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The Stinson L-1 Vigilant (company designation Model 74) is an American liaison aircraft designed by the
Stinson Aircraft Company The Stinson Aircraft Company was an aircraft manufacturing company in the United States between the 1920s and the 1950s. History The Stinson Aircraft Company was founded in Dayton, Ohio, in 1920 by aviator Edward “Eddie” Stinson, the b ...
of
Wayne, Michigan Wayne is a city in Wayne County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 17,593 at the 2010 census. Wayne has a long history of automotive and transportation related manufacturing. Ford Motor Company currently has two plants in Wayn ...
and manufactured at the Vultee-Stinson factory in Nashville, Tennessee (in August 1940 Stinson became a division of Vultee Aircraft Corporation). The aircraft was operated by 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 ...
as the O-49 until 1942.


Design and development

The Vigilant was designed in response to a 1938
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 ...
design competition for a two-seat light observation aircraft. After the German-manufactured
Fieseler Storch 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 fie ...
was demonstrated at the 4th International Air Meet in Zurich, Switzerland in 1937, the Air Corps Material Division at Wright Field initiated a feasibility study for the creation of a similar aircraft. The development program was approved in January 1938, design and performance specifications were determined in April 1938, and a Circular Proposal for a formal design competition was released to manufacturers in August 1938, just twelve days before a Storch was demonstrated at the Cleveland Air Races by German aviator Emil Kropf. Stinson (later a division of
Vultee The Vultee Aircraft Corporation became an independent company in 1939 in Los Angeles County, California. It had limited success before merging with the Consolidated Aircraft Corporation in 1943, to form the Consolidated Vultee Aircraft Corporatio ...
), won the $1.5 million contract over 11 competitors, including the Bellanca YO-50 and Ryan YO-51 Dragonfly.Merriam 2002, p. 26. Stinson won the $1.5 million contract with an initial order for 100 aircraft. Eleven competing designs included the Bellanca YO-50 and Ryan YO-51 Dragonfly that were each runners-up and garnered 3-plane contracts for further evaluation.Sentinel Owners & Pilots Association,2021, L-5 History Blog #17. The Stinson Model 74 was a radial-engined, high-wing monoplane with large trailing-edge slotted flaps and full-span leading-edge automatic slats for low-speed, high-lift, short-field performance. The Model 74 prototype was given the Army designation YO-49 for evaluation, with the first flight by test pilot Al Schramm on 15 July 1940.Merriam 2002, p. 26. The aircraft was built of chrome-molybdenum steel tubing and covered with doped cotton fabric; the engine cowling and the fuselage, forward of the wing, was fully enclosed in aluminum. Control surfaces and the
empennage The empennage ( or ), also known as the tail or tail assembly, is a structure at the rear of an aircraft that provides stability during flight, in a way similar to the feathers on an arrow.Crane, Dale: ''Dictionary of Aeronautical Terms, third e ...
were fabric-covered stainless steel. The Lycoming power plant was hand-cranked with an inertial starter and was fitted with a
Hamilton Standard Hamilton Standard was an American aircraft propeller parts supplier. It was formed in 1929 when United Aircraft and Transport Corporation consolidated Hamilton Aero Manufacturing and Standard Steel Propeller into the Hamilton Standard Propeller C ...
constant speed propeller In aeronautics, a variable-pitch propeller is a type of propeller (airscrew) with blades that can be rotated around their long axis to change the blade pitch. A controllable-pitch propeller is one where the pitch is controlled manually by the p ...
. At least 12 ambulance conversions were fitted with Edo 49-4000 floats (4,000-pound
displacement Displacement may refer to: Physical sciences Mathematics and Physics * Displacement (geometry), is the difference between the final and initial position of a point trajectory (for instance, the center of mass of a moving object). The actual path ...
)Merriam 2002, p. 27. for amphibious landings and takeoffs. The Vigilant could maintain stable, level flight at 31 miles per hour and in a 20 mph breeze it was capable of stopping in less than its own length. Given an adequate headwind, it gave the illusion of "hovering" and sometimes surprised onlookers by drifting backward. Under calm conditions the L-1 could land and take off again inside a 200 foot diameter circle, and landing over a 50-foot obstacle it could stop on dry sod within 300 feet with a ground roll of approximately 100 feet.Sentinel Owners & Pilots Association,2021, L-5 History Blog #17.


Operational history

The Stinson Vigilant was used in diverse roles such as towing training gliders, artillery spotting, liaison, emergency rescue, transporting supplies and special espionage flights. Another contract was later awarded for the O-49A which had a slightly longer fuselage and other equipment changes. In April 1942 the aircraft were redesignated the L-1 and L-1A (liaison). Up to 17 L-1 and 96 L-1A aircraft were allocated to the British
Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...
under the
Lend-Lease Act Lend-Lease, formally the Lend-Lease Act and introduced as An Act to Promote the Defense of the United States (), was a policy under which the United States supplied the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union and other Allied nations with food, oil, ...
, with varying numbers given for aircraft actually delivered (see
Variants Variant may refer to: In arts and entertainment * ''Variant'' (magazine), a former British cultural magazine * Variant cover, an issue of comic books with varying cover art * ''Variant'' (novel), a novel by Robison Wells * "The Variant", 2021 e ...
, below). The RAF designated the aircraft the Vigilant Mk I and Vigilant Mk II respectively. General
Harry Crerar General Henry Duncan Graham Crerar (28 April 1888 – 1 April 1965) was a senior officer of the Canadian Army who became the country's senior field commander in the Second World War as commander of the First Canadian Army in the campaign in N ...
, Commander of the First Canadian Army in Europe during World War II, maintained a Vigilant for his personal use. Aircraft were modified for a variety of roles including as an ambulance aircraft. No further production orders were placed as the aircraft was superseded by procurement of vast numbers of both the militarized Piper J-3 Cub, the
L-4 Grasshopper 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 P ...
(in addition to Aeronca's and
Taylorcraft Taylorcraft Aviation is an airplane manufacturer that has been producing aircraft for more than 70 years in several locations. The company builds small single-engined airplanes. The Taylorcraft design is a conventional layout: high-wing, fab ...
's similar conversions), and Stinson's own
L-5 Sentinel The Stinson L-5 Sentinel is a World War II-era liaison aircraft used by the United States Army Air Forces, U.S. Army Ground Forces, U.S. Marine Corps and the British Royal Air Force. It was produced by the Stinson Division of the Vultee Aircr ...
, itself produced in nearly 4,000 examples; were all generically classified as "puddle-jumper" aircraft. A Vigilant was modified in 1943–1944 for experiments in
boundary layer control Boundary layer control refers to methods of controlling the behaviour of fluid flow boundary layers. It may be desirable to reduce flow separation on fast vehicles to reduce the size of the wake (streamlining), which may reduce drag. Boundary l ...
.


Variants

;Stinson Model 74: company designation ;O-49 Vigilant: U.S. Army designation for first production batch, 142 built. ;L-1 Vigilant: 1942 redesignation of O-49. ;O-49A Vigilant: Fuselage lengthened "Vultee L-1A Vigilant."
National Museum of the United States Air Force, 17 April 2009.
182 built. ;O-49B Vigilant: Conversion to ambulance variant, three or four
''Aerofiles,'' 17 April 2009.
converted. ;L-1A Vigilant: 1942 redesignation of O-49A. ;L-1B Vigilant: 1942 redesignation of O-49B. ;L-1C Vigilant: L-1A ambulance variant, 113 converted. ;L-1D Vigilant: L-1A training glider tug, 14 to 21 converted. ;L-1E Vigilant: L-1 amphibious ambulance variant, seven converted. ;L-1F Vigilant: L-1A amphibious ambulance variant, five conversions. ;Vigilant Mk I: RAF designation of L-1, 14 to 17 allocated by Lend Lease ;Vigilant Mk II: RAF designation of L-1A, 96 allocated, circa 13 to 54 delivered ;CQ-2 Vigilant: US Navy conversion of L-1A to target control aircraft, one or more converted


Operators

; *
Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...
; *
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 ...


Surviving aircraft

;Airworthy * 40-3102 – operated by the
Fantasy of Flight Fantasy of Flight is an aviation museum in Polk City, Florida. It opened in November 1995, to house Kermit Weeks' collection of aircraft that, until Hurricane Andrew damaged many in 1992, were housed at the Weeks Air Museum in Tamiami, Florid ...
in
Polk City, Florida Polk City is a city in Polk County, Florida, United States. The population was 1,562 at the 2010 census. As of 2018, the population recorded by the U.S. Census Bureau is 2,422. It is part of the Lakeland– Winter Haven Metropolitan Statistic ...
. This aircraft flew for the first time after restoration on 18 July 2013. * 41-18915 – operated by the Alaska Aviation Heritage Museum in Anchorage, Alaska. * 41-19031 – privately owned and operated in
Blaine, Minnesota Blaine is a suburban city in Anoka and Ramsey counties in the State of Minnesota, United States. Once a rural town, Blaine's population has increased significantly in the last 60 years. For several years, Blaine led the Twin Cities metro region ...
. ;;On Display * 41-19039 –
National Museum of the United States Air Force The National Museum of the United States Air Force (formerly the United States Air Force Museum) is the official museum of the United States Air Force located at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, northeast of Dayton, Ohio. The NMUSAF is the ...
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 D ...
. ;;Under restoration or in storage * 40-0283 – under restoration by G & P.M. Turner in
London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
. * 40-3141 – in storage at the
United States Army Aviation Museum The United States Army Aviation Museum is an aviation museum located on Fort Rucker near Daleville, Alabama. It has the largest collection of helicopters held by a museum in the world.Phillips 1992, p. 37.Purner 2004, p. 204. The museum feature ...
at
Fort Rucker, Alabama Fort Rucker is a U.S. Army post located primarily in Dale County, Alabama, United States. It was named for a Civil War officer, Confederate General Edmund Rucker. The post is the primary flight training installation for U.S. Army Aviators and ...
.


Specifications (L-1A)


See also


References


Notes


Bibliography

* Adcock, Al. ''US Liaison Aircraft in action'' (Aircraft in Action: No. 195). Carrollton, Texas: Squadron/Signal Publications, 2005. . * Donald, David (ed.). ''American Warplanes of World War II''. London: Aerospace Publishing, 1995. . * Eden, Paul and Soph Moeng (eds.). ''The Complete Encyclopedia of World Aircraft''. London: Amber Books Ltd., 2002. * Gray, James H. ''L-5 History Blog #17'' (2021), and notes from the Wright Field Liaison Program papers at the National Archives. www.sentinelclub.org. * Merriam, Ray (ed.). ''World War II Journal #15: U.S. Military Aircraft of World War II''. Bennington, Vermont, USA: Merriam Press, 2002. . * Ogden, Bob. ''Aviation Museums and Collections of North America''. Tonbridge, Kent, UK: Air-Britain (Historians ) Ltd, 2007. . * ''The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft'' (Part Work 1982–1985). London: Orbis Publishing, 1985.


External links


Vultee L-1A Vigilant, National Museum of the United States Air Force


{{AircraftDesignationNavboxShell, {{USAF liaison aircraft {{USAAF observation aircraft {{US unmanned aircraft {{ADF aircraft prefixes 1940s United States military reconnaissance aircraft Vigilant Single-engined tractor aircraft High-wing aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1940