Stinson L-5A Sentinel
Though not as well known as Cessna or Piper, the Stinson Aircraft Company were a modestly successful company before World War II, producing light general aviation aircraft. Their bestselling aircraft was the Model 105 Voyager, that offered a relatively high cruise speed, excellent short-field performance, and sat three people.
With the US Army undergoing rapid expansion in 1940, the service would need hundreds of aircraft that could act as artillery spotters and observation aircraft. Aeronca and Piper were already producing aircraft, but the Army needed still more, and Stinson offered the Voyager. After failing its first trials, Stinson redesigned it by giving the Voyager a deeper fuselage, tandem seating, and a fold-down rear door. This version the Army accepted as the O-62 in 1942, but this designation was changed to L-5 Sentinel a year later.
The L-5 was considered a success, and 3900 would be built during the war, both for the US Army and USAAF as the L-5, and the US Navy and Marines as the OY-1 series. Pilots loved the Sentinel for its viceless handling, short takeoff run and low stall speed, and reliability. With the redesigned fuselage, a single stretcher could be carried in the back, so the L-5 could act as a casualty evacuation aircraft as well. Some Navy OY-1s even operated from modified landing craft during the Okinawa campaign as artillery spotters, and General George Patton used them to ferry troops across the Rhine River (two at a time) to secure a river crossing.
With so many L-5s in operation, World War II did not see the end of the Sentinel's use. Many were supplied to Allied countries as surplus, and many remained in service, long enough to see action in the Korean War. After Korea, the venerable Sentinel was retired and sold off as surplus; many of these were bought up by both warbird collectors and veterans who knew the L-5's reliability. 300 Sentinels are known to exist, and over half of them are still flyable.
This Sentinel's tail number is unknown, aside from its postwar civil registration. Its wartime history is also unknown, but it was sold off as surplus in 1955, and was flown by private owners until 1985, when it was donated to the March Air Museum. It is displayed in standard USAAF camouflage and hangs from the ceiling at March's main hangar.
Stinson L-5A Sentinel
Though not as well known as Cessna or Piper, the Stinson Aircraft Company were a modestly successful company before World War II, producing light general aviation aircraft. Their bestselling aircraft was the Model 105 Voyager, that offered a relatively high cruise speed, excellent short-field performance, and sat three people.
With the US Army undergoing rapid expansion in 1940, the service would need hundreds of aircraft that could act as artillery spotters and observation aircraft. Aeronca and Piper were already producing aircraft, but the Army needed still more, and Stinson offered the Voyager. After failing its first trials, Stinson redesigned it by giving the Voyager a deeper fuselage, tandem seating, and a fold-down rear door. This version the Army accepted as the O-62 in 1942, but this designation was changed to L-5 Sentinel a year later.
The L-5 was considered a success, and 3900 would be built during the war, both for the US Army and USAAF as the L-5, and the US Navy and Marines as the OY-1 series. Pilots loved the Sentinel for its viceless handling, short takeoff run and low stall speed, and reliability. With the redesigned fuselage, a single stretcher could be carried in the back, so the L-5 could act as a casualty evacuation aircraft as well. Some Navy OY-1s even operated from modified landing craft during the Okinawa campaign as artillery spotters, and General George Patton used them to ferry troops across the Rhine River (two at a time) to secure a river crossing.
With so many L-5s in operation, World War II did not see the end of the Sentinel's use. Many were supplied to Allied countries as surplus, and many remained in service, long enough to see action in the Korean War. After Korea, the venerable Sentinel was retired and sold off as surplus; many of these were bought up by both warbird collectors and veterans who knew the L-5's reliability. 300 Sentinels are known to exist, and over half of them are still flyable.
This Sentinel's tail number is unknown, aside from its postwar civil registration. Its wartime history is also unknown, but it was sold off as surplus in 1955, and was flown by private owners until 1985, when it was donated to the March Air Museum. It is displayed in standard USAAF camouflage and hangs from the ceiling at March's main hangar.