Rare Second World War plane up for £75,000 sale in Abingdon

A 1944 Piper L-4H ‘Grasshopper’, registration G-CMIZ, has been listed for sale on global aircraft marketplace Sprinkle from South Oxfordshire.

Originally built for the US Army Air Forces, the aircraft saw active service from August 1944 and is recorded as having served under General George S. Patton’s 3rd Army during the final advance into occupied Europe.

The 1944 Piper L-4H “Grasshopper” has been listed for sale in South Oxfordshire (Image: Sprinkle)

This type of light observation aircraft played a ‘crucial role in reconnaissance and artillery spotting’ during the Second World War, according to the listing, operating close to the front lines in some of the most pivotal battles of the conflict.

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It participated in the Battle of the Bulge and operations around Bastogne, and crossed the Rhine during the Allied advance toward Czechoslovakia before remaining in Germany until the end of the war.

The 1944 Piper L-4H “Grasshopper” has been listed for sale in South Oxfordshire (Image: Sprinkle)

Following its military service, the aircraft passed through civilian ownership in Belgium, was later recovered from Germany in the 1980s, and eventually returned to flight in the United States.

Between 2021 and 2025 it was ‘comprehensively’ restored, including a new fabric covering and a return to its original 87th Infantry Battalion paint scheme.

It’s now based at a private airstrip in South Oxfordshire, near Abingdon, and being offered for sale at £75,000.