Saving a Grasshopper

By Paul Smith

"We cursed the little dark green, high-wing aeroplanes. We knew that one of them in the area would precede a barrage and we tried our hardest to shoot them down. We dreaded those little observation aeroplanes- they were the angels of death to us."

-Captured German Officer, 10th SS Panzer, after Falaise.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Trafford Publishing
• Release date: Feb 27, 2013
• ISBN: 9781466975651

Paul Smith

PAUL SMITH is a dedicated father of two and an expert trainer in leadership and storytelling techniques. As the author of the popular Lead with a Story, he has seen his work featured in The Wall Street Journal, Time, Forbes, The Washington Post, Success, and Investor's Business Daily, among others.

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© Copyright 2013 Paul Smith.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the written prior permission of the author.

isbn: 978-1-4669-7564-4 (sc)

isbn: 978-1-4669-7566-8 (hc)

isbn: 978-1-4669-7565-1 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2013900258

Trafford rev. 01/11/2013

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Contents

The Air OP

Introduction

We find her

We find out who she is - and was

How bad is it?

It is SO important to accessorize

Work Progresses

Work Progresses slowly

How far do you go?

Details, Details, Details

Paint

Camouflage

Invasion Stripes

Compromises

Decisions, decisions

From basket case to airplane

The Windows

  STCs  

Wing root fairings

The Door Latch

The Battle of the FAA

Provenance

Displays

A Last Minute Flash!!

Fini

To my brother, Captain Henry James Smith, USAF—who, even in death, charted my course. And to my wonderful wife of 30 years, Cathy, who helped me pursue it.

Artillery lends dignity to that which would otherwise be a vulgar brawl.

-Frederick II of Prussia

This saying expresses the sentiments of those who favor the artillery branch of military service over all others. Artillery, by definition, refers to the launching of large projectiles against an enemy. The explosive force generated by modern artillery shells, along with fragmentation damage plus the psychological and physiological shock, has a tremendously adverse effect upon machinery and equipment, as well as those enemy personnel within the impact area of an artillery strike.

For this reason, artillery has historically been one of the primary means of making war, and tremendous resources have been expended by all military forces for its advancement. Ancient artillery was limited in range and fire control to direct fire, or fire observed by the artilleryman. However, once technology allowed for fire beyond visual range, known as indirect fire, fire control and correction became increasingly important. Wind, temperature, humidity and mechanisms all introduce variables into the ballistics that dictate where a projectile will strike. One means of fire control and correction that came out of the 20th Century was the Air Observation Post, or AOP. This refers to trained artillerymen in aircraft being used to observe the impact of artillery projectiles and their effect, and communicating correction data to the unit conducting the fire. There were some attempts at this in WWI, but primitive radio communications technology did not allow for practical development of this role.

WWII saw the advancement of the Air OP to a far more practical level than had been possible before. The United States Army developed and used the Air OP more than any other army in the field at that time. The primary aircraft used by the Army Ground Forces in WWII for the Air OP role was the Piper L-4.

This is the story of one such airplane, the saving and the restoration of it. And the preservation of one more piece of American History.

I do not need to tell you who won the war. You know our artillery did.

-Lt Gen. George S. Patton. Jr.

Allied artillery merits the highest praise. It is adaptable and is skilled at concentrated precision fire delivered by large formations. Observation by spotting aircraft and forward observers is incessant and complete… The artillery of some armies may be noted for massing fires, and that of others for precision firing. It remains a unique ability of American artillery to deliver massed fires with the greatest precision in space and time.

-A captured German intelligence bulletin

We cursed the little dark-green, high wing aeroplanes. We knew that one of them in the area would precede a barrage and we tried our hardest to shoot them down. We dreaded those little observation aeroplanes-they were the angels of death to us 

 -Officer, 10th SS Panzer, after Falaise

The Air OP

The addition of Organic Air Observation to every Field Artillery Battalion, coupled with the Battalion Fire Direction Center improved the effectiveness of the US Army’s artillery to an almost unimaginable level. The Battalion Air Observation Post provided direct fire accuracy at maximum range. There were 2 pilots and aircraft assigned to each Artillery Battalion HQ Battery, along with support personnel and vehicles. They were authorized by the Table of Organization and Equipment, (T.O.&E.) and were part of the regular chain of command, the Senior Pilot reporting to the Battalion Commander.

The Battalion Fire Direction Center was a US innovation that had far more importance than its size would indicate. In most armies, only a select few officers in the chain of command could request artillery support and only through their HQ. The US Army instituted a central point of contact for artillery requests and control and allowed anyone from a Platoon Leader upward to request artillery support. The FDC was nothing more than a tent with a couple of radios and a land line, 8 or so men, each with different specialized training. They received the request, prioritized it, assigned whatever assets were available and required, plotted the locations of the guns and target, converted that to azimuth and elevation data for the batteries, and ordered the mission. This so simplified the firing procedure that one telephone or radio call could have rounds on target within 3 minutes. In other armies, each battery commander calculated his own figures, which took more time, (in the German Army, an artillery request typically would take 12 minutes) and made errors more likely.

The Air OP landing field or strip was chosen by the senior pilot, and was located as close to the Artillery Battalion HQ as possible. Personnel, tents, vehicles and support equipment were all located on the landing field. They were often alone, with a fair amount of autonomy. Land line communications were always maintained with HQ. This was sometimes a problem. The guns set up where the best firing advantage was available. The HQ and FDC were obviously set up close by. It was up to the air section to choose the best spot that was closest for them to operate from. This was often a pasture, field, meadow or road and often was damaged or in rough condition due to recent combat operations. Also, farming fields in Europe were often comparatively small. L-4s required a minimum of 600 feet with clear approaches at both ends for reasonably safe operations. It was not unusual for the first thing to be done, in order to prepare a field after clearing it of mines, was to call in the engineers to blow down trees with explosives to provide takeoff clearance. Typically, one aircraft was in the air at all times during daylight hours in the combat zone. Maintenance was carried out by the pilots and the single rated mechanic assigned to the air section. Later in the war, observers were formally assigned to the section from Battalion, and an assistant mechanic was added. There was also a driver and a cook for each section. Aviation supplies, clothing and equipment were supplied by USAAF through Corps, Army or Division Artillery HQ, as appropriate. The aircraft would typically carry the pilot, who as a rule, flew from the front cockpit, and a non-flying officer as forward observer in the back. The pilot was also a trained artillery officer, and sometimes did correct fire himself, but in the European Theater of Operations, (ETO), it was generally thought that he had enough to do flying, navigating and watching for enemy fighters.

The unit this aircraft first served with was the 407th FA Group, a non-divisional unit of 3 or 4 battalions in XVI Corps, 9th US Army. Typically, a group would consist of a mix of battalions and calibers. Usually the 407th had a towed M2 105mm howitzer unit, a 4.5 inch gun battalion and at least one M1 155mm towed howitzer outfit. The 407th entered active combat operations on 1