Piper L-4J Cub

History

The Piper L4 Cub basically originates from the Taylor E3 Taylor, which was built by Taylor Aircraft in 1930. W.T. Piper was the main investor in the Taylor factory and became the owner after the bankruptcy of Taylor Aircraft.
In 1936 the design was significantly modified by W. Jamouneau, creating a new type, which was designated as Piper J-2. Between 1936 and 1938 1200 examples were produced.

In 1938, the factory was burned to the ground entirely and a new one was built in Lock Haven. There Taylor Aircraft started building the J-3, an improved version of the J-2.
The J-3 could be fitted with different engines, the J=3C for example had a Continental A engine.

With the outbreak of the Second World War in 1939, a initially civilian training program was set up in the USA, where the Piper J-3 was used. Between 1939 and 1940, then were more than 3000 Piper J-3s built.
In 1941 a military version was released, called Piper O-59, in 1942 changed to L-4 and NE (US Navy designation). This hardly differed from the original civilian J-3.

The L-4 Grasshopper had a canopy with more glass panes in order to improve visibility.
Over 5400 examples were built, including 250 NE-1 and NE-2 for the US Navy.
All L-4 versions had a tandem cockpit and were, like the Taylor Craft L2 and Aeronca L-3 referred to as Grasshopper.
During the war the L-4 was used for a variety of tasks such as reconnaissance, light transport, artillery reconnaissance and also for medical transport (medevac)
After the war, many aircraft were sold as surplus, but many were still used in military service.

Versions.