L-4 Takeoff from LST 31 July 1944 Invasion of Southern France Operation Dragoon National Archives скачать в хорошем качестве

L-4 Takeoff from LST 31 July 1944 Invasion of Southern France Operation Dragoon National Archives

Ever adaptable, American soldiers and sailors figured out a way to modify Navy LSTs to carry a number of Piper L-4 Grasshopper liaison aircraft that could take off on a narrow runway a little over 200 feet long on the ship, enabling the L-4s to get into battle quickly during invasion operations. This Army footage was made on July 30 and 31, 1944 in Italy, and shows the Navy and the Army working to hoist the Piper Grasshoppers aboard a modified LST, carefully aligning the L-4s' main landing gear with tracks that placed the aircraft to the sides of the makeshift shipboard runway. The L-4 pilots posed in front of one of their machines, and subsequently took off from the LST for practice. In two weeks, the invasion of Southern France, Operation Dragoon, would need the L-4s in earnest. Forward motion of the LST gave a helpful wind direction to aid the Piper takeoffs. One of the L-4s skewed to the left and landed in the water as a smaller vessel responded to the scene of the ditching. The remainder of this Army footage depicts soldiers from the Third Infantry Division, with diagonal stripe patches on their uniforms, and the Cook Regiment of the 16th Infantry Division, as they prepared shipboard loading at Naples for the Southern France invasion that would kick off on August 15. (Some of this footage was out of focus as received. We believe the historical significance overrides that, making this a worth while contribution to a rare aspect of World Wart II history.) Thanks for watching the Airailimages Channel. You make it possible for us to keep presenting films like this. Please hit the Subscribe Button if you have not already joined the nearly 120,000 viewers who are subscribed to Airailimages.