Many hundreds of Cubs are still airworthy around the world. The J-3/L-4 not only introduced thousands of aspiring military aviators the basics of flying, it also became a versatile workhorse of the battlefields of World War II. said, “All we had to do was paint the Cub olive drab to produce a military airplane.” A few L-4B versions were field modified and fitted with bazooka anti-tank rockets mounted to the wing struts. A Plexiglas greenhouse skylight and rear windows were added to increase visibility on the military variant.Īt least 5,703 J-3/L4 aircraft were built for military. It was equipped with a two-way radio, powered by a wind-driven generator. Flight instruments included an airspeed indicator, altimeter, compass and simple turn-and-bank indicator. Its fixed landing gear used “rubber-band” bungee cord shock absorbers along with hydraulic brakes and no flaps. It featured a fabric-covered frame with wooden spar, metal-ribbed wings, a metal-tube fuselage and a metal-tube empennage. The L-4 was a two-place tandem cockpit, dual-control aircraft and was among the most useful tactical aircraft of WW II. Military versions of the Piper Cub were known as the L-4 Grasshopper, for its ability to fly out of small spaces. Army Air Corps selected the aircraft for evaluation as an artillery spotter/director platform. The Piper J-3 Cub was vastly popular as a civilian trainer and sport plane before the U.S.
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