Powered Gliders

[andy2012]

I've seen some information on gliders in the war and noticed some were powered, especially German, did they perform as normal airplanes, and wouldn't adding a engine to a glider make it an airplane? Did they have anymore success then the un-powered variants?

[mikewint]

There are "powered" civilian gliders. The engine is small and used to gain altitude then shut off so that no tow plane was needed. The trade off is, of course, extra weight

[R Pope]

Military powered gliders were usually fitted with small engines that were used to transport the empty glider back to base after a mission. They still needed a tow when loaded. Most countries tried them, and thought better of the concept after wasting a bunch of time and money on them. It made more sense to just put bigger engines on them and make them "real" airplanes.