Welcome to Alamo Liaison Squadron

At ALS, we continue to do our part to ensure the U.S. of A. remains the Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave. Our museum, comprising the only flying collection of WWII L-birds—liaison aircraft—along with artifacts of the era, serves the community and our nation in a multitude of ways.

Stinson L-5 Sentinel

Stinson L-5 Sentinel

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.

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Aeronca L-3 Defender

Aeronca L-3 Defender

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.

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Taylorcraft L-2 Grasshopper

Taylorcraft L-2 Grasshopper

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.

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Casablanca: Operation Torch

Disaster off Casablanca: Air Observation Posts in Operation Torch and the Role of Failure in Institutional Innovation Includes excerpts from the article in Air Power History, Fall 2002, by Edgar Frank Raines, Jr. Both failure and success sometimes lie in the coordinated and spontaneous actions of individuals and the totality of their organization. This is

World War II lives on in South Texas Skies

San Antonio Express-News, Sunday, April 4, 1993, by Susan Yerkes. To some, history is what you find in a high-school textbook. To others, it is fading memories. But to Bob Hood, P.D. Straw, Baylor Randle, Bill Houston, Earl Collins and the other men of the Alamo Liaison Squadron, history is a living, soaring, winged thing

Organic Army Aviation in World War II

Part 2, 1944–1946, by Dr. John W. Kitchens, Aviation Branch Command Historian, U.S. Army Aviation Center, Fort Rucker, AL. Excerpted from Aviation Digest, July/August 1992 The Field Artillery Branch of the Army Ground Forces (AGF) tested aerial observation and fire adjustment from lightweight organic aircraft from 1940 to 1942. The tests led to the establishment

50 Years of U.S. Army Light Aviation

Excerpted from Sport Aviation magazine, June 1992, by H.G. Frautschy. June 6, 1944. A date that sticks in the minds of many of us as “D­-Day,” the day that marked the start of the Allies invasion of Europe during World War II. But for many pilots who flew during the war, June 6th has an­

50 Years of Army Aviation 1942–1992

50th Anniversary of Army Aviation, authored by Major General Dave Robinson. Originally published in United States Army Aviation Digest, May/June 1992. From North Africa to North Korea, from the islands of the South Pacific to the deserts of Southwest Asia, from the plains of Central Europe to the jungles of Indochina, and from the night patrols

King of Battle

A Branch History of the U.S. Army’s Field Artillery Excerpts from Chapter VIII – Field Artillery in World War II: 1939–1945, by Boyd L. Dastrup Motorized field pieces, the fire direction center, radio equipped forward observers, and technological and organizational developments increased the field artillery’s ability to support the other combat arms as well as

Eyes in the Sky

Excerpted from Army History bulletin, Winter 1990/1991, Eyes in the Sky: A History of Liaison Aircraft and Their Use in World War II by Herbert P. LePore. The nascence of fixed-wing aircraft in a combat milieu took place in the early days of World War I when both the Allied and Central Powers used single-engine

Grasshoppers and Flitfires

The early liaison airplanes are being saved. Flying magazine, October 1987, by Gordon Baxter. Down in sunny San Antonio, Texas, the Alamo Liaison Group is the hearty band of enthusiasts that collect, restore and fly these light airplanes that did so much in every theater of the war. The Piper, Taylorcraft, Aeronca and Interstate would

“Keep’em Flying”

Hill Country Recorder, September 19, 1984, story and photo (From the back seat of the L-1) by Roger L. Berry. “RETURN WITH US NOW TO THOSE GOLDEN DAYS OF YESTERYEAR….” The men of the Alamo Wing of the Confederate Air Force did just that on the day of the Kendall County Fair Parade. While authentic