liaison aircraft

{{short description|Light aircraft for artillery observation and military communications}}

{{More citations needed|date=July 2024}}

File:auster.aop9.tw511.arp.jpg liaison aircraft of 1957]]

A liaison aircraft (also called an army cooperation aircraft) is a small, usually unarmed aircraft primarily used by military forces for artillery observation or transporting commanders and messages.

Operation

The concept developed before World War II and included also battlefield reconnaissance, air ambulance, column control, light cargo delivery and similar duties.{{Cite journal |last=LePore |first=Herbert P. |date=1990 |title=Eyes in the Sky: A History of Liaison Aircraft and Their Use in World War II |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/26302917 |journal=Army History |issue=17 |pages=30–39 |issn=1546-5330}} Able to operate from small, unimproved fields under primitive conditions, with STOL capabilities, most liaison aircraft were developed from, or were later used as general aviation aircraft. Both fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters can perform liaison duties.

Use by country

=Argentina=

=Bulgaria=

=Germany=

=Japan=

=Poland=

=Portugal=

File:Reims FT337G Pressurized Skymaster II, Portugal - Air Force AN0552140.jpg

=Soviet Union=

=Sweden=

=Switzerland=

=United Kingdom=

=United States=

{{main|List of United States Air Force aircraft designations (1919–1962)#Liaison}}

See also

References

{{Reflist}}