WW2 Liason Pilot Wings

[The Rooster]

Greetings all.

I picked up a first for my collection.

Not 1 but 2 Liason Wings!

An Amcraft clutch back and a sterling marked wing.

 

Cheers!

 

[The Rooster]

Liason Pilot WW2

 

From Wikipedia

 

A liaison pilot was a World War II United States enlisted pilot, whose wings bore an "L" in the center. They flew light single engine liaison aircraft. Included were many enlisted aviation students who washed out of pilot training after having soloed and were given the opportunity to become liaison pilots. Flight training consisted of about 60 hours of flying time and stressed such procedures as short field landings and takeoffs over obstacles, low altitude navigation, first aid, day and night reconnaissance, aerial photography, and aircraft maintenance. Unarmored and unarmed—except perhaps for a .45 pistol or .30 carbine—these men in 28 different squadrons flew low and slow with wheels, skis, or floats. They flew varied and often hazardous missions in nearly every theater—medical evacuation from forward areas; delivering munitions, blood plasma, mail, and other supplies to front lines; ferrying personnel; flying photographic or intelligence missions; serving as air observers for fighters or bombers; and other critical yet often unpublicized missions.[1]

During the campaign to recapture the Philippines, pilots of the 25th Liaison Squadron flew a dozen Stinson L-5 Sentinel aircraft in short 30-minute flights (December 10–25, 1944) delivering supplies (including a 300-bed hospital) to the 6,000 men of the 11th Airborne Division isolated in the mountains of Leyte. In another mission, an Army officer wounded in the chest in New Guinea was evacuated in a liaison aircraft as the pilot pumped a portable respirator with one hand while he flew the aircraft with the other. In the northwestern U.S., some liaison pilots flew forest patrols (Project Firefly) watching for fires ignited by incendiary bombs carried across the Pacific beneath unmanned Japanese high altitude balloons.[2]

[doyler]

not always enlisted. Seen several Warrant and flight officer ranks and 1st and 2nd Lts

[TBMflyer]

Remember too, that all the arty spotters who flew the L-4/L-5's were also Liaison rated. Most of them were already officers since it was easier to train a arty man to fly a cub than it was to teach a liaison pilot how to adjust artillery.

Great wings by the way!

Mark

[Allan H.]

Your "Amcraft" wing is actually an A.E. Co. (American Emblem). Both wings are gorgeous!

 

Allan

[pfrost]

Yes, AECo liaison wing, not AMCRAFT.  Also, the AECo Liaison wing is a tough one to find, and it has the original "top-hat" like clutches.  Great wing.

 

Liaison wings are rather more scarce than the other alphabet specialized wings, with Service pilot being more common than glider pilot wings and liaison wings be the most scarce (in general).  Although it is my experience that the glider pilot wings tend to be the more sought after (and as a result) more expensive of the three.  Still I love me a good Liaison wing and those are some nice ones you just added. I just recently picked up my own AMCRAFT Liaison wing that finished that particular manufacturer's line for me.

Cool beans