Brought the 2nd L-3 home today

[L-4Pilot]

We got the 2nd L-3 home today, 1943 L-3C 43-1612. Both are now here at home safe and sound with restoration under way on the O-58A. After loading yesterday we enjoyed a great meal at the Barnstomers Grill at Peach State Aerodrome. Good time with great friends while saving our history one aircraft at a time.

[TAdan]

Congratulations on the new toy.

[TROJANII]

Wood wing spars?

[51fixer]

Wood wing spars?

Yes
Keep the Terminx contract up to date.

[Kyleb]

Wood wing spars?

All the 2 seat Aeroncas (L-birds, Chiefs, Champs, and the follow-on Citabrias) had wooden spars. More recently (going back 15 or 20 years, IIRC), they switched to metal spars on the Citabrias and Decathlons.

[L-4Pilot]

Wood wing spars?

The WWII Tactical aircraft that destroyed more German troops, armor and material than any other aircraft had wood spars. Do you know which tactical aircraft it was? German troops and AA batteries were deathly afraid of this aircraft and would not fire on it for fear of giving away their positions. They would only fire once they had been discovered. The pilots of these aircraft had bounties on them and any German soldier that shot one down got a weeks leave.

German artillery batteries would fall silent, and cease fire as soon as one of these aircraft appeared in the air overhead.

A hint, it was not the P-47, B-25 or A-20. It was not the B-17 as it was a strategic aircraft not tactical.

Last edited by L-4Pilot on Wed May 23, 2012 8:29 pm, edited 1 time in total.

[17f]

Mosquito?

[L-4Pilot]

Another hint, they were flown off makeshift carriers during Operation Torch and operated over the beach head and just inland wrecking havoc on German positions and vehicles.

[L-4Pilot]

Mosquito?

No, not even close but the Mossie is one heck of an aircraft.

[L-4Pilot]

Final clues, they were also flown off aircraft carriers made from converted LSTs during Operation Dragoon, the invasion of Southern France. It was George Patton's favorite aircraft and he logged many hours in flight in them over the front lines.

[JohnB]

L-4.

[deltascrew]

A flying-off deck aboard a US LST during WWII. This platform allowed light Army aircraft to be flown off to support invasions, but they could not land aboard............found this on hazegrey.org

[L-4Pilot]

L-4.

Correct!

A single L-4 could bring down a rain of devastation from US artillery batteries and adjust the fire with deadly precision They also directed naval gunfire, the amount of firepower an L-4 could bring to bear on a target was staggering and there was literally no place to go or hide from the low and slow Cub.

The L-4 was not glamorous just deadly effective.

[JDK]

Neat! Congratulations.

Eugene Ely would've liked that flying off deck. Not sure who'd go for it as much after him, though!

The pilots of these aircraft had bounties on them and any German soldier that shot one down got a weeks leave.

Ooooo. I smell Allied propaganda. Any evidence for this from a German source? That sort of claim pops up again and again in wartime Allied stories, mainly because it makes us feel good about the story, rather than making sense from the enemy's point of view.

F'instance, and on the topic, it's sometimes claimed that the aircraft that directed the single greatest weight of fire was an Auster AOP (the British Empire precursor of the L birds) directing the fire of the battleships and cruisers off the Normandy beaches. Certainly a good claim, if always arguable!

Regards,

[Stephan Wilkinson]

Bill Strohmeier was my very first flight instructor.

And you L4 enthusiasts certainly know who Bill is, right?