A liaison aircraft (also called an

army cooperation aircraft The army cooperation aircraft was an inter-war concept of an aircraft capable of support of ground units in a variety of roles. Army cooperation planes combined the roles of artillery spotter aircraft, liaison, reconnaissance plane and close air su ...

) is a small, usually unarmed

aircraft An aircraft is a vehicle that is able to fly by gaining support from the air. It counters the force of gravity by using either static lift or by using the dynamic lift of an airfoil, or in a few cases the downward thrust from jet engines ...

primarily used by military forces for artillery observation or transporting commanders and messages. The concept developed before

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

and included also battlefield

reconnaissance In military operations, reconnaissance or scouting is the exploration of an area by military forces to obtain information about enemy forces, terrain, and other activities. Examples of reconnaissance include patrolling by troops (skirmisher ...

air ambulance Air medical services is a comprehensive term covering the use of air transportation, aeroplane or helicopter, to move patients to and from healthcare facilities and accident scenes. Personnel provide comprehensive prehospital and emergency and cri ...

, column control, light cargo delivery and similar duties. Able to operate from small, unimproved fields under primitive conditions, with

STOL A short takeoff and landing (STOL) aircraft is a conventional fixed-wing aircraft that has short runway requirements for takeoff and landing. Many STOL-designed aircraft also feature various arrangements for use on airstrips with harsh conditio ...

capabilities, most liaison aircraft were developed from, or were later used as

general aviation General aviation (GA) is defined by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) as all civil aviation aircraft operations with the exception of commercial air transport or aerial work, which is defined as specialized aviation services ...

aircraft. Both fixed-wing aircraft and

helicopter A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forward, backward and laterally. These attributes ...

s can perform liaison duties.

Use by country

Bulgaria

* Kaproni Bulgarski KB-11 Fazan

Germany

Nazi period: *

Fieseler Fi 156 The Fieseler Fi 156 ''Storch'' (, " stork") was a German liaison aircraft built by Fieseler before and during World War II. Production continued in other countries into the 1950s for the private market. It was notable for its excellent short fi ...

''Storch'' *

Messerschmitt Bf 108 The Messerschmitt Bf 108 ''Taifun'' (English: "Typhoon") was a German single-engine sport and touring aircraft, developed by Bayerische Flugzeugwerke in the 1930s. The Bf 108 was of all-metal construction. Design and development Originally desi ...

''Taifun'' *

Focke-Wulf Fw 189 The Focke-Wulf Fw 189 ''Uhu'' ("Eagle Owl") is a German twin-engine, twin-boom, three-seat tactical reconnaissance and army cooperation aircraft. It first flew in 1938 (Fw 189 V1), entered service in 1940 and was produced until mid-1944. In ad ...

Uhu

Japan

Imperial period: *

Kokusai Ki-76 The Kokusai Ki-76, or Liaison Aircraft Type 3 (in ja, 三式指揮連絡機), was a Japanese high-wing monoplane artillery spotter and liaison aircraft that served in World War II. The Allied reporting name was "Stella". Design and development ...

(

Imperial Japanese Army Air Force The Imperial Japanese Army Air Service (IJAAS) or Imperial Japanese Army Air Force (IJAAF; ja, 大日本帝國陸軍航空部隊, Dainippon Teikoku Rikugun Kōkūbutai, lit=Greater Japan Empire Army Air Corps) was the aviation force of the Im ...

, 1942–1945) * Tachikawa Ki-36 (

, 1938–1945) Postwar period: * LR-1 (

Japan Ground Self-Defense Force The Japan Ground Self-Defense Force ( ja, 陸上自衛隊, Rikujō Jieitai), , also referred to as the Japanese Army, is the land warfare branch of the Japan Self-Defense Forces. Created on July 1, 1954, it is the largest of the three service b ...

, 1967–2016) * LC-90 (

Japan Maritime Self Defense Force , abbreviated , also simply known as the Japanese Navy, is the maritime warfare branch of the Japan Self-Defense Forces, tasked with the naval defense of Japan. The JMSDF was formed following the dissolution of the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) ...

, 1974–)

Poland

Lublin R-XIII The Lublin R-XIII was the Polish army cooperation plane (observation and liaison plane), designed in the early-1930s in the Plage i Laśkiewicz factory in Lublin. It was the main army cooperation plane in the Invasion of Poland. Its variant Lub ...

Portugal

* Piper L-21 Super Cub ( Portuguese Army, 1952–1957 and

Portuguese Air Force , colours = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = 1 July , equipment = , equipment_label ...

, 1957–1976) * Auster D.5/160 (Portuguese Air Force, 1961–1974) *

Dornier Do 27 The Dornier Do 27 is a German single-engine STOL utility aircraft that was designed and manufactured by Dornier GmbH (later DASA Dornier and Fairchild-Dornier). It was notable for being the first mass-produced aircraft in Germany following the ...

(Portuguese Air Force, 1961–1979) * Reims-Cessna FTB-337, (Portuguese Air Force, 1974–2007)

Soviet Union

Polikarpov Po-2 The Polikarpov Po-2 (also U-2, for its initial ''uchebnyy'', 'training', role as a flight instruction aircraft) served as an all-weather multirole Soviet biplane, nicknamed ''Kukuruznik'' (russian: Кукурузник,Gunston 1995, p. 292. NA ...

Kukuruznik ("Crop Duster")

Sweden

Piper PA-18-150 Super Cub The Piper PA-18 Super Cub is a two-seat, single-engine monoplane. Introduced in 1949 by Piper Aircraft, it was developed from the Piper PA-11 Cub Special, PA-11 Cub Special, and traces its lineage back through the Piper J-3 Cub, J-3 Cub to the ...

as ''Flygplan 51'', 1958–1974 *

as ''Flygplan 53'', 1962–1991 *

Scottish Aviation Bulldog The Scottish Aviation Bulldog is a British two-seat side-by-side (with optional third seat) training aircraft designed by Beagle Aircraft as the B.125 Bulldog. The prototype Bulldog flew on 19 May 1969 at Shoreham Airport. The first order for ...

as ''Flygplan 61C'', 1972–1989

Switzerland

Pilatus PC-6 The Pilatus PC-6 Porter is a single-engined STOL utility aircraft designed by Pilatus Aircraft of Switzerland. First flown in 1959, the PC-6 was produced at Pilatus Flugzeugwerke in Stans, Switzerland. It has been built in both piston engine- an ...

United Kingdom

de Havilland Dominie The de Havilland DH.89 Dragon Rapide is a 1930s short-haul biplane airliner developed and produced by British aircraft company de Havilland. Capable of accommodating 6–8 passengers, it proved an economical and durable craft, despite its rela ...

Westland Lysander The Westland Lysander is a British army co-operation and liaison aircraft produced by Westland Aircraft that was used immediately before and during the Second World War. After becoming obsolete in the army co-operation role, the aircraft's ...

Taylorcraft Auster The Taylorcraft Auster was a British military liaison and observation aircraft produced by the Taylorcraft Aeroplanes (England) Limited company during the Second World War. Design and development The Auster was a twice-removed development of ...

AOP

United States

Vultee L-1 The Stinson L-1 Vigilant (company designation Model 74) is an American liaison aircraft designed by the Stinson Aircraft Company of Wayne, Michigan and manufactured at the Vultee-Stinson factory in Nashville, Tennessee (in August 1940 Stinson bec ...

''Vigilant'' *

Taylorcraft L-2 The Taylorcraft L-2 Grasshopper is an American observation and liaison aircraft built by Taylorcraft for the United States Army Air Forces in World War II. Design and development In 1941 the United States Army Air Forces ordered four Taylo ...

''Grasshopper'' *

Waco S Series The Waco S Series is a family of American cabin biplanes produced by the Waco Aircraft Company starting in 1935. Development and designations The Waco closed cabin biplanes, initially known as the C (for Cabin) series were all unequal span, stag ...

Waco C-72 C-72 was a blanket designation given to a variety of privately owned Waco enclosed-cabin biplanes pressed into service by the United States Army Air Forces in 1942. In all, 42 aircraft were taken and used for light transport duty wherever needed. V ...

or AAF UC-72 series'' *

Beechcraft Model 17 Staggerwing The Beechcraft Model 17 Staggerwing is an American biplane with an atypical negative wing stagger (the lower wing is farther forward than the upper wing). It first flew in 1932. Development At the height of the Great Depression, aircra ...

''AAF Beech UC/YC-43 Traveler (Navy GB-1/2)'' *

Aeronca L-3 The Aeronca L-3 group of observation and liaison aircraft were used by the United States Army Air Corps in World War II. The L-3 series were adapted from Aeronca's pre-war Tandem Trainer and Chief models. Design and development In 1941, the ...

''Grasshopper'' *

Piper L-4 The Piper J-3 Cub is an American light aircraft that was built between 1938 and 1947 by Piper Aircraft. The aircraft has a simple, lightweight design which gives it good low-speed handling properties and short-field performance. The Cub is Pi ...

''Grasshopper'' * Stinson L-5 ''Sentinel'' *

Interstate L-6 The Interstate Cadet was an American two-seat tandem, high wing, single-engine monoplane light aircraft. Around 320 of these aircraft were produced between the years 1941 and 1942 by the Interstate Aircraft and Engineering Corporation based in El ...

''Cadet'' *

North American North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Ca ...

/ Ryan '' L-17 Navion'' *

Cessna O-1 Bird Dog The Cessna L-19/O-1 Bird Dog is a liaison and observation aircraft. It was the first all-metal fixed-wing aircraft ordered for and by the United States Army following the Army Air Forces' separation from it in 1947. The Bird Dog had a lengthy ...

References

External links

www.als-cannonfield.com
– The Alamo Liaison Squadron is a group dedicated to restoring and flying liaison aircraft.
Lbirds.com
– Website with resources, information, and models of US WWII liaison aircraft
Lbirds
– Forum open to discussion about liaison aircraft Aircraft by type {{aviation-stub