Editing Piper J-3 Cub (section)

===World War II service===
[[File:CAP Piper J-3 NC42050 3.jpg|thumb|J-3 aircraft with CAP markings on display at the [[National Museum of the United States Air Force]]]]
[[File:USAFM ey22.jpg|thumb|An L-4A painted and marked to represent an aircraft that flew in support of the Allied invasion of North Africa in November 1942]]
[[File:DoD USMC 86249.jpg|thumb|A Piper Cub of the 1st Marine Division's improvised air force snags a message from a patrol on New Britain's north coast.]]

Minutes before the 1941 [[Attack on Pearl Harbor]], Machinist Mate 2nd Class Marcus F. Poston, a student pilot, was on a solo flight through K-T Flying Service, piloting a Piper Cub J-3 over the valley of [[Oahu]]. Poston was flying just as the Japanese planes began appearing over the island and was subsequently shot down. Poston managed to bail out and parachute to safety. The Piper J-3 Cub was the first American plane to be shot down in [[World War II]].

The Piper Cub quickly became a familiar sight. [[First Lady of the United States|First Lady]] [[Eleanor Roosevelt]] took a flight in a J-3 Cub, posing for a series of publicity photos to help promote the CPTP. [[Newsreel]]s and newspapers of the era often featured images of wartime leaders, such as Generals [[Dwight Eisenhower]], [[George Patton]] and [[George Marshall]], flying around European battlefields in Piper Cubs.

Civilian-owned Cubs joined the war effort as part of the newly formed [[Civil Air Patrol]], patrolling the [[East Coast of the United States|Eastern Seaboard]] and [[Gulf Coast of the United States|Gulf Coast]] in a constant search for German [[U-boat]]s and survivors of U-boat attacks.<ref>Campbell, Douglas E., "Volume III: U.S. Navy, U.S. Marine Corps and U.S. Coast Guard Aircraft Lost During World War II Listed by Aircraft Type", Lulu.com,  {{ISBN|978-1-257-90689-5}} (2011), p. 374{{self-published source|date=June 2022}}</ref>{{self-published inline|date=February 2020}}<ref name="af2865">{{cite web |url=http://www.af.mil/history/spotlight.asp?storyID=123032865 |title=Civil Air Patrol |work=Air Force Link |date=27 November 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080315152319/http://www.af.mil/history/spotlight.asp?storyID=123032865 |archive-date=15 March 2008}}</ref><ref name="aiww2-0704">{{cite journal |url=http://www.americainwwii.com/stories/guarding.html |title=Guarding the home skies |journal=America in WWII |publisher=310 Publishing |first=Drew |last=Ames |date=April 2007 |access-date=3 October 2008 |issn=1554-5296}}</ref>

Piper developed a military variant ("All we had to do," Bill Jr. is quoted as saying, "was paint the Cub olive drab to produce a military airplane"),<ref name=spence/> variously designated as the '''O-59''' (1941), '''L-4''' (after April 1942) and '''NE''' (U.S. Navy). The L-4 Grasshopper was mechanically identical to the J-3 civilian Cub, but was distinguishable by the use of a [[Plexiglas]] greenhouse skylight and rear windows for improved visibility, much like the [[Taylorcraft L-2]] and [[Aeronca L-3]] also in use with the US armed forces. It had accommodations for a single passenger in addition to the pilot. When carrying only the pilot, the L-4 had a top speed of {{convert|85|mph|km/h|0|abbr=on}}, a cruise speed of {{convert|75|mph|km/h|0|abbr=on}}, a service ceiling of {{convert|12000|ft|m|0|abbr=on}}, a stall speed of {{convert|38|mph|km/h|0|abbr=on}}, an endurance of three hours,<ref name="FOU">Fountain, Paul, ''The Maytag Messerschmitts'', Flying Magazine, March 1945, p. 90: With one pilot aboard, the L-4 had a maximum endurance of three hours' flight time (no reserve) at a reduced cruising speed of 65 mph.</ref> and a range of {{convert|225|mi|km|0|abbr=on}}.<ref>Gunston, Bill and Bridgman, Leonard, ''Jane's Fighting Aircraft of World War II'', Studio Editions, {{ISBN|978-1-85170-199-5}} (1989), p. 253</ref> Some 5,413 L-4s were produced for U.S. forces, including 250 built for the U.S. Navy under contract as the NE-1 and NE-2.<ref>Frédriksen, John C., ''Warbirds: An Illustrated guide to U.S. Military Aircraft, 1915–2000'', ABC-CLIO,  {{ISBN|978-1-57607-131-1}} (1999), p. 270</ref><ref>Bishop, Chris, ''The Encyclopedia of Weapons of World War II'', Sterling Publishing Company, Inc., {{ISBN|978-1-58663-762-0}} (2002), p. 431</ref>

All L-4 models, as well as other tandem-seat light aircraft from [[Aeronca L-3|Aeronca]] and [[L-2 Grasshopper|Taylorcraft]], were collectively nicknamed "Grasshoppers", although any liaison plane, regardless of manufacturer, was often referred to as a 'Cub'. The L-4 was primarily employed in World War II for artillery spotting and training liaison pilots, but short-range reconnaissance, medical evacuation, and courier or supply missions were not uncommon.<ref name=guill/> During the [[Operation Overlord|Allied invasion of France]] in June 1944, the L-4's slow cruising speed and low-level maneuverability made it an ideal observation platform for spotting hidden German guns and armored vehicles waiting in ambush in the hedgerow [[bocage]] country south of the invasion beaches. For these and other operations, the pilot generally carried both an observer and {{convert|25|lb|kg|adj=on}} communications radio, a load that sometimes exceeded the plane's specified gross weight.<ref name="FOU"/> After the Allied breakout in France, L-4s were occasionally equipped with improvised racks (usually in pairs or quartets) of infantry [[bazooka]]s for attacking enemy vehicles. The most famous of these unlikely ground attack planes was an L-4 named ''Rosie the Rocketer'', piloted by Maj. [[Charles Carpenter (Lt. Col.)|Charles "Bazooka Charlie" Carpenter]], whose six bazooka rocket launchers were credited with eliminating several tanks and armored cars during its wartime service,<ref>''What's New in Aviation: Piper Cub Tank Buster'', Popular Science, Vol. 146 No. 2 (February 1945) p. 84</ref><ref>Kerns, Raymond C., Above the Thunder: Reminiscences of a Field Artillery Pilot in World War II, Kent State University Press, {{ISBN|978-0-87338-980-8}} (2009), pp. 23–24, 293–294</ref> especially during the [[Battle of Arracourt]]. L-4s could also be operated from ships, using the [[Brodie landing system]].

After the war, many L-4s were sold as surplus, but a considerable number were retained in service.<ref name="EDW">Edwards, Paul M., ''Korean War Almanac'', Infobase Publishing, {{ISBN|978-0-8160-6037-5}} (2006), p. 502</ref> L-4s sold as surplus in the U.S. were redesignated as J-3s, but often retained their wartime glazing and paint.<ref>"Nicholas Aircraft Sales", ''Flying Magazine'', April 1946, Vol. 38, No. 4, ISSN 0015-4806, p. 106</ref>