L-4 Grasshoppers USS Ranger 9 Nov 1942

[Leendert]

On 9 Nov 1942 three L-4 Grasshoppers attached to 3rd Inf Div Artillery took off from the aircraft carrier USS Ranger off the Moroccan coast to participate in Operation Torch.
All three L-4s were fired upon by Allied forces on sea and land (no advance notice was given about their presence...) and they had to make crash landings some way or another.

Who has the serials of these Grasshoppers? Two of them reportedly were 42-15204 (Capt Ford Allcorn) and 42-36389 (Lt William Butler), but I'm still looking for the one of Lt John Shell.

Info welcome, thanks.

Regards,

Leendert

[Martin Gleeson]

Hallo Leendert,

I can't really help you, but I assume you have found those details in THE FIGHTING GRASSHOPPERS by Ken Wakefield, published in 1990. He subsequenly produced a follow-up book titled LIGHTPLANES AT WAR. In this he states Shell and Devoy were in 42-36389 while Butler was in the still unidentified Cub.

Regards,

Martin Gleeson.

[RyanShort1]

I don't have any further information at this point. Box Seat Over Hell does not have any further numbers. You might try to find out if Mr. Stratton at the International Liaison Pilot's Association (ILPA) has anything further. I'd be willing to guess that if anyone has the information, it would be him, or the US Navy. My understanding is that most USN carrier operations were filmed, so I'd guess that there might be more pictures in some archive, somewhere.

Ryan

[Leendert]

Thanks for the answers. I'll keep looking, also for the pics.

Regards,

Leendert

[CJE]

There's at least one photograph I know of, but it's Butler's aircraft.

[RyanShort1]

Originally Posted by CJE

There's at least one photograph I know of, but it's Butler's aircraft.

I think I've seen at least three shots.

Ryan