A terrible doubt regarding F4U Corsair BuNo

[le_steph40]

Hi Steph,

After so many years, I'm no longer sure what you want to do on your project - but I AM sure that 17472 was a Birdcage. The factory and BuAer records agree on this - the book you're using (whichever one it is) was misled by conflicting data released years ago.

Cheers,



Dana

Hello Dana,

My project is to build an aircraft flown by R. M. Hanson with which he claimed victories. So, the infos I found are only about 2 aircrafts: 17472 and 17596. And, as you said, it seems that there is a problem with 17596 because this aircraft was delivered to the Brits as JT174. So, there is only one option: 17472 but I had conflicting informations regarding the model: -1 or 1A...?
I prefer to trust your knowledge and your certainty on the subject, therefore, as discussed here before on this thread, my project will be an F4U-1 "Birdcage" with the 3 tone camo.
I also decided to get more up to date informations on the subject and ordered your book "Aircraft Pictorial, No. 7: F4U-1 Corsair Vol. 1" ...

Still thank you for your help Dana.
Regards

 

[greatgonzo]

Order the second one too. Both are a treasure for any -U1 fan. I mean it.

 

[le_steph40]

Hello Dana,

My project is to build an aircraft flown by R. M. Hanson with which he claimed victories. So, the infos I found are only about 2 aircrafts: 17472 and 17596. And, as you said, it seems that there is a problem with 17596 because this aircraft was delivered to the Brits as JT174. So, there is only one option: 17472 but I had conflicting informations regarding the model: -1 or 1A...?
I prefer to trust your knowledge and your certainty on the subject, therefore, as discussed here before on this thread, my project will be an F4U-1 "Birdcage" with the 3 tone camo.
I also decided to get more up to date informations on the subject and ordered your book "Aircraft Pictorial, No. 7: F4U-1 Corsair Vol. 1" ...

Still thank you for your help Dana.
Regards

Well, I give up to order this book Impossible to obtain here in France: 3 sellers canceled my order because they didn't succeed to get it.
I searched on the net and on Ebay, I found 2 or 3 copies of the book only in the USA but the shipping cost is too expensive !

 

[Dana Bell]

Hi Steph,

I'm sorry you're having problems getting copies of the books. I have a new stock coming in this weekend, so on Monday I'll add a listing on Ebay's Global Shipping Program which should bring prices down to a more reasonable level.

Right now I'm writing a third Corsair book, this one covering the cockpits of all the -1 variants. This new review of the documents has revealed why different sources cite different serial numbers for the first "F4U-1A."

The raised cockpit Corsair was designed and built under Project 108, which sought to incorporate a varienty of changes in the Corsair, including raising the pilot and improving his view. New componants were installed as they came available, and one of the first new componants was the revised seat mount. This allowed the pilot to raise his seat higher than the original mount, changed the seatback angle, and moved the pilot closer to the windscreen. Most of the other componants -- such as the new windscreen and canopy -- arrived later. Nearly all of the incorrect serials that I've seen appear to be linked to the introduction of the new seat.

Complicating all of this is a problem with serial number assignments. Corsair Is built for the British were ordered under Lend-Lease and were supposed to carry Navy Bureau Numbers as well as British serials. The first 70 Corsair Is were delivered without BuNos -- BuAer later discovered the problem and assigned out-of-sequence Navy serials.

Most of the incorrect serials I've seen appear to relate to the first installation of the revised seat mount, even though all those early mods still carried Birdcage canopies. As such, the revised seats were nearly useless -- they couldn't be fully raised and still fit inside the Birdcage canopy. If the canopy was opened and the seat raised, the pilot couldn't reach the controls, which were now five inches too low.

So the first F4U-1A can be confirmed as 17647, the 950th Corsair that Vought produced.

Cheers,


Dana

 

[le_steph40]

Hello,

Wow ! A big surprise in my mail box this morning

Received from a French reseller which finally succeed to get it

 

[le_steph40]

Hello,

I don't start a new thread because my questions concern the same subject, they are also only guesses and, in the same time, it's a kind of poll...
And it's also while waiting to have reached a good level in the work of advanced weathering !!!

I read this excellent book writen by Dana Bell but, like several modellers, I would like to build a model the closest to the reality. But in this case, we can only suppose because, no photo exists of this F4U-1 BuNo.17472 for the moment.

So, it seems that this aircraft was delivered in Blue Gray/Light Gray and maybe (or not) repainted in the unit. In this case, it's very probable that the national insignias of the fuselage were leave in place, so further back on the fuselage, with only the white bars and blue surround added (or not) and the right upperwing and left underwing national insignias repainted over (or not !?) with white bars added.
Another question, the main, that I ask myself, in the event that this plane has been repainted, was it not easier for the ground crews to paint/add only the sea blue on the upper surfaces leaving the blue gray on the fuselage sides and the tail and light gray on the center section of the underside ?
In my researches, it seems that several F4U-1s in light gray/blue gray belonging to VMF-215 were repainted with the addition of the sea blue but impossible to know or to see if the intermediate blue and the white were also added.

So, to resume, the probabilities are :
- Not repainted => blue gray/light gray (without and with white bars added)


- Field-applied Sea blue 1 (over the blue gray)


- Field-applied Sea blue 2 (over the blue gray)


- Field-applied standard 3 tones camo (with the national insignia leave in place or not)


The "poll" is in the probabilities above... In your opinion, what is the best option for the F4U-1 BuNo. 17472 of VMF-215 the 1st of November 1943 ?
My personnal preference is something close to F4U-1 BuNo.02435 : light gray/blue gray with sea blue added on the upper surfaces. I quite like this mix in the national insignias with the one on the fuselage left further back. But hard to say if the intermediate blue and the white were added or not. It seems that it's still the blue gray color on the tail and the sides of the fuselage...