…. they gave us a glider to shoot at…..

That would be one of these, with a 25′ wingspan. We tested them at FWS in the hope that they could be used with radar-ranging gunsights rather than the usual 30′ flags, and of course they also looked more realistic.

Trouble was they were more expensive and when damaged could do more harm if they came apart or broke away when returning to base over the heads of the general population.

They also took time and trouble to takeoff and land.

When landing them, the Meteor tow pilot had to be talked down (preferably not onto the runway in use) by someone in the the tower or caravan and then he dropped the towline at the appropriate moment. This sometimes resulted in the landed glider running fast and unpredictably across the airfield. I saw one hit a hut full of workmen on a tea break – they shot out of the door like ants out of a nest but were unharmed.

Another time I was talked down short of the runway and the tow line ended up across a main railway, resulting in trains being delayed while a railway crew arrived to clear the line – they wouldn’t let the RAF do it.

We also used these gliders to demonstrate air-to-air shooting to pilots taking the Pilot Attack Instructor (PAI) course. The pupils were bused out to the coast range and then watched as a couple of us instructors, using operational ammo, shot down the glider (stuffed with fuel-soaked rags) as it was being towed past.

The idea was to see it go down in flames in front of the awe-stricken pupils but these demos rarely went as planned.

I never saw a glider actually catch fire despite the use of incendiary and tracer rounds, and sometimes it took several passes before the glider showed any effect, which left the watchers less than impressed. Lots of fun for all, though!