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.
Excerpted from Science News Letter for June 10, 1944. THE TINY grasshopper planes, or flying jeeps, are being used by the Army in the jungles of Burma for air ambulance work. Up to the present time these planes have been used mainly for reconnaissance work and directing artillery fire. This is the first time that…
Excerpted from The Field Artillery Journal, May 1944, By Maj. Edward A. Raymond, FA Organic air observation for artillery has come into its own after trial in Africa, Sicily, and Italy. The development of its use throughout the three campaigns is an interesting tale from the professional point of view, and it is a tale…
Sixth in a series of incentive films made “exclusively for the men and women of American industry,” this mid-1944 official US War Department film depicts the use of “pint-sized” planes in directing artillery fire. Beginning at the 09:35 mark, it shows the “Grasshopper” and features light aircraft used for observation and transportation. The roughly two-minute…
Excerpts from HQ North African Theater of Operations U.S. Army, 10 March 1944, by David G. Barr, BG Mountain Warfare The supply of isolated units by air was an innovation adopted in Italy because of necessity. Initially the dropping of supplies was undertaken by the use of A-36 combat planes [the ground-attack/dive bomber version of…
Excerpted from The Field Artillery Journal, September, 1943, by Col. W.W. Ford, FA Organic Field Artillery Air Observation has officially completed the first year of its life. On June 6, 1942, the War Department directed the establishment of this new facility. In the ensuing twelve months plans were made, personnel and equipment were assembled, and…
Excerpted from TIME magazine, Monday, Aug. 16, 1943. Fanny Rouge puttered back & forth a few hundred feet above the battery. From the flimsy two-seater liaison plane the observer could see the target : German trucks and men clustered around buildings off to the right. Fanny Rouge radioed their location to her artillery. “Roger,” said…
Top Secret WWII Bat Bomber Program At the outset of World War II, innovative plans were laid to send some talented fliers to the front lines. The United States was engaged in a number of secret aviation projects during World War II. In 1941, Dr. Lytle S. Adams, a dental surgeon from Irwin, Pa., having…
Excerpts on the Grasshoppers, Sentinel and Vigilant, book by Reed Kinert GRASSHOPPERS EVEN THE light plane has gone to war. These small planes now follow their civilian pilots into uniform. They have proved their worth under grueling field tests and in the face of considerable skepticism.The War Production Board has now ordered manufacturers to deliver…
Excerpted from The Field Artillery Journal, July, 1942 By Lieutenant Colonel Lowell M. Riley, FA [- Commentary #1] The six-week tests which have been conducted at Fort Bragg, Camp Blanding, and Fort Sam Houston with the light Piper Cub plane, L-57 [L-4, 57 H marking], have now been completed. The crews of these airplanes were…
Excerpted from a letter to The Commandant, Field Artillery School, Fort Sill, Oklahoma, August 4, 1941, from William W. Ford, Major, Field Artillery In January 1941 this writer presented his views on the above subject in an article entitled “Wings for Santa Barbara“. This article, published in the April 1941 issue of the Field Artillery…