L-4 Piper Cub

[Micdrow]

Ran across this picture published by the Center of Military History of the US Army in the book called the War in the Mediterranean.

I was surpised how short of runway a L-4 needs to take off. They where used for direction of Naval Artillery and had to land on the Anzio beaches due to the fact they couldnt land back on board the LST carrier.

Does any one have any idea what unit these aircraft belong to or any more pictures that show the side of the ship with the aircraft on board.

Thanks Micdrow

 

[Micdrow]

Found another picture some you might be interested in. This one with a piper cub taking off on the USS Ranger.

 

[Micdrow]

Found this article here and reposted here with a few pictures, crazy stuff. I got to say.

Slide 26: Expedient U.S. Army STOBAR Aircraft Carriers

During WW2, lightplanes rigged with an overhead hook could "land" by snagging a sling hung from a long cable and roll to a braked halt like a department store change baskets of yore. To take off, they changed slings, opened the throttle and, at flying speed, pulled a lanyard which freed the plane from the sling.

This idea was dreamed up by Capt James H. Brodie of the USAAF Transportation Corps during the dark days of the Battle of the Atlantic. Hundreds of successful landings and takeoffs erased the circus flavor from a project which, on paper, seemed like the doings of a pulp fiction writer.

So foreign to normal procedure was the system that Capt Brodie had difficulty obtaining test pilots for the first rig. Transient AAF pilots temporarily stationed at New Orleans, where the rig first was constructed, would volunteer for the assignment sight unseen. but after looking at the slender wire on which their plane would land, most politely backed out.

Like a big clothesline, the tight, overhead cableway of the portable ground rig stretched between two 65' tubular-steel masts at each end of the wire. N-shaped bridle cables connected the masts and the main cable, leaving both ends open to approach.

A single-wheel landing trolley designed for easy rolling gave a pendulum effect upon acceleration, reducing inertia forces. Shackled to the trolley was the landing sling — three loops of nylon rope affording a six-foot target to incoming planes. Engagement of just one of the loops was sufficient for a successful landing. An arresting brake resisted flying momentum on the principle of a giant fishing reel. Brake force was applied gradually, reaching a maximum after the plane traveled about 50' along the cableway, in a constant negative acceleration of about one-third gravity. Arresting line tension was varied to correspond to weights of different planes.

The takeoff trolley consisted of a wheel, a wooden friction shoe, and an emergency release. The takeoff sling was a four-foot length of nylon rope with an eye and shackle at the top, a lifting ring in the middle, and a bottom stirrup. The plane's hook was put into the stirrup, a lifting derrick carried it upward by the middle ring, and the top shackle was attached to the trolley.

A travel release consisting of a long hold-back line and a spring-loaded trip prevented planes from beginning a run until the engine was at full power. A pull on the lanyard attached to the trip lever disconnected the plane from the hold-back. An emergency release functioned if the plane has not been released from the trolley before the end of the cableway on its takeoff run. Without wind, an average lightplane took off from the cable in 400'; with wind, it was off in 200'.

Independent of terrain, the Brodie rig provided a good landing and takeoff site in most unlikely country — jungles, mountains, marshes, any place where construction of a landing strip was difficult or not economical. It was perfect for forward military positions because of its camouflage value — from above 500' it was extremely difficult to see, and even if spotted, it structurally was an elusive target.

Weighing less than 7,000 pounds, including tools and tackle, the rig was highly portable, small and light enough to be carried in cargo planes, along with a nine-man crew, and parachuted into a location. Where roads existed, two 2-1/2-ton trucks could haul everything. With hand tools and tackle, the rig could be made ready for landings and takeoffs in about 12 hours. At sea, the 600' long cable was supported by booms, kingposts, and bracing struts, elevated and outboard parallel on the port side of the ship.

The system was applied to landing ships for lightplane support of amphibious landing operations with outstanding success. During test maneuvers all other planes of a simulated task force were grounded by fog, but two liaison planes attached to an LST fitted with the Brodie line were aloft regularly acting as observers.

With $10,000 from the Transportation Corps, Brodie began his first rig at New Orleans in April 1943 to simulate shipboard conditions. By July he was entreating wary transient army pilots to conduct tests. Army service pilot Lt C C. Wheeler made the first takeoff in late August, and the first round trip was made on Sept 3, 1943, by Maj James D. Kemp, a B-26 pilot awaiting shipment overseas.

By mid-September, the first regularly assigned Brodie system test pilot arrived — F/O Raymond Gregory, who approached the testing with enthusiasm. Not even an early mishap dampened the enthusiasm. With Brodie as passenger, Gregory had come in for a landing pass and forgot about the sag in the center of the cable and kept too much altitude. The prop hit the cable, but Gregory brought his L-5 to a safe emergency landing under the rig.

Experimentation in those days was by trial and error. Brodie's regular assignment of redesigning cargo ships made him work out his system during off hours. Principal mechanical hurdles were development of adequate brakes and reduction of shock getting the landing trolley accelerated. Braking was finally refined by using an aluminum reel, two hydraulic automobile brake assemblies, and automatic brake delay screw, a tension adjuster and a gauge for determining line tension. The delay screw permitted rotating parts to become accelerated to airplane speed before applying drag.

Brodie designed the trolley in a half-moon, which allowed the lower half to pendulum forward before the trolley wheel actually was set in motion. The hook-arm swung to a horizontal position and then telescoped outward about two feet upon contact with the landing sling.

Late in 1943 Brodie obtained the cargo ship, City of Dalhart,with which to experiment on modification of the apparatus for actual sea landings. In December, a series of landings and takeoffs were successfully made with a Stinson L-5, bringing vindication of the months of work on what many officials called too fantastic a project on which to waste money.

Although its combat use was limited to one ship — LST-776, but officially (or unofficially... SEE follow-up notes) christened USS Brodie— the system proved its feasibility at Saipan and Okinawa, but only eight of 25 contracted LSTs were so equipped when the war suddenly ended. Success was formally proclaimed in 1945 with the presentation of Legion of Merit medals to Brodie and Gregory.

Commercially, the future of the system was as flamboyant in possibilities as was its wartime use. Brodie claimed a rig capable of handling planes much heavier than L-5s could built, up to 7,000-pound airplanes. He foresaw light cargo routes utilizing his rigs to reduce the amount of fuel spent between landings — by decreasing gas load, planes would increase the payload proportionately. Grovers and ranchers would use the system to visit obscure acreage. Private individuals in the bush would set up their own airport in wooded or rolling back country.

Seemingly practical, and definitely proven, the idea never played out.

A list of commissioned LSTs does not show that USN designation. Another source refers to LST-776 as the "Brodie Ship," and another says that the LST was "nicknamed the Brodie." In the absence of official documentation, I believe that LST-776 was never officially christened the USS Brodie.(— Bill Vaughn4/23/01)

 

[FLYBOYJ]

Pretty cool - all you would have to do is make about 15 knots into a 20 knot head wind and hoist the plane in the air and it will fly on its own!

 

[Micdrow]

Thanks Joe, its some crazy stuff thats for sure, thought you would be interested.

 

[Karl Sitts]

Found this article here and reposted here with a few pictures, crazy stuff. I got to say.

Slide 26: Expedient U.S. Army STOBAR Aircraft Carriers

During WW2, lightplanes rigged with an overhead hook could "land" by snagging a sling hung from a long cable and roll to a braked halt like a department store change baskets of yore. To take off, they changed slings, opened the throttle and, at flying speed, pulled a lanyard which freed the plane from the sling.

This idea was dreamed up by Capt James H. Brodie of the USAAF Transportation Corps during the dark days of the Battle of the Atlantic. Hundreds of successful landings and takeoffs erased the circus flavor from a project which, on paper, seemed like the doings of a pulp fiction writer.

So foreign to normal procedure was the system that Capt Brodie had difficulty obtaining test pilots for the first rig. Transient AAF pilots temporarily stationed at New Orleans, where the rig first was constructed, would volunteer for the assignment sight unseen. but after looking at the slender wire on which their plane would land, most politely backed out.

Like a big clothesline, the tight, overhead cableway of the portable ground rig stretched between two 65' tubular-steel masts at each end of the wire. N-shaped bridle cables connected the masts and the main cable, leaving both ends open to approach.

A single-wheel landing trolley designed for easy rolling gave a pendulum effect upon acceleration, reducing inertia forces. Shackled to the trolley was the landing sling — three loops of nylon rope affording a six-foot target to incoming planes. Engagement of just one of the loops was sufficient for a successful landing. An arresting brake resisted flying momentum on the principle of a giant fishing reel. Brake force was applied gradually, reaching a maximum after the plane traveled about 50' along the cableway, in a constant negative acceleration of about one-third gravity. Arresting line tension was varied to correspond to weights of different planes.

The takeoff trolley consisted of a wheel, a wooden friction shoe, and an emergency release. The takeoff sling was a four-foot length of nylon rope with an eye and shackle at the top, a lifting ring in the middle, and a bottom stirrup. The plane's hook was put into the stirrup, a lifting derrick carried it upward by the middle ring, and the top shackle was attached to the trolley.

A travel release consisting of a long hold-back line and a spring-loaded trip prevented planes from beginning a run until the engine was at full power. A pull on the lanyard attached to the trip lever disconnected the plane from the hold-back. An emergency release functioned if the plane has not been released from the trolley before the end of the cableway on its takeoff run. Without wind, an average lightplane took off from the cable in 400'; with wind, it was off in 200'.

Independent of terrain, the Brodie rig provided a good landing and takeoff site in most unlikely country — jungles, mountains, marshes, any place where construction of a landing strip was difficult or not economical. It was perfect for forward military positions because of its camouflage value — from above 500' it was extremely difficult to see, and even if spotted, it structurally was an elusive target.

Weighing less than 7,000 pounds, including tools and tackle, the rig was highly portable, small and light enough to be carried in cargo planes, along with a nine-man crew, and parachuted into a location. Where roads existed, two 2-1/2-ton trucks could haul everything. With hand tools and tackle, the rig could be made ready for landings and takeoffs in about 12 hours. At sea, the 600' long cable was supported by booms, kingposts, and bracing struts, elevated and outboard parallel on the port side of the ship.

The system was applied to landing ships for lightplane support of amphibious landing operations with outstanding success. During test maneuvers all other planes of a simulated task force were grounded by fog, but two liaison planes attached to an LST fitted with the Brodie line were aloft regularly acting as observers.

With $10,000 from the Transportation Corps, Brodie began his first rig at New Orleans in April 1943 to simulate shipboard conditions. By July he was entreating wary transient army pilots to conduct tests. Army service pilot Lt C C. Wheeler made the first takeoff in late August, and the first round trip was made on Sept 3, 1943, by Maj James D. Kemp, a B-26 pilot awaiting shipment overseas.

By mid-September, the first regularly assigned Brodie system test pilot arrived — F/O Raymond Gregory, who approached the testing with enthusiasm. Not even an early mishap dampened the enthusiasm. With Brodie as passenger, Gregory had come in for a landing pass and forgot about the sag in the center of the cable and kept too much altitude. The prop hit the cable, but Gregory brought his L-5 to a safe emergency landing under the rig.

Experimentation in those days was by trial and error. Brodie's regular assignment of redesigning cargo ships made him work out his system during off hours. Principal mechanical hurdles were development of adequate brakes and reduction of shock getting the landing trolley accelerated. Braking was finally refined by using an aluminum reel, two hydraulic automobile brake assemblies, and automatic brake delay screw, a tension adjuster and a gauge for determining line tension. The delay screw permitted rotating parts to become accelerated to airplane speed before applying drag.

Brodie designed the trolley in a half-moon, which allowed the lower half to pendulum forward before the trolley wheel actually was set in motion. The hook-arm swung to a horizontal position and then telescoped outward about two feet upon contact with the landing sling.

Late in 1943 Brodie obtained the cargo ship, City of Dalhart,with which to experiment on modification of the apparatus for actual sea landings. In December, a series of landings and takeoffs were successfully made with a Stinson L-5, bringing vindication of the months of work on what many officials called too fantastic a project on which to waste money.

Although its combat use was limited to one ship — LST-776, but officially (or unofficially... SEE follow-up notes) christened USS Brodie— the system proved its feasibility at Saipan and Okinawa, but only eight of 25 contracted LSTs were so equipped when the war suddenly ended. Success was formally proclaimed in 1945 with the presentation of Legion of Merit medals to Brodie and Gregory.

Commercially, the future of the system was as flamboyant in possibilities as was its wartime use. Brodie claimed a rig capable of handling planes much heavier than L-5s could built, up to 7,000-pound airplanes. He foresaw light cargo routes utilizing his rigs to reduce the amount of fuel spent between landings — by decreasing gas load, planes would increase the payload proportionately. Grovers and ranchers would use the system to visit obscure acreage. Private individuals in the bush would set up their own airport in wooded or rolling back country.

Seemingly practical, and definitely proven, the idea never played out.

A list of commissioned LSTs does not show that USN designation. Another source refers to LST-776 as the "Brodie Ship," and another says that the LST was "nicknamed the Brodie." In the absence of official documentation, I believe that LST-776 was never officially christened the USS Brodie.(— Bill Vaughn4/23/01)

Micdrow, The Piper Cub was something!When I was very small, my Father, Mother and I lived in Dallas, Texas. One day my Mother took me by the hand and said, "Come see Daddy"! She took me outside on the lawn. She pointed at a small plane approaching the houses accoss the street from the back! There were two houses connected by about a five foot wooden fence. When the plane got to where it looked as if it could just pass over the top, it flipped on its side, With the bottom wing missing thefence by several feet, it flew between the two houses!I asked Mother about it years later and she told me it happened as I remembered. Mother said Dad had gotten drunk and bet a friend he could do it. He lost his pilot's license-and his job at Love Field....

 

[buzzard]

Thanks for the great info, Micdrow. This is the kind of good stuff that attracted me to this forum.

My cousin's husband has a SuperCub on floats. The thing fairly jumps off the water...Perfect for getting in and out of the many small, rocky lakes common to Nova Scotia. Esp with a canoe hanging underneath.

JL

 

[DBII]

COOL

dbii

 

[Haztoys]

Man and I was at one time thinking "I" new my war history...I'm just a student on this forum.. WW11 is a time in history were some crazy ideas were coming ...War will do that

Thanks Micdrow

 

[Micdrow]

Your welcome guys!!!

 

[stug3]

Piper L-4 USS Ranger (CV-4) Operation Torch 1942

Piper L-4 Grasshopper

Piper J-3 Cub and Stinson O-49 (L-1) 1941 war games

Piper J-3 Cub 1941 war games

 

[wlewisiii]

That picture of a cub buying gas at a gas station while horse cav rides by is just the bee's knees. Thank you for posting it.

 

[hawkeye2an]

The Pipers flown during the war games were provided and maintained by civilians and William Piper himself piloted one of the planes.