56 series.

Another view of TS513, which carried the curious serial “TS513B” throughout its life.

The GAL 56/01, TS507, displaying its generously large elevons, both lowered in this view. It was in this glider that Robert Kronfeld died in a fatal accident while flying from Lasham on February 12, 1948.

The fourth and last of the GAL tailless gliders was the GAL 61, TS515, which had no fins or rudders. The cockpit was offset to port and the observer had a prone position to starboard.

One of the three GAL 56s under construction at Feltham.

The first GAL 56, the "medium V" TS507. Note the yellow-and-black underside finish.

TS510, the “Medium U” GAL 56, had a straight leading edge on the inner section of the wing.

An earlier view of the GAL 56/02, the “Medium U”, in February 1946, still in its wartime colour scheme.

The tailless gliders designed by Reimer and Walter Horten in Germany led to advanced jet aircraft. The Ho II of 1934 is shown.

The prone pilot’s position in a Horten glider.