|
 The L-5 was
loosely based on the commercial Stinson 105 Voyager. Six Voyagers were purchased by
the AAF in 1941 as YO-54s for testing, and quantity orders for Sentinels began in 1942,
first as O-62s before the designation was changed to "L" for liaison in April
1942. Between 1942-5, the AAF ordered 3,590 L-5s, making it the second most widely used
AAF liaison aircraft. The unarmed L-5 with its short field takeoff and landing capability was
used for reconnaissance, removing litter patients from front line areas, delivering
supplies to isolated units, laying communications wire, spotting enemy targets for attack
aircraft, transporting personnel, rescuing Allied personnel in remote areas and even as a
light bomber. Source:
US Air Force Museum
HISTORY:
By the latter half of the 19th
century, armies in combat were beginning to adapt new technologies, like hot air balloons,
to supplement cavalry reconnaissance units in trying to ferret out enemy movements and
dispositions. The early days of World War I saw the airplane employed in similar capacity
until someone hit upon the idea of arming those aircraft with guns and bombs, drastically
changing their role to that of flying weapons platform, thereby altering the nature of
warfare radically. By the time World War II broke out, liaison/observation aircraft had
become a highly specialized group.
 The
Stinson L-5 Sentinel
was one such aircraft, derived from the pre-war Stinson Model 105 Voyager.
In 1941, the Army Air Corps purchased six Voyagers from Vultee Aircraft (which had
acquired Stinson in 1940) for testing, these aircraft being designated as YO-54s.
Meanwhile, a modified variant of the Voyager, called the Model 75B, had
been demonstrated for the Army. The Model 75B incorporated some features and components of
the earlier Voyager series, but was an entirely new design. The Army ordered this model in
quantity, designating it first as the
O-62 ("O" for
Observation), and subsequently as the
L-5 when the type designation was
changed, in 1942, to indicate "Liaison" aircraft.
With
short field takeoff and landing capabilities, and the ability to operate from unimproved
forward airstrips, the two-crew L-5s were used during World War II for reconnaissance;
delivering supplies to, and evacuating litter patients from, isolated units; rescuing
Allied personnel from remote areas; laying of communications wire; transporting of
personnel; and -- on occasion -- as a light bomber. Nicknamed "the Flying Jeep,"
the L-5 demonstrated amazing versatility, even landing and taking off from tree-top
platforms constructed above a thick Burmese jungle which could not be cleared for more
conventional airstrips. When
the craft was produced specifically for the air ambulance role, its structure was enlarged
and an additional door was added to accommodate stretchers (L-5B through
L-5G).
In British RAF service the L-5 and L-5B were known, respectively, as
Sentinel Mk I
and Sentinel Mk II.
Air
Force Museum sources show that the US Army Air Corps procured 3,590 L-5s between 1942-45.
306 L-5s went to the Marines, where they received the U.S. Navy label
OY-1
after Consolidated and Vultee had merged. In addition, eight Stinson 105s and 12 Model 10A
Voyagers were "drafted" into Army Air Corps service under the designations AT-19A
and AT-19B, respectively. Those designations were later changed to
L-9A and L-9B, respectively. Another
variant, the
OY-2, was the Navy/Marine version of the L-5G,
manufactured beginning in late 1945.
After
WWII, the Sentinel served with distinction in the Korean War and continued in active
service with the USAF until at least 1955, with some units still on the rolls until 1962
when the L-5G (the final variant) designation was changed to the
Air Force's U-19B, while the Army's remaining L-5's were
reclassified as U-19As. Their redefinition to utility, rather than
liaison, is a stark reminder that technology is rarely static, as the passing of both the
reconnaissance balloon and light liaison aircraft demonstrate. History by Kevin
Murphy.
Thanks to Jim Gray for additional information.
Visit the L-5 Sentinel Owners website at:
www.sentinelclub.org
NICKNAMES:
"The Flying Jeep;"
"Jungle Angel" |
