The Stinson L-5 was the only purpose-built L-bird and the second most widely used liaison aircraft in WWII. It was rugged and powerful. The L-5 was called the Flying Jeep as it could perform many of the same duties.
The Aeronca L-3 joined similar Grasshopper-types in spotting, directing artillery fire, transport, short-range reconnaissance, and training. Some served in North Africa for the Free French Forces.
The Taylorcraft L-2 was an observation and reconnaissance aircraft built for U.S. Army Ground and Air Forces in WWII. L-2s were powered by a 65-horsepower engines and served stateside for training operations.
A 1940s Film on Civil Aviation in the U.S. Sport flying and “pleasure planeing… along the limitless highways of the skies. Compact little monoplanes, ranging in price from $1,200–2,000.” 6-Ship Formation Takeoff Flying a plane like this is not a rich man’s sport. Flying club members cut upkeep costs by doing most of their own…
Reprinted from Air Corps News Letter, March 15, 1940. “Emulation of our seniors,” says the News Letter Correspondent at the Ryan School of Aeronautics, San Diego, Calif., “had always seemed a pretty good adage that has paid certain appreciable dividends in our flying progress at Ryan School. “We are now facing a very critical situation,…
Excerpted from The Field Artillery Journal, May–June 1939, Michael V. Gannon, Captain, Field Artillery, Editor Over the past few years our consciousness has been thoroughly awakened to the import of “blind flying,” but during the same period little or nothing has been said or done about “blind firing” in Field Artillery. Parenthetically, it should be…
Quandary Memorandum for the Deputy Chief of Staff [Maj. Gen. Hugh Drum], June 18, 1938, by General Malin Craig, Army Chief of Staff There is no doubt about the value of controlling fire of field artillery from the air. This requires rapid and accurate transmission of information from the Artillery Observer to the firing unit…