By Russ Albertson

The Bird Dog before our flight at John Wayne. (Russ Albertson)Amazingly, aerial reconnaissance has been in use long before the invention of the airplane.  Tethered hot air balloons were used in the late 1700s to spot enemy troops and this same method was used in 1863 during the Civil War. 

During WWI, with the introduction of the airplane in combat, aerial reconnaissance was now free ranging and commanders could get a far better idea of enemy troops facing them. The Piper L-4 Grasshopper served as the U.S. Army spotter plane in WWII and remained in service until 1949 when the Army put out a contract for an all-metal plane to replace the Piper.