Taylorcraft L-2
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Interior of Taylorcraft L-2M N52347 |
Taylorcraft L-2 Grasshopper is an observation and liaison aircraft used by the
United States Army Air Forces in
World War II. The L-2, adapted from Taylorcraft's pre-war commercial Model Tandem Trainer, was initially designated the O-57 at the time it was first ordered by the Air Corps. The airplane was given its service tests in the summer of
1941 during maneuvers in
Louisiana and
Texas where it was used for various support purposes such as a light transport and courier.
At the time American ground forces went into combat around the world during WW II, the AAF began using the L-2 in much the same manner as the observation balloon was used in France during
WW I--spotting enemy troop and supply concentrations and directing artillery fire on them. It was also used for other types of liaison and transport duties and short-range
reconnaissance which required airplanes that could land and take off in minimum distances from unprepared landing strips.
*
L-2 page at the National Museum of the United States Air Force*
L-2 page at Warbird Alley
