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Stinson L-5 Sentinel

first flew 1941· liaison aircraft

🛩️ light / GA piston
7 photos from Wikimedia Commons · credits & licences
  1. 1. Stinson L-5E Sentinel with NACA: NASA Langley· Public domain
  2. 2. Stinson ‘L-5B’ Sentinel ‘203917’ “Guinea Short Lines” (N5473V) (29694988143): Alan Wilson from Stilton, Peterborough, Cambs, UK· CC BY-SA 2.0
  3. 3. USS Sicily (CVE-118) launches OY-2 Sentinel off Korea on 22 September 1950 (80-G-420239): Unknown author Unknown author· Public domain
  4. 4. L-5 Sentinel: Unknown author Unknown author· Public domain
  5. 5. Stinson L-5 Sentinel, Private JP7679339: Fabrizio Berni· GFDL
  6. 6. Stinson L-5B Sentinel, Private JP6381713: Aldo Bidini· GFDL 1.2
  7. 7. Valrembo Italy MM52847 I-AEGD Stinson L-5 Sentinel (3140099011): Jerry Gunner from Lincoln, UK· CC BY 2.0
Read about it on Wikipedia ↗
Stinson L-5 Sentinel, photo 1 of 7
1/7 NASA Langley· Public domain

what is it?

The Stinson L-5 Sentinel is a World War II-era liaison aircraft used by the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF), U.S. Army Ground Forces, U.S. Marine Corps and the British Royal Air Force. It was produced by the Stinson Division of the Vultee Aircraft Company (Consolidated-Vultee from mid-1943). Along with the Stinson L-1 Vigilant, the L-5 was the only other USAAF liaison aircraft that was exclusively built for military use and had no civilian counterpart other than the prototype.

How to recognise it: 1 piston engine with propeller · 10.4 m wingspan

base stats

  • speed 209 km/htop speed
  • size 1,021 kgmax take-off weight
  • built 3,590made in total

Bars compare against all aircraft: 3,500 km/h, 20,000 km, 850 seats; size and number built on a log scale up to 640 t (An-225) and 45,000 built (Cessna 172).

fun facts

  • First flew 85 years ago, in 1941.
  • Top speed is 1.6× a car on the Dutch motorway (130 km/h).
  • Wingspan of 10.4 m: about 2 cars parked nose to tail.

piston: A car-like piston engine turning a propeller: simple and cheap, the classic small plane.

spec sheet

first flight
1941-06-28
number built
3,590
role
liaison aircraft
makers
Stinson
engines
1× Lycoming O-435
crew
2
length
7.3 m
wingspan
10.4 m
height
2.4 m
max take-off weight
1,021 kg
top speed
209 km/h
cruise speed
161 km/h
range
—
ceiling
4,816 m

Specs are for the version in the Wikipedia article's specification section. Blank means the sources don't say.

Sources: Wikidata Q1974696, Wikipedia: Stinson L-5 Sentinel (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-24.

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