Vought retirees find, restore World War II Corsair fighter

FWST ^ | 1-24-09 | BOB COX

[Dysart]

DALLAS — After four years of painstaking labor, artisans of the Vought Aircraft Retirees Club have restored an icon of U.S. aviation history, a World War II-vintage F4U Corsair fighter plane.

Working with pieces and parts from several wrecked and scrapped aircraft and building many others themselves from drawings, the retirees have spent thousands of hours and hundreds of thousands of dollars re-creating a version of the distinctive, gull-winged plane that Japanese soldiers and sailors dubbed "Whistling Death."

Rebuilding the Corsair, one of two great fighter planes — the other was the Grumman F6F Hellcat — that enabled Navy and Marine pilots to dominate the skies in the Pacific theater, "has been a real work of love for the last four years," said Hank Merbler, president of the Vought Aircraft Heritage Foundation.

The recently completed plane, which isn’t flyable and will eventually end up in an area museum, will be rolled out for several hundred invited guests today in a hangar at Vought Aircraft Industries west Dallas complex.

Launched in 1938 to meet Navy requirements for a high-speed fighter airplane, the Corsair is the most famous aircraft designed and produced by the company founded by the aviation pioneer Chance Vought.

"It’s an airplane I’m really proud of. If you read all the history of it, it’s really something," said Dillon Smith, a 34-year employee of Vought who retired in 1994.

"It did what it was designed to do and that was defeat the Japanese Zero," Smith said.

The first new, highly capable fighter aircraft to reach the Pacific theater early in 1943, the Corsair was initially deployed with ground-based Marine squadrons.

Corsairs were flown by the famous "Black Sheep" Squadron, led by Marine Maj. Gregory "Pappy" Boyington, whose exploits were the basis for the mid-1970s television show Baa Baa Black Sheep.

[Dysart]

Dillon Smith dusts the inside of the canopy of the Vought F4U Corsair, the famed World War II fighter, at Vought’s Grand Prairie facility.

Jerry Fischer, Ronald Griffith and Bob Szabados attach a tow bar to the F4U. STAR-TELEGRAM PHOTOS/IAN McVEA

[edpc]

Great plane. It was one of my favorite models to build as a kid.

[BigCinBigD]

Here's One that is flyable. Took this at the Fort Smith air show a couple years back. Love the old planes.

[Poison Pill]

Corsairs were flown by the famous "Black Sheep" Squadron, led by Marine Maj. Gregory "Pappy" Boyington, whose exploits were the basis for the mid-1970s television show Baa Baa Black Sheep

With all the interest in the past few years of turning iconic 60s and 70s TV shows into movies, I'm surprised they have never done that with "Blacksheep Squadron". With the story elements they would have to work with and today's special effects, you could make a great movie.

[Dysart]

Me too! It was one awesome,timely and badly needed bird. Kind of a shame this project is not flyable. Doesn’t diminish the efforts of these workers...18k+ hrs of labor in their spare time.

[r-q-tek86]

That looks more like an Avenger

[Dysart]

That’s a gorgeous shot. I always liked that hue of blue against the sky.

[jazusamo]

The F4U is a beautiful aircraft.

[tanknetter]

Dillon Smith dusts the inside of the canopy of the Vought F4U Corsair, the famed World War II fighter, at Vought’s Grand Prairie facility.

The four-bladed prop identifies this as a post-war Corsair. I'd want to say it's an F4U-4, but I don't see the distinctive scoop on the underside of the cowling. It's certainly marked as an F4U-4 from the Korean War era, with post-war national insignia (red stripe in the Stars and Bars) and big white MARINES fuselage identifiers (the Japanese kill markings might be appropriate, since there were WWII aces, Marine and otherwise, the few back into combat during Korea).

My overall guess, tho, is that this is a Frankensair. Bash-together of lots of different bits and pieces not only from different Corsairs (as the article mentions), but also from different Corwair sub-types.

[bill1952]

Probably incorrect to show the superiority of American society and technology over other races now, unless they could slide a backhanded slap at American imperial unilateral aggressiveness in some elitist and arrogant way that is a hallmark of most Hollywood trash these days.

I would certainly pay to see it.

[GreyFriar]

ping

[r-q-tek86]

I may be wrong, but I think I remember hearing that this aircraft will be displayed in the Aviation Heritage Museum portion of the newly rennovated Science and History Museum in Fort Worth.

I wonder if this is the same aircraft that sat in the CAF hanger at Mecham Field back in the 80’s. Anyone know more history on this?

[Rev DMV]

Pretty, hate the not flyable part.... :(

Here’s a site for guy that’s working on a scale replica:

http://www.corsair82.com/

[tanknetter]

"It did what it was designed to do and that was defeat the Japanese Zero," Smith said.

One small correction here. The Corsair wasn't designed to defeat the Zero. The Corsair was designed years before the US had enough knowledge of the Zero to design an aircraft to counter it. The Corsair was certainly improved over the course of it's WWII service based on combat against the Zero and other aircraft.

The F6F Hellcat had a lot more "counter-Zero" elements incorporated into its design. But even then the Hellcat started as an evolution of the F4F Wildcat that grew (thanks partly to analysis of Zeros captured early in the war) into a completely new aircraft.

[advance_copy]

If I was filthy rich, that is something I would have.

[magslinger]

SONOBUOY PING!

Click on pic for past Navair pings.

Post or FReepmail me if you wish to be enlisted in or discharged from the Navair Pinglist.
The only requirement for inclusion in the Navair Pinglist is an interest in Naval Aviation.
This is a medium to low volume pinglist.

[tanknetter]

That looks more like an Avenger

Yup, that's a Turkey alright.

[AGreatPer]

"It was one of my favorite models to build as a kid."

Yea, that was fun. After you put the paper on it you would wet it. When it dried and shrunk it was ready for the paint. Cutting those pieces out of balsa wood was not easy. Loved the smell of Testors glue.

[Northern Yankee]

These are lovely planes to watch, but tricky to land and takeoff because as a pilot you sit so far back.

They are impressive planes that look like they mean business.

Saw an outstanding pilot fly one of these at the EAA Airventure in Oshkosh a few years back.

[Poison Pill]

Probably incorrect to show the superiority of American society and technology over other races now, unless they could slide a backhanded slap at American imperial unilateral aggressiveness in some elitist and arrogant way that is a hallmark of most Hollywood trash these days.

How 'bout if we split the difference with Hollywood; Lucy Liu as morally superior and hectoring Tokyo Rose but with a nude scene.

[DesertSapper]

I’ve been in these Vought work hangers many times over the past years but not much since I started working remotely. I need to head back over to see how the plane looks completed.

[headstamp 2]

“Yea, that was fun. After you put the paper on it you would wet it. When it dried and shrunk it was ready for the paint. Cutting those pieces out of balsa wood was not easy. Loved the smell of Testors glue. “

Hot “Fuel Proof” Dope ping!

[Dysart]

Interesting. I’ve never heard that we reverse engineered Zero tech during the War. I’d like to read more about it.

[headstamp 2]

Were these mostly land based vs. carrier based planes?

[Dysart]

Loved the smell of Testors glue.

I nearly made the same comment in reply to the first post who referenced the model building. I can still smell that "aroma." Haha It explains a great deal...

[tanknetter]

Interesting. I’ve never heard that we reverse engineered Zero tech during the War. I’d like to read more about it.

Good information to start with here

There have been a number of discussion on the subject over on the forums at WIX as well

[jazusamo]

I believe most all the Marine F4U’s in WWII were land based but carrier capable but not absolutely sure.

[tet68]

Beautiful bird there, and from my old outfits ancestor,
I was in VMA-223 which was the attack designation given
to VMF units later on. Even has our logo on the nose, a fightin bulldog with boxing gloves and a doughboy helmet.

The Zero gained speed and manuverability at the cost of weight, it had little armor and did not have self sealing
fuel tanks till later if at all.

Oh those props on the Corsair were some 13 feet in diameter.

[slumber1]

Were these mostly land based vs. carrier based planes?

I believe they were originally intended to be carrier based but were almost impossible to land on the carriers so the Marines used them as land based squadrons

[fso301]

Interesting. I’ve never heard that we reverse engineered Zero tech during the War. I’d like to read more about it.

Here's one place to start

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akutan_Zero

[tanknetter]

I believe they were originally intended to be carrier based but were almost impossible to land on the carriers so the Marines used them as land based squadrons

The issue was with the oleos on the main gear being too stiff. When the aircraft trapped, it had a tendency to bounce. And bounce and bounce and bounce.

Not a good thing.

So the Corsairs were relegated to USMC squadrons operating ashore until the gear problem was addressed. As the reengineering was going on the F6F entered service in numbers and proved itself to be more than capable of being the fleet's primary fighter. Corsairs did eventually make it back into the fleet (and also into other nations' carrier air arms ... the Royal Navy flew a version of the Corsair with clipped wings that could fit into it's carriers' lower-ceiling hangar decks), but too late to really supplant the F6F.

[19th LA Inf]

I’ll bet there are a few former Marine aviators on this board who will point out that, when Navy pilots found the F4U “almost impossible to land on carriers”, the Marines went ahead and did it! A few years back I worked with a former Marine pilot from the 1945 era who flew them off a carrier. His favorite story was about encountering a flight of lost USAAF P-38s who asked the Marines for a steer to any handy airbase. They led the AAF guys to their carrier and invited them to drop in for coffee. (They knew that Okinawa was barely out of sight).

[jazusamo]

I can’t remember where I got that pic, had it a long time. I have it on my computer for my home page. I built models for years and love WWII vintage fighters. Years ago I built an RC F4U 36” wingspan, it’s a beauty and my grandson still has it.

About a year ago I had a Comcast tech out for an Internet problem and he asked me if that was me flying it, I told him no because if I get more than ten feet off the ground my stomach starts feeling funny. LOL!

[Redleg Duke]

I also learned this week that the F-4U is the only piston-engined fighter to shoot down a jet fighter. It happened against a Mig-15 during the Korean War.

[shoptalk]

Chance Vought F4U Corsair on display at the Marine Corps Museum in Quantico, VA

This FREE museum shouldn't be missed. I had a great time there with my son's recruiting (poolee) class.

[zeebee]

Trivia question:

Do you know why the wings were shaped that way?

[Enterprise]

As I recall from my past readings, the Navy did indeed want to put the Corsairs on the carriers. However they were unable to figure out how to land them safely so the Corsairs were initially land based. The Brits figured it out right away and had Corsairs landing on their carriers two years before the Navy figured it out. (No linky, sorry)

[Enterprise]

"If I was filthy rich, that is something I would have.

Oh man. I would have a Mustang, a P-38 Lightning, a Corsair, a Thunderbolt and a B-17.

[Last Dakotan]

ping

[Dysart]

Thank you for the excellent resources. I like this part...

During "The War," Grumman was an outstanding example of American productivity, employing 20,000 workers, few of whom had ever worked in the aircraft industry before; many of them were women. Bethpage was a happy place; there were no strikes, work stoppages, nor unions. Grumman took care of its employees with daycare centers for working mothers, social events for all, Christmas turkeys, and the famous "Green Car Service" to help employees with dead batteries and other minor problems. 12,000 planes in 3yrs. Wow.

And also this one re the Hellcat from one E Valencia: " one of the Navy's top aces, quipped. "I love this airplane so much, that if it could cook, I'd marry it."

(Could he get away with that comment now without being vilified?===rhetorical)

[tanknetter]

I’ll bet there are a few former Marine aviators on this board who will point out that, when Navy pilots found the F4U “almost impossible to land on carriers”, the Marines went ahead and did it! A few years back I worked with a former Marine pilot from the 1945 era who flew them off a carrier. His favorite story was about encountering a flight of lost USAAF P-38s who asked the Marines for a steer to any handy airbase. They led the AAF guys to their carrier and invited them to drop in for coffee. (They knew that Okinawa was barely out of sight).

I'd point out that any Marine F4U jockey who encountered P-38s off Okinawa would've been flying a later-model Corsair with the landing-gear issue corrected.

It ultimately came down to standardization. When the F4U was pulled from CV duty, USN squadrons standardized on the Hellcat. The Marines, who were operating ashore, got the Corsairs. The two aircraft were close enough in capabilities that when newer models arrived they were assigned according to whoever already flew them. So when the Marines went back aboard the carriers, they took their newer-model Corsairs with them.

[19th LA Inf]

That long nose was hard to see over. On 29 July 1999, a flight of a Bearcat and two F4Us were taxiing for takeoff at Oshkosh. The Bearcat stopped and the first F4U ran into it, destroying both aircraft. Then the second F4U veered off the taxiway and was substantially damaged. I’m pretty sure the lead F4U was actually owned by Vought and being flown by a company exec.

[Last Dakotan]

I'm surprised they have never done that with "Blacksheep Squadron"

Be careful what you ask for - they'd be portrayed "air-raiding villages and killing civilians".

[jazusamo]

Thanks...That sounds right, I remember reading when landing an F4U on a carrier the pilot was practically blind.

[bill1952]

LOL!

[shorty_harris]

I remember years ago, I was working in New Zealand, at the Antarctic supply depot storage yard at the Christchurch airport. One day a flat bed truck came in with the pieces of a Douglas SBD Dauntless on the bed. It had been found somewhere in the bush, and had just been retrieved, and was on it’s way to a museum for restoration. You could see the faded NZ insignia on the wing, with the US insignia underneath (must have been lend-lease). It looked to me like long, hard work was ahead for the restorers.

[tanknetter]

Do you know why the wings were shaped that way?

Big engine turning a HUGE propeller. On an aircraft that needed tough, stubby landing gear to absorb carrier landings.

The bent wing with the mains centered at the angle was the logical solution to permitting propeller clearance while also permitting carrier landings. The F8F Bearcat had the same issue, but the Grumman engineers chose a more advanced (permittable by that time) cantilevered landing gear design.

[norton]

Bump 23.
Only similarity I know of between Zero (A6M?) and Hellccat (Bethpage Boiler Works) was low wing/wide gear track versus Wildcat's midwing/narrow track.

sources anyone?

[Seven plus One]

These are lovely planes to watch, but tricky to land and takeoff because as a pilot you sit so far back.

They are impressive planes that look like they mean business.

Gee Bee R-1

Jimmy Doolittle flew one of these in the thirties. That he lived to write about it is a miracle.

[Dysart]

Trivia question: Do you know why the wings were shaped that way?

I've heard this before but not certain I recall the answer. But I'll take my best guess anyway, did it have to with facilitating carrier landings or working with them on the deck? IE, allowing men to easily walk under the wings? Seem to recall something about that. There's an embedded youtube video of an Air show from Dover AFB on the first link tanknetter posted. A good one.

Grumman F6F Hellcat