In 1941 the
United States Army Air Forces ordered four
Taylorcraft Ds with the designation
YO-57. They were evaluated in the summer of 1941 during maneuvers in
Louisiana and
Texas where they were used for support purposes such as light transport and courier. General
Innis P. Swift, commander of the
1st Cavalry Division, coined the 'grasshopper' name after witnessing a bumpy landing. This led to a production order under the designation
O-57 Grasshopper. In March 1942, the designation was changed to
L-2 Grasshopper. In World War II, the Army Ground Forces began using the L-2 and other liaison aircraft in much the same manner as the observation balloon was used in France during
World War I—spotting enemy troop and supply concentrations and directing artillery fire on them. It was also used for liaison (communication) and transport duties and short-range
reconnaissance that required airplanes able to land and take off from roads, open fields, and hastily prepared landing strips. The L-2 was primarily used in a training role within the United States and few saw overseas deployment. Postwar, several L-2s were converted for civilian use and are operated by private pilot owners in the United States as the Model DCO-65. Several are still airworthy in 2021. The L-2 series meet the standards for
light-sport aircraft (other than the L-2M, which has a gross weight rating five pounds over the 1,320-lb limit), thus can be flown by pilots holding the
Sport Pilot Certificate. ==Variants==