F4U-1 CORSAIR - FLOWN BY PAPPY BOYINGTON

Historical Note:           Colonel Gregory "Pappy" Boyington, USMC, (December 4, 1912 - January 11, 1988) was an American fighter ace who flew with the American Volunteer Group in China and later was the Commanding Officer of the VMF-214 (The Black Sheep Squadron) during World War II. He also became a prisoner of war later in the war. For his U.S. Marine Corps service he was awarded the Navy Cross and the Medal of Honor.

Boyington is best known for his exploits flying the Vought F4U Corsair in VMF-214. During periods of intense activity in the Russell Islands-New Georgia and Bougainville-New Britain-New Ireland areas, Boyington added to his total almost daily. During his squadron's first tour of combat duty, the major shot down 14 enemy fighter planes in 32 days. On 17 December 1943, he headed the first Allied fighter sweep over impregnable Rabaul. By 27 December, his record was 25.

The Corsair is popularly known as 'The Sweetheart of the Marianas' and sometimes also as 'The Sweetheart of Okinawa' for its roles in these campaigns respectively - the names were given by ground troops rather than by Naval and Marine personnel. Among pilots, however, the aircraft was nicknamed "Ensign Eliminator" and 'Bent-Wing Eliminator' because it required many more hours of flight training to master than other Navy carrierborne aircraft.

Scale:    1:28
W/S:      17.6   inches, 
Lgth:      14.1   inches

Item Number:    TMC-AF4U1BL                                                                                                                                                                                                                                Price:    $169.95