F4U-1A - FLOWN BY PAPPY BOYINGTON

SUPER ELITE

Historical Note:           The F4U Corsair was a carrier-based fighter aircraft manufactured by Chance Vought and was used by the U.S. Navy and Army, the Fleet Air Arm, among others. Its maiden flight was on the 29th of April 1940 and introduced on the 28th of December 1942. The F4U Corsair aircraft was seen in service in World War II and the Korean War.

During World War II, production of the Corsair aircraft expanded. There were different F4U Corsair variants during that time. Some of these were the F4U-1 and the F4U-1A. The F4U-1A Corsair was introduced because of the continuous problems with the F4U-1. The F4U-1 was the first Corsair and was based on the XF4U with a difference in fuel tank and fuselage windows behind the canopy. The two Colt-Browning .50s were removed from the nose of the F4U-1A and all the six machine guns were mounted on the wings outside the propeller arc. The F4U-1A incorporated the new “Malcolm” hood with only two struts. The cockpit seat was raised to allow the pilot to see over the long nose.

One of those who flew the Vought F4U Corsair was Pappy Boyington during the intense activity in the Bougainville-New Britain-New Ireland areas. On their first tour of combat duty, Black Sheep Squadron of Pappy Boyington shot down 14 enemy fighter planes in 32 days. Their squadron also offered to shoot down Japanese Zero in exchange with every baseball cap sent to them by the World Series major league players.

Scale:    1:26
W/S:      19.0  inches, 
Lgth:      15.25  inches

Item Number:    TMC-AF4U1BLTS                                                                                                                                                                                                                    Price:    $169.95