Service History
- Delivered:
- 1950 – ABD USS Boxer & USS Valley Forge
- 1951 & 55 – NAF El Centro, CA & San Diego, CA
- 1952-53 – NAS Alameda, CA
- 1954 – Seattle, WA
- 1956 – Olathe, KS & Litchfield Park, AZ then retired
- Stricken: July, 1956
In 1945 the Vought plant cranked out a new F4U-4 every 85 minutes (300 per month). The sleek F4U’s design used compound curvature skins on the fuselage and gull-wing sections and flush rivets on the entire aircraft. The Corsair’s trademark is the inverted “bent” gull wing. This created a better field of vision, less drag, and more prop clearance. The Corsair was in production until 1952, longer than any other fighter in WWII. The Corsair was also the last piston engine fighter produced for the U.S.
The Corsair has a kill ratio of 11:1 and was the first NAVY warplane to exceed 400 MPH in level flight. Named “Whistling Death” by the Japanese, the F4U’s outstanding overall performance made it the finest carrier born fighter of the war.
The Corsair starred in the 1976 television series Baa Baa Black Sheep. Major Greg “Pappy” Boyington took command of the reorganized VMF-214 in 1943. On their first mission, “Pappy” became the first Corsair “Ace In A Day” and the “Black Sheep” claimed 47 confirmed kills in one month.
This F4U-4 currently under restoration was obtained by Yanks in 1984.
