The Laister-Kauffmann TG-4 (designated LK-10 Yankee Doodle 2 by its designer) was a

sailplane A glider or sailplane is a type of glider aircraft used in the leisure activity and sport of gliding (also called soaring). This unpowered aircraft can use naturally occurring currents of rising air in the atmosphere to gain altitude. Sailplan ...

produced in the United States during the Second World War for training cargo glider pilots. It was a conventional sailplane design with a fuselage of steel tube construction and wooden wings and tail, covered all over with fabric. The pilot and instructor sat in tandem under a long canopy.

Design and development

Jack Laister Jack may refer to: Places * Jack, Alabama, US, an unincorporated community * Jack, Missouri, US, an unincorporated community * Jack County, Texas, a county in Texas, USA People and fictional characters * Jack (given name), a male given name, i ...

designed the aircraft in response to the formation of the

United States Army Air Corps The United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) was the aerial warfare service component of the United States Army between 1926 and 1941. After World War I, as early aviation became an increasingly important part of modern warfare, a philosophical r ...

American Glider Program American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

in 1941, basing it on his Yankee Doodle design of 1938 for Lawrence Tech. Aside from the addition of a second seat, the Yankee Doodle 2 differed from its predecessor by having wings of constant dihedral instead of gull wings. The USAAC expressed interest, but only if Laister could arrange for the manufacture of the type. When Laister found a sponsor in businessman

John Kauffmann John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second E ...

, they established the Laister-Kauffmann Corporation in

St Louis, Missouri St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which ...

and the USAAC ordered three prototypes as the XTG-4. When evaluation of the type proved positive, the Army placed an order for 75 aircraft, followed by an order for another 75. These were operated as the TG-4A. All had been withdrawn from service prior to the end of the war when it was discovered that the flight characteristics of the aircraft were so different to those of a cargo glider, that the experience gained on the TG-4 was not particularly relevant. After the war many were sold as surplus and helped build civilian gliding in the USA.

Variants

* XTG-4 - prototypes (three built) * TG-4A - production model (150 built) * TG-4B - civilian aircraft impressed into service (one impressed)

Operators

LK-10 Serial #48 registered as N53619 owned and flown by Doug Fronius of Poway, California, USA as of 2022. Based at Mountain Valley Airport in Tehachapi, California. LK-10 Serial #106 under prefix PT-PAZ operated by Aeroclube de Bauru in Brazil as of April 2013 Laister-Kauffman TG-4 PT-PAZ in Bauru

This glider crashed on March 10, 2020. LK-10 Serial # unk operating at Rockton, Ontario (CF-AZJ) as of Apr, 2022 17 01 041 TG4

Aircraft on display

* 42-43688 – TG-4A on static display at the Planes of Fame in Chino, California. * 42‐43734 – TG-4A on static display at the National Museum of the United States Air Force in

Dayton, Ohio Dayton () is the sixth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County. A small part of the city extends into Greene County. The 2020 U.S. census estimate put the city population at 137,644, while Greater Day ...

. * 42-43740 – TG-4A on static display at the Museum of Aviation at

Warner Robins Air Force Base Robins Air Force Base is a major United States Air Force installation located in Houston County, Georgia, United States. The base is located just east of the city of Warner Robins, south-southeast of Macon and approximately south-southeast o ...

Warner Robins, Georgia Warner Robins (typically ) is a city in the U.S. state of Georgia, located in Houston and Peach counties in the central part of the state. It is currently Georgia's eleventh-largest incorporated city, with an estimated population of 80,308 in th ...

. * 42-53078 – TG-4A on static display at the

Air Mobility Command Museum The Air Mobility Command Museum a military aviation museum located at Dover Air Force Base in Dover, Delaware dedicated to the history of the Air Transport Command, Military Air Transport Service, Military Airlift Command and Air Mobility Command. ...

at Dover Air Force Base near

Dover, Delaware Dover () is the capital and second-largest city of the U.S. state of Delaware. It is also the county seat of Kent County and the principal city of the Dover, DE, Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Kent County and is part of ...

. * 42-437357 – TG-4A on static display at the National Soaring Museum in

Elmira, New York Elmira () is a city and the county seat of Chemung County, New York, United States. It is the principal city of the Elmira, New York, metropolitan statistical area, which encompasses Chemung County. The population was 26,523 at the 2020 cens ...

. *

42-530727 – TG-4A on static display at the Silent Wings Museum in

Lubbock, Texas Lubbock ( ) is the 10th-most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and the seat of government of Lubbock County. With a population of 260,993 in 2021, the city is also the 85th-most populous in the United States. The city is in the northw ...

. * 28 – TG-4A on static display at the US Southwest Soaring Museum in Moriarty, New Mexico. * 71 – TG-4A on static display at the

Southern Museum of Flight The Southern Museum of Flight is a civilian aviation museum Birmingham, Alabama. The facility features nearly 100 aircraft, as well as engines, models, artifacts, photographs, and paintings. In addition, the Southern Museum of Flight is home to ...

Birmingham, Alabama Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of the U.S. state of Alabama. Birmingham is the seat of Jefferson County, Alabama's most populous county. As of the 2021 census estimates, Birmingham had a population of 197,575, down 1% fr ...

. * 42-53072 – TG-4A on static display at the Military Aviation Museum in

Virginia Beach, Virginia Virginia Beach is an independent city located on the southeastern coast of the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. The population was 459,470 at the 2020 census. Although mostly suburban in character, it is the most populous city ...

. * LK-10A on static display at the Historic Aircraft Restoration Museum in Maryland Heights, Missouri. * LK-10A on static display at the

Port Townsend Aero Museum Port Townsend Aero Museum is an aviation museum located at Jefferson County International Airport in Port Townsend, Washington. History The museum was founded in 2001 by Jerry and Peggy Thoutte with six flyable aircraft. The museum was initially ...

in Port Townsend, Washington. * USAAF 84.42-53027 at Gliding Heritage Centre

Specifications (LK-10 / TG-4A)

Notes

References

* *

External links

Laister-Kauffmann TG-4A
– National Museum of the United States Air Force
Sailplane Directory entry on the LK-10

LTU timeline

Aircraft/laister-kauffman_tg-4a

{{US glider aircraft 1940s United States sailplanes Glider aircraft TG-04