On 18 September 1941, the Marine Corps Division of Aviation published a recommendation for a glider program to include 100 12-man troop transport gliders and 50 training gliders. Included in the plans were 150 pilots and 500 enlisted men to be part of the Marine Corps glider program."
In 1942 the USMC established Marine Glider Group 71 at Page Field, Parris Island, S.C., using Schweizer LNS-1 and Pratt Read LNE-1 gliders for training. The unit also used several biplane trainer and utility aircraft for towing services. Within a short time, however, the high-performance civilian gliders were deemed not suitable for training pilots to fly the heavy assault and cargo gliders the USMC planned to employ.
Plans for Navy/Marine Corps glider operations drew to a close in 1943 as the USMC completed trials with LRW-1s (CG-4) and the Navy tested the XLRA-1 and XLRQ-1. It became apparant that glider assault was not tactically feasible against the heavily defended and small Japanese held islands of the Pacific, and the program was cancelled.
Above: Marine Schweizer LNS-1 gliders are moved from a hangar at Page Field, Parris island, S.C., May 1942. These gliders were the principal trainers for the USMC glider program. The photo was taken by Alfred T. Plamer, one of a number of photographers working for the U.S. government's Farm Security Administration (FSA) and later the Office of War Information (OWI) between 1939 and 1944. The result was approximately 1,600 color photographs depicting life in the United States during that period
Below: Two Schweizer LNS-1 gliders being towed in flight over Page Fierld, Parris Island in May 1942. Photo by Harold Mollem
