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The small and innocent
looking Piper Cub, under it's military guise of the L4
Grasshopper, became one of the most feared aircraft on World
War II battlefields. The L4 was used as an artillery spotter
for the US Army. It is said that the unarmed Grasshopper
commanded more firepower than the larger and heavily armed
B-17 Flying Fortress.
When the German soldiers saw a Grasshopper approaching their
position, they knew it was time to move because very soon
they would be under fire from allied artillery.
Piper Cub G-BECN started life at Piper's Lock Haven factory
on the 22nd September 1944 with the serial number 12776. The
USAAF accepted the aircraft as 44-80480 and at the beginning
of December 1944 it was assigned to the 9TH Air Force for
Army Ground Forces. It served with the 30th Infantry
Division of the Twelfth Army Group, wearing the codes 44-E.
It was retired from service on the 16th October 1946 and
sent to Belgium. Initially registered in Switzerland, the
aircraft moved to France in 1947 where it was registered
F-BCPS. The cub was registered in the UK in 1976. In the UK,
the Cub passed through several owners, including Harvest Air
at Southend where it is reported that the Cub was regularly
looped and rolled...
The Cub now wears the codes it wore while in service with
the 30th Infantry Division and is based near Braintree in
Essex.
The Cub is available for Air Shows, film
& TV work and flypasts. For further information,
please contact me.
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