The Lysander originated from a 1934 Ministry of the Air programme for an aircraft that could operate from very short runways.
Its missions within the S.O.E. consisted in reaching, during night missions, makeshift airfields carefully identified and evaluated by the Resistance according to a precise method (coordinates, altitude, heading of the rolling axis, length, nature of the ground, possible slope, surrounding obstacles, etc.), all useful information having been transmitted to London by specially trained French Resistance fighters.
Navigation was essentially by observation of the ground, which made the flights dependent on the phases of the Moon and atmospheric conditions.
Once close to his goal, the pilot located the field by lights lit on the ground by Resistance fighters who were warned of his approach by the sound of the engine. The Lysander operation was so well organised, and subject to such strict safety regulations, that very few accidents occurred. In addition, the relatively small size of the aircraft and its generally matt black camouflage made it a difficult target to spot and hit.
During the Second World War, Lysanders dropped 101 people and recovered 128, mostly spies, resistance fighters or pilots of downed Allied aircraft.