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.
Undertaken by Hardy Cannon and his team at Cannon Field, this rare lightplane was restored in the early 1980s. Used for training, the C-3 was noted for its gliding ability and gentle landing speeds. Wire bracing supported the wings. An enclosed cabin offered comfort for wintertime flying. Production ended in 1937. This aircraft now resides…
Part 1: Grasshoppers, authored by Brigadier General William W. Ford, retired, gives an account of the actions that led to the birth of Army Aviation. Originally published in United States Army Aviation Digest, June 1982, Volume 28, Number 6. The poem or whatever-it-is [below] (spoken with a Deep South accent), written for a celebration dinner…
Reprinted from Vintage Airplane magazine, June 1982, by E. E. “Buck” Hilbert The Army Air Corps had a whole series of “O” planes in use long before the Army asked the manufacturers to participate in the “Great Maneuvers” in Tennessee and Louisiana in 1941. These “O” types included some names still very familiar today, and…
San Antonio Express, Friday, May 28, 1982, by Joe Fohn. Nobody will mistake Hardy Cannon’s back yard for the hedgerows of Normandy. But the grass airstrip behind his home on loop 1604 near Somerset provides a natural habitat for an antique airplane collection unique in the world: Six World War II liaison planes, one example…
Excerpted from US Army Aviation Digest, June 1979, by Laurence B. Epstein. Army Aviation logistics today is a large, complex and sophisticated matrix of operations, facilities and personnel. It was not always so. Army aviation was first committed to combat during the North African invasion in November 1942. Three Piper L-4 Grasshoppers were launched from…
Excerpted from United States Army Aviation Digest, June 1977. (Personal photographs by Joseph M. Watson Jr.) Today’s army aviation program, with its proven air-mobile/air assault doctrine, began prior to World War II as an effort by individual members of the Field Artillery to obtain adequate aerial observation to adjust Artillery fire. The vehicles they judged…
Excerpted from Mr. Piper and His Cubs by Devon Francis. At daybreak on September 1, 1939, Hitler’s armies poured across the Polish frontier to launch World War II. Fighter airplanes and bombers, spreading destruction and terror, apprised Europe, America, and Asia that a new, strategic dimension had been added to man’s gift for annihilating his own…
Excerpted from US Army Aviation Digest, December 1962, The Army Aviation Story by Richard Tierney, Part VII, The War Years, Europe—Pacific—Korea After Italy fell, World War II raged on in Europe and the Pacific. As Allied might grew, so did the Army’s confidence in its liaison pilots. REPORT FROM EUROPE During the invasion of France in…
Excerpted from US Army Aviation Digest, November 1962, The Army Aviation Story by Richard Tierney, The War Years, Part VI—North Africa, Sicily, Italy I believe that the Army of today has a much keener appreciation for the value of observation aircraft than did most of our commanders in World War II. I used light planes frequently…
Excerpted from US Army Aviation Digest, August 1962, The Army Aviation Story by M/Sgt Thomas M. Lang, Part III—Fixed Wing Aircraft THE QUALITY and capabilities of aircraft in the current Army inventory represent a distinct improvement over the hardware that was available the now-historic 6th of June 1942. Considerable progress has been made in both the…