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]

That’s right purty, Bender. Those should be available. On sale somewhere or somthin’, I’m thinkin’.

[Northern Yankee]

I remember that accident.

I was in Oshkosh two years ago when two Mustangs collided upon landing. They were flying formation and the second one hit the one in front of him.

From what I understand the second always lands first and then then the plane leading comes next.

[Northern Yankee]

I've got the book, "I Could Never Be So Lucky."

Outstanding augobiography of General Doolittle.

Another interesting airplane that was all engine.

[Dysart]

It was reverse-engineered to tell the designers at Grumman the A6M's engineering tradeoffs ...It was reverse-engineered to tell the designers at Grumman the A6M's engineering tradeoffs

That was my interpretation as well; not that it was a knock-off of the Zero.

BTW, anyone else finding pages loading slow here?

[calex59]

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.

Many might not know it but Boyington's squadron was initially called Boyington's Bastards(privately of course) but the military thought that might not look so good in the papers when they started writing up the group so officially called them the Black Sheep squadron.

[Bender2]

Re: On sale somewhere or somthin’, I’m thinkin’

Yep, you are... correctomundo, Dy!

Check out my FR Homepage

FR Mail me or e-mail me at custompilotwings-private@yahoo.com

[A.A. Cunningham]

You’ve posted a picture of an Avenger not a Corsair.

[getarope]

I believe it was to accomodate the large diameter of the propeller used on the Corsair. Flat wings would have resulted in no ground clearance for the propeller while the Corsair was parked.

[Mr Ducklips]

In his book, Yeager said that he downed an ME262 during its final approach with his P51 Mustang. WWII.

[calex59]

I believe most all the Marine F4U’s in WWII were land based but carrier capable but not absolutely sure. The F6 HellCat was designed for carriers right from the start and was another great Zero killer in WWII.

[tophat9000]

That a TBM Avenger Torpedo Bomber not an F4U Corsair fighter
From the photos of the restored Corsair in the article it look to be a F4U4 in post WW2 markings

[calex59]

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

Not exactly correct. Some Marine Units were carrier based in 1944. The US didn't think you could fly Corsairs off of the carriers so gave a bunch of them to the British. The British learned how to over come the carrier problems and flew them off carriers for 6 months before the US did. All of the Corsairs up till that time were Marine land based. After that some Marines had them on Carriers. The trick was to fly the Corsairs in a wide circle when landing on a carrier so the pilot could see to land. They would straighten up at the last second of so before touching down.

The F6 HellCat was designed for carriers right from the start and was another great Zero killer in WWII.

[tophat9000]

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

Not reverse engineered Zero tech but analyze of the strengh and weaknesses of the Zero and then making design and tactical choices that exploited the weaknesses...IE rock paper scissors

[tophat9000]

I also learned this week that the F-4U is the only piston-engined fighter to shoot down a jet fighter.

Sorry but very not true.. piston-engined fighters shot down jets in WW2 and during Korea a UK Sea Fury also bagged a Mig-15. I recall a USN A1 Skyraider got a Mig-17 during Vietnam

[PAR35]

Do you know why the wings were shaped that way?

So the wheels will reach the ground. Otherwise the landing gear would have to be too long or the prop would have to be too small.

[taildragger]

And if I am not mistaken, some of the remaining Granville Gang went on th work for Chance-Vought, was it Bob Miller or one of the Grandville Brothers....

BTW, the had the pleasure of seeing and meeting Delmar Benjamin and the Late Bill Turner who Built the 1st replica of "The City of Springfield"...

[PAR35]

Robert Winks in a p-51D got one near Munich near the end of World War II

http://www.actionart.ca/index1g.htm

Several other pilots caught 262s on final approach.

Read “The First and the Last” by Adolf Galland - I recollect that’s how he got shot down.

[taildragger]

Are these the same guys that have and are going to restore the "Fyling Flapjack"?

[Seven plus One]

Chance Vought V-173 Zimmerman Flying Flapjack

What the...?

[zot]

Thanks for the ping. It is a beautiful aircraft. I just wish it was flyable.