| L-5 Sentinel | |
|---|---|
| Role | Liaison / Observation / Light plane |
| Manufacturer | Stinson |
| Produced | 1942-1945 |
| Number built | over 3,896 |
| Developed from | Stinson YO-54 |
The Stinson L-5 Sentinel was a World War II era liaison aircraft used by all branches of the U.S. military and by the British Royal Air Force. Along with the Stinson L-1 Vigilant, the L-5 was the only other American liaison aircraft of WWII that was purpose-built for military use and had no civilian counterpart. All other military liaison airplanes adopted during World War II were lightly modified "off-the-shelf" civilian models.
The origins of the L-5, affectionately known as the "Flying Jeep", can be traced to the pre-war civilian Stinson HW-75. The 75 horsepower high-wing design, built by the Stinson Aircraft Company at Wayne, Michigan, first flew in 1939 and became an immensely popular civilian airplane. It featured two front seats side-by-side, and a third "jumpseat" in back in which a small passenger could sit sideways. The design was very easy to fly, luxurious compared to contemporary personal light airplanes, and it was difficult to stall and virtually impossible to spin. Shortly after the introduction of the HW-75, Stinson became a subsidiary of the Vultee Aircraft corporation. Under Vultee management, Stinson equipped the HW-75 with an 80-horsepower four-cylinder engine for the 1940 model year, the HW-75 became known as the Model 105 "Voyager", touting its 105 mph cruise speed and comfortable cross-country capability. Re-equipped with a four-cylinder 90 hp Franklin engine for the 1941 model year, the type became known as the Model 10A. In the post-war era, the fuselage of the Model 10A was slightly lengthened and widened to accommodate four seats, and the four-cylinder powerplant was replaced with a Franklin 150 hp six-cylinder engine. This conversion became the widely known Stinson Model 108 Voyager and the only civilian airplane commercially produced by Stinson after WWII.
Six examples of the pre-war Model 105 Voyager were specially equipped with 100 horsepower Franklin O-200 engines and presented to the military for testing under the experimental designation YO-54. Evaluated by the U.S. Army and Air Forces in 1940 for potential use as a low-cost short range observation aircraft, it failed to meet military performance requirements, despite out-performing all other civilian contenders in the military competition. The Voyager was then completely re-engineered by Stinson into a much stronger and more powerful tandem-seat airplane that met all the Army engineering handbook standards for the design of military aircraft. The prototype, designated as the Model V-76 by Vultee / Stinson was accepted by the military after accelerated service trials and entered into service in December 1942 as the Army O-62 ('O' for observation). In March 1943, with the official establishment of the liaison category of light observation aircraft, the designation was changed to L-5. The primary purpose as a liaison airplane was courier and communication work with the Army Air Forces (USAAF)and artillery spotting with Army Ground Forces, but the rugged and highly capable little airplane soon took on an expanded role and eventually performed more jobs than almost any other airplane in the combined services. The later models were redesigned with a wider and deeper rear fuselage section and a cavernous rear door that easily allowed a litter patient to be quickly loaded. These L-5B and later variants were employed for front-line air ambulance and cargo work.
The L-5 series was manufactured between December 1942 and September 1945, during which time 3,590 of these unarmed two-seaters were built for the United States armed forces, making it the second most widely used light observation aircraft of the war behind the Piper L-4 Cub. Personnel in all service branches commonly referred to the L-5 as the "Flying Jeep". The fuselage was constructed using chrome-moly steel tubing covered with doped cotton fabric and the wings and empennage were constructed of spruce spars and plywood ribs and skins, also covered with fabric. The use of aluminum, which was in critically short supply and more urgently needed for other aircraft, was limited to the engine cowling, tail cone, framework for the ailerons, rudder and elevator and the landing gear fairings. The plane was powered by a six-cylinder Lycoming O-435 engine of 190 horsepower that was specifically designed and manufactured for use on the L-5.
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Capable of operating from short unimproved airstrips, the L-5 "Sentinel" delivered personnel, critical intelligence and needed supplies to the front line troops. On return flights, wounded soldiers were often evacuated to rear area field hospitals for medical treatment, providing a huge boost to the morale of combat troops fighting in remote areas. L-5's were used for many other important activities, such as aerial photography, controlling vehicle convoys, para-dropping food, medical supplies and ammunition, laying communication wire, distributing propaganda leaflets, spraying pesticide, transporting prisoners, and directing fighter-bombers to ground targets. The L-5 was also popular with Generals and other high-ranking officers for fast, efficient short-range transportation.
Five versions of the Sentinel were produced for the U.S. Army Air Force (USAAF); the L-5, L-5B, L-5C, L-5E and L-5G. There was no official L-5A variant as is often reported because the designation was intended for a version of the aircraft that was never built. Nonetheless, many people in and out of the military still refer to the standard "observer" version of the L-5 as an L-5A. Like the L-5A, the L-5D was a planned version that was not adopted. A single L-5F was an L-5B equipped with an experimental low-noise "stealth" propeller and exhaust system for research purposes. An L-5H version was on the drawing boards at Stinson when the war ended, and it never reached the prototype stage.
The L-5 carried a pilot and observer in a tandem seating configuration, which was preferred by the military for observation work. The L-5B through L-5G models were modified to carry a litter patient or light cargo, or a rear seat passenger sitting in the normal position. The Navy and Marine version of the L-5 through L-5E were designated 0Y-1, and all these airplanes has 12-volt electrical systems. The 24-volt L-5G became the0Y-2. Neither the L-5G nor OY-2 saw combat during WWII because production did not begin until July, 1945, just weeks before the war ended, but they were used extensively during the Korean War. The British RAF procured 40 L-5's and 60 L-5B's, and designated them Sentinel I's and Sentinel II's respectively. These airplanes were used exclusively in the India-Burma theater of operations.
Standard camouflage as delivered from the factory was non-specular "Bulletin 41" medium gray #43 undersides with olive drab #41 above, broken around the edges of the wing and tail surfaces with medium green #41. Stars, or "stars and bars" were applied to both sides of the fuselage and on the upper left and lower right wingtips. The USAAF number appeared on both sides of the vertical stabilizer in either yellow or black. The USMC number appeared in smaller size in black only. Most aircraft were repainted silver during the post-WWII period. Some Marine Corps and Navy aircraft painted overall non-specular Sea Blue. A variety of unit identification markings including nose art were applied in the field. Interior surfaces were generally finished in yellow-green chromate primer and slightly darker ANA 611 "interior green". Instrument panels were "raw" phenolic sheet naturally matte black in color.
The USAAF, US Marines, and US Navy used this aircraft in the European, Pacific, and Far East theaters during World War II, and in Korea during the Korean War. The Royal Air Force operated 100 Sentinels in India and Burma.
After WWII, the Philippine Army Air Corps used this aircraft from 1945 to 1947. This aircraft remained in service after 1 July 1947 when the PAAC was renamed the Philippine Air Force. The Italian Air Force operated approximately 100 L-5's from 1946 into the 1950s. Many other countries also received L-5's after the war, particularly India which received 200. A number of these went to Pakistan after the partition of India in 1948.
After World War II, the L-5 was widely used by the Civil Air Patrol for search and rescue work. Today there are about 300 known examples left world wide and less than half are in flying condition. A restored, flying example of the 0Y-1 (L-5E) variant (VH-NOY) is located in Coolangatta, Queensland, Australia. This example was built for the USAAF but was delivered directly to the US Navy instead, serving until 1949.[1] A group called the Sentinel Owners and Pilots Association[2] is dedicated to the preservation and enjoyment of this aircraft type.
Data from March Field Air Museum web site [3]
General characteristics
Performance
Armament
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