The L-2M affectionately known as the "Grasshopper' was manufactured by Taylorcraft. The L-2 was, adapted from Taylorcraft's pre-war commercial Model Tandem Trainer, was initially designated the O-57 at the time it was first ordered by the Air Corps. The airplane was given its service tests in the summer of 1941 during maneuvers in Louisiana and Texas where it was used for various support purposes such as a light transport and courier. Current research indicates that most (if not all) L-2s were used Stateside for training purposes. The aircraft is similar in apperance to the Piper L-4 Cub (especially from below) due to a common ancestry.
At the time American ground forces went into combat around the world during WW II, the AAF began using the Liaison Aircraft in much the same manner as the observation balloons wer used in France during WW I - spotting enemy troop and supply concentrations and directing artillery fire on them. It was also used for other types of liaison and transport duties and short-range reconnaissance, which required airplanes that could land and take off in minimum distances from unprepared landing strips.
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