Photo: ROBERT J BINGLEY-PULLIN
Just for the sake of argument, we'd like you to list the most important and famous American military airplanes of the Second World War. Which airplanes would be on your list? Things like P-51 Mustangs, P-47 Thunderbolts, P-38 Lightnings, and maybe even B-17s and B-29s, if you really know your stuff. But for our money, the Piper L4 Grasshopper should join that list.
While Mustangs and Thunderbolts protected them from enemy fighters, Grasshoppers, based on the civilian Piper Cub, surveyed battlefields, conducted surveillance and even transported VIP personnel to and from combat zones from World War II through the Korean War. Eleanor Roosevelt, the wife of U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt, even had a ride in the back seat of one.
Similar in its primary role to German airplanes like the Messerchmitt Bf-108, no, not the 109, the 108, the Grasshopper should be an American icon. But an ostensible lack of firearms and snarling, striking good looks often prevent this. But on the bright side, that means this 1944 L-4B is for sale at a price the average person could conceivably afford if they were really dedicated to owning an old warbird.
Leaving the Lock Haven, Penne factory floor in early 1944, this warbird served in an undisclosed role within the U.S. Army Air Forces, the precursor to the U.S. Air Force, through the end of World War II in Italy and possibly into Korea. Somehow, this airplane is wound up for sale on the completely opposite side of the world, under the ownership of Mr. Robert Bingley-Pullin in Surry Hills, Australia. But such a nice and well-preserved airframe is worth its weight in diamonds to the right person. At an asking price of AUD95,000, or just under $60,800 before taxes and fees, there's every chance this bird winds right back up on a ship to the U.S., where its fellow countrymen can enjoy it.
Similar in its primary role to German airplanes like the Messerchmitt Bf-108, no, not the 109, the 108, the Grasshopper should be an American icon. But an ostensible lack of firearms and snarling, striking good looks often prevent this. But on the bright side, that means this 1944 L-4B is for sale at a price the average person could conceivably afford if they were really dedicated to owning an old warbird.
Leaving the Lock Haven, Penne factory floor in early 1944, this warbird served in an undisclosed role within the U.S. Army Air Forces, the precursor to the U.S. Air Force, through the end of World War II in Italy and possibly into Korea. Somehow, this airplane is wound up for sale on the completely opposite side of the world, under the ownership of Mr. Robert Bingley-Pullin in Surry Hills, Australia. But such a nice and well-preserved airframe is worth its weight in diamonds to the right person. At an asking price of AUD95,000, or just under $60,800 before taxes and fees, there's every chance this bird winds right back up on a ship to the U.S., where its fellow countrymen can enjoy it.
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