Spanning 1944-1950, development of the Boeing L-15 Scout began with a postwar vision of what civil aviation would be. Boeing, realizing that its huge Wichita factory would be out of work at war's end, began working on a light personal airplane. In a 1946 U.S. military liaison aircraft competition the Boeing entry won the L-15 contract even though it came in third place. The aircraft ultimately did not see mass production but Boeing's engineers kept their hopes up and created proposals for both military and civilian follow-ons. This book tells for the first time the full story of the L-15--the competition and the competitors, how Boeing's entry evolved into the prototype XL-15, the plane's full specifications, the rivalry between the U.S.

Army and Air Force, and why the government adopted a different plane instead.