Vintage Stinson L−5 Sentinel Airplane

The Stinson L-5 was used as an "Liaison" aircraft during the war. It is the military version of the civilian Stinson Voyager. Unarmed, the L-5 was used for reconnaissance, transporting personnel and delivering supplies. It is capable of carrying a pilot and one passenger or supplies.

The ability of the L-5 to takeoff and land on short fields made it an ideal tool for search and rescue missions during the war. Even in the jungles of Southeast Asia and Papua New Guinea, a landing field could be hacked away for the Stinson in little time, allowing it to land with fresh supplies or carry out wounded soldiers and downed pilots. When the jungles were too tall and thick, such as in Burma, steel planking was actually lashed to the treetops as a makeshift runway for the L-5. After the plane landed and the trees had stopped swaying, wounded soldiers would be carried up into the trees to be loaded on the plane for evacuation.

One of the primary roles of the L-5 was the detection of enemy artillery formations. A pilot and radio operator would fly over enemy lines, locate artillery batteries and radio the position back to the American artillery units. The enemy units often ceased firing once they spotted an L-5, for fear of disclosing their position to the small plane and allowing the American artillery to accurately pinpoint and destroy them.

1944 vintage Stinson
L-5 aircraft Photos.

For more information on the Stinson Sentinel L-5,
check out the USAF Museum