159th Liaison Squadron?

Does anyone here have information, or know anyone from the 159th Liaison Squadron? I think that they operated L-5s in the Philippines...

Ryan

Ryan,

This is the first time I've logged on to this forum this month. In reply to your question about the 159th you should know that aside from the L-5 book I'm working on, I have been gathering material for a book on all the U.S. liaison squadrons of WWII for many years. When it comes to information about these outfits there probably isn't anyone else on the planet with more expertise or resources at hand on this subject. I generally don't beat my own drum very much or very loudly but I'd be very surprised if I'm not correct in this assumption. Perhaps you just didn't want to bother me knowing how much is on my plate at any given moment, but next time just drop me a line if you (or anyone else on this forum) needs such information.

Anyway, the 159th was part of the 3rd Air Commando Group that also included the 157th and 160th Liaison Squadrons. The 159th arrived in the Philippines in December 1944, at Leyte, and began flying missions in January '45. From there, detachments eventually operated on Luzon, Negros and Cebu and a few other islands. They were involved in everything from courier flights to medevac to directing fighter-bomber strikes, to air dropping supplies and even small groups of para-commandos. In August 1945, the 159th repositioned to Okinawa, the longest overwater flight ever undertaken by liaison aircraft. The L-5's, all ambulance models at that time, carried 75 gallon drop tanks in the litter compartment for additional fuel to make the 7 hour, 720 mile trip. The squadron was involved in the occupation of the Japanese mainland from Sept. 1945 through May 1946. They also earned a Presidential Unit Citation for their wartime work.

Aside from what little can be found on the web about the 159th (heres an excellent link: http://www.specialoperations.net/3rdACGHistory.htm ) I have a copy of the official squadron history plus about 400 historical documents from Maxwell AFB and quite a few photos of their aircraft. Let me know what else you'd like to know.

Jim Gray
www.sentinelclub.org
Sentinel Owners and Pilots Association

Sentinel Club wrote:

Perhaps you just didn't want to bother me knowing how much is on my plate at any given moment, but next time just drop me a line if you (or anyone else on this forum) needs such information.

Jim,

No offence intended! I figured you were busy, should've known better. I met a guy from New York or Pennsylvania (the day before I posted this) who was a mechanic for them.
Also, sometimes I duplicate requests - in case others have information as well.
I'm sending you an email.

Ryan