Three Times A Survivor

摘要

Of the 2,788 Piper L-4 Cubs that served in Europe with US Army ground and Air Forces during World War Two, nearly 900 were lost through enemy action or written off in accidents (in roughly equal proportions). Of those that survived, only 190 were returned to the US, the others being sold in Europe as war surplus equipment or transferred to the armed forces of friendly nations. Not every L-4 fitted neatly into just one of these categories, and this applies to one aircraft in particular. The charmed life of this aircraft began on August 9, 1942, when it was accepted by the USAAF at the Piper factory in Lock Haven, Pennsylvania.