It is the glider pilot who releases the glider once the tug pilot has signaled that they are at the LZ and the Glider Pilot can identify his landing area. After the release of the glider the tow rope precariously arches downward and now the C-47 has to jettison the tow rope from the tail of the C-47. Always in combat briefings the tow rope drop area is designated so that the tug pilot knows where to release it. Landing with a tow rope still connected to the C-47 can cause the plane to crash and it have been known to kill entire crews. But how does the pilot know for sure that the tow rope really did get released? Whether in training or combat he has know way of knowing. He cannot see it when it is released. This is a solution that the 436th line chief came up with:

"We have an inventor in our department. He is none other than our popular line chief, Master Sergeant ROBERT PARTNER his “thing-a-ma-jig” is called a Tow Rope Warning Light Installation. A letter accompanied by a diagram was submitted to the group engineering officer on May 9, 1944, A. D. This warning light will enable the pilot to know at a glance, when the tow rope has been dropped from the tail section of the plane after the Glider had been released. At the present we have this installation on 13 of our planes. The remainder of the planes will be similarly equipped as soon as material is available, our stock being exhausted at present. That’s far the installation has been highly effective.
"- Signed: Sumner P Youngblutt, 1st Lt., Air Corps, Engineering Officer."