L-3 Grasshopper
Aeronca L-3B belonging to theNational Museum of the United States Air Force.
General information
Type	Observation andliaison aircraft
Manufacturer	Aeronca Aircraft
Primary user	United States Army Air Forces
History
First flight	1941
Developed from	Aeronca 50 Chief

TheAeronca L-3 group of observation andliaison aircraft were used by theUnited States Army Air Corps inWorld War II. The L-3 series were adapted fromAeronca's pre-warTandem Trainer and Chief models.

In 1941, theUnited States Army Air Corps ordered four examples of theAeronca 65 TC Defender, designated YO-58, for evaluation of the suitability of light aircraft for observation and liaison purposes. (It also placed similar orders withPiper andTaylorcraft Aircraft). Service tests during the US Army's annual maneuvers proved successful, and resulted in large orders being placed. In 1942, the O-58 was redesignated L-3.^[1][2]

When American forces went into combat afterPearl Harbor, the Army Air Force used the L-3 in much the same manner as observation balloons were used duringWorld War I—spotting activities and directing artillery fire. It was also used for liaison and transport duties and short-rangereconnaissance which required airplanes to land and take off in short distances from unpreparedlanding strips. Liaison pilots would train on L-3s before moving on to front-line aircraft like thePiper L-4 or theStinson L-5. Some L-3s were shipped toNorth Africa, and subsequently given to theFree French Forces in the area at the time. At least one of the aircraft served with US forces in Italy.^{[citation needed]}And minimally one other did service in Normandy, as reported by the Detroit Free Press on 25 June 1944, with a photograph indicating transport of medical supplies to the advancing front-line regiments.

TheTG-5 was a three-seat training glider of 1942 based upon the O-58 design. This aircraft retained the O-58's rear fuselage, wings, and tail while adding a new front fuselage in place of the engine. In all, Aeronca built 250 TG-5 gliders for the Army. The Navy received three as theLNR-1.^[3]

O-58 designation replaced by L-3 designation in April 1942^[4]

• YO-58 – Four aircraft with a 65 hp (48 kW)Continental YO-170-3 engine.^[4]
• O-58 /L-3 – production order of 50, most used for training in the US.^[4]
• O-58A /L-3A – Fuselage widened four inches and extended greenhouse canopy. 20 built.^[4]
• O-58B /L-3B – Modified canopy and additional radio equipment. 875 built.^[4]
• O-58C /L-3C – As O-58B/L-3B but with radio equipment removed for use as trainer. 490 built.^[4]
• L-3D –Aeronca 65TF Defender. 11 aircraft impressed.^[4]
• L-3E –Aeronca 65TC Defender. 12 aircraft impressed.^[4] Continental engine.
• L-3F –Aeronca 65CA Defender. 19 aircraft impressed.^[4]
• L-3G –Aeronca 65L Super Chief with side by side seating. 4 aircraft impressed.^[4]Lycoming engine.
• L-3H –Aeronca 65TL Defender. 1 aircraft impressed)^[4] Lycoming engine.
• L-3J –Aeronca 65TC Defender 1 additional aircraft impressed.^[4] Continental engine.
• JR-1 – Three L-3Cs supplied to theUS Navy.^[4]
• TG-5 – 250 were built as traininggliders for the USAAC.^[4]
• TG-33 – TG-5 converted for prone pilot.^[4][5]
• LNR – Three TG-5s supplied to theUS Navy.^[4]

 Brazil

• Brazilian Air Force L-3C

 Cuba

• Cuban Air Force - received 11 L-3Bs under Lend-Lease.^[6]

 Chile

• Chilean Air Force

30 L-3B delivered to Chile via Lend-Lease program in 1943, all delivered to civil aero clubs. 4 Survivors (CC-KGA at La Ligua, CC-SHA at Chile's Aviation Museum. Two examples in the hands of restorers at Tobalaba airfield, Santiago, and Los Angeles.)

 Dominican Republic

• Dominican Air Force - received 3 L-3Bs in 1943.^[7]

 United States

• United States Army Air Forces
• United States Navy

 Venezuela

• Aviación Militar – received three L-3Bs.^[8]

Aside from 15 L-3s (2 L-3, 7 L-3B, and 6 L-3C) that remain on the US civil registry as of June 2016,^[9] a number have also found their way into museums

• 42-7796 - O-58A airworthy with Mark A. Henry of Dickinson, Texas^[10]

• 42-7798 – O-58A airworthy with Blake W. Henderson ofWestmoreland, Tennessee.^[11]
• 42-14773 – L-3 airworthy with Audie L. Hollon ofMilan, Missouri.^[12][13]
• 42-36152 – O-58B airworthy with Lee H. Montgomery inCorsicana, Texas. Previously with the Alamo Liaison Squadron inSan Antonio, Texas.^[14][15][16]
• 42-36200 – L-3B on static display at theNational Museum of the United States Air Force atWright-Patterson AFB nearDayton, Ohio.^[17][18]

• 

  42-36639 – L-3D on static display at theSilent Wings Museum atLubbock Preston Smith International Airport inLubbock, Texas
• 43-1844 – O-58B airworthy at thePort Townsend Aero Museum inPort Townsend, Washington.^[19][20][21]
• 43-2820 – L-3E is maintained in flying condition byButler County Warbirds military history museum inMiddletown, Ohio.^[22]
• 43-26772 – L-3B on static display at theAir Zoo inKalamazoo, Michigan.^[23][24]
• 43-26819 – L-3B on static display at the Museo Nacional Aeronáutico y del Espacio inSantiago, Chile.^[25]
• 43-27184 - L3-B Being restored in Sturgis, Mi. 058B-13213 NC 47262
• Unknown – L-3B on static display at theMuseum of Flight inSeattle, Washington.^[26]
• Unknown – L-3B airworthy at theCavanaugh Flight Museum inAddison, Texas.^[27][28] Removed from public display when the museum indefinitely closed on 1 January 2024. To be moved toNorth Texas Regional Airport inDenison, Texas.^[29]
• Unknown – L-3 airworthy at theWings of Eagles Discovery Center inElmira, New York.^[30][31]
• Unknown – L-3 on display at theVintage Flying Museum inFort Worth, Texas.^[32]
• Unknown – L-3B airworthy at theWestern Antique Aeroplane & Automobile Museum inHood River, Oregon.^[33][34][35]
• Unknown – L-3E airworthy with Air Group One of the Commemorative Air Force inEl Cajon, California.^[36][37]
• Unknown – L-3E under restoration with the Spirit of Tulsa of the Commemorative Air Force inTulsa, Oklahoma.^[38][39]
• Unknown – L-3E airworthy with the Missouri Wing of the Commemorative Air Force inPortage Des Sioux, Missouri.^[40][41]
• Unknown – O-58B airworthy with Nicholas S. Kapotes ofPompton Plains, New Jersey.^[42]
• 43-26861 – L-3B airworthy with James S. Tate ofNashville, Tennessee.^{[43][failed verification]}
• Unknown – L-3 on static display at theNational D-Day Memorial inBedford, Virginia.^[44]
• 058B2692 – L-3B airworthy with Air1 Aircraft ofWestfield, Massachusetts.^[45]
• 058B6212 – O-58B airworthy with Bruce Gapstur ofBelle Plaine, Iowa.^[46]
• 058B-8272 – O-58B airworthy with Todd H. Dickens ofCharlotte, North Carolina.^[47]
• 31316 – 65-TAC-L3 airworthy atLa Victoria de Chacabuco Airport in Chile. Registered as CC-AVO.^{[citation needed]}

Data from Jane's Fighting Aircraft of World War II.^[48]

General characteristics

• Crew: 2: pilot, observer
• Length: 21 ft 10 in (6.67 m)
• Wingspan: 35 ft 0 in (10.67 m)
• Height: 9 ft 1 in (2.74 m)
• Wing area: 169 sq ft (15.6 m²)
• Empty weight: 835 lb (379 kg)
• Gross weight: 1,260 lb (572 kg)
• Powerplant: 1 ×Continental O-170-3 OR a Continental A-65-8flat-4 engine, 65 hp (48 kW)

Performance

• Maximum speed: 87 mph (139 km/h, 76 kn)
• Cruise speed: 79 mph (126 km/h, 69 kn)
• Stall speed: 46 mph (73 km/h, 40 kn)
• Range: 218 mi (350 km, 189 nmi)
• Service ceiling: 10,000 ft (3,050 m)
• Rate of climb: 404 ft/min (2.05 m/s)
• Wing loading: 7.45 lb/sq ft (36.1 kg/m²)
• Power/mass: .051 hp/lb (85 W/kg)

• Aeronca Chief family

Related development

• Aeronca 50 Chief

Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era

• Taylorcraft L-2
• Piper L-4
• Levente II

Related lists

• List of aircraft of World War II
• List of military aircraft of the United States

• Adcock, Al (2005).US Liaison Air in Action – Aircraft Number 195. Carrollton, Texas: Squadron Signal Publications. pp. 21–24.ISBN 0-89747-487-2.
• Andrade, John M. (1979).U.S. Military Aircraft Designations and Serials Since 1909. Midland Counties Publications.ISBN 0-904597-22-9.
• Abel, Alan (2001).Aeronca's Golden Age. Wind Canyon Books.ISBN 1-891118-42-0.
• Guillemette, Roger."Aeronca L-3".US Centennial of Flight Commission. Archived fromthe original on 4 January 2006. Retrieved2006-01-04.
• Hagedorn, Daniel P. (1993).Central American and Caribbean Air Forces. Tonbridge, Kent, UK: Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd.ISBN 0-85130-210-6.
• Mondey, David (1996).The Concise Guide to American Aircraft of World War II. London: Chancellor Press.ISBN 185152-706-0.
• Swanborough, F.G.; Peter M. Bowers (1963).United States Military Aircraft since 1909. London: Putnam.
• "Venezuela Refurbishes Her Aerial Sombrero".Air International.5 (3):118–124, 150. September 1973.
• "Aeronca L-3 Aircraft Finder".AeroWeb: The Aviation Enthusiast Corner. City University of New York. Archived fromthe original on 2006-01-18. Retrieved2006-01-04.

Wikimedia Commons has media related toAeronca L-3 Grasshopper.

• L-3 page at the National Museum of the United States Air Force
• L-3 page at Warbird Alley
• L-3 page at Museo Nacional Aeronáutico y del Espacio de Chile

• 1940s United States military utility aircraft
• Aeronca aircraft
• High-wing aircraft
• Single-engined tractor aircraft
• Aircraft first flown in 1941
• Aircraft with fixed conventional landing gear
• Single-engined piston aircraft

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