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 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…
An airplane of the Piper Cub class is entirely suitable for use in observation of artillery fire Excerpted from A Treatise on the Fast Airplane versus the Slow-Flying Light Airplane for Observation of Artillery Fire, July 31, 1941, by Dudley B. Howard, Colonel, Air Corps Problems to be solved How may a slow-flying airplane having a top…
Reprinted from Infantry Journal, by Private John Wolbarst, July 1941. Six thousand airplanes of less than 100 horsepower produced in 1940 attest recognition of the great sport to be found in a lightplane. That the same lightplane is potentially a military instrument of real value is less well recognized. There have been proposals for the…
Excerpted from The Field Artillery Journal, April 1941, by Major William W. Ford, Field Artillery. It is perhaps unfortunate that most of our field artillery officers have learned their gunnery at Fort Sill! Before the author of that statement is shot as a heretic, he wishes to explain. He doesn’t mean the School, he means…
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…