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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 with Vintage
Fabrics at Audley End in Essex where it
continues to fly on a regular basis.
The
Cub is available for Air Shows, film &
TV work and flypasts. For further
information, please
contact me. |
