Corsairs flew their final combat missions during the 1969 "Football War" between Honduras and El Salvador. The conflict was famously triggered, though not really caused, by a disagreement over a football match. Both sides claimed various numbers of kills, and predictably each side disputed the claims of the other
Both Honduras and El Salvador flew Corsairs during the conflict. The Air Force of El Salvador had 13 FG-1D corsairs in it inventory and the Honduran Air Force had a total of 17 Corsairs (nine F4U-5s and eight F4U-4s) in its roster but it is unlikely that all of the fighters from either air force were operational.
The planes were primarily used in ground attack roles and all reports seem to indicate that Honduras made better use of their Corsairs than their opponents. The success of the Honduran Corsairs in the football war was due in large part to their strategy of using the fighters for both strategic and tactical targets. In one notable raid carried out by Honduran Corsairs, they were able to crater the runway of their opponent's principal airbase and, in the process, destroy an El Salvadoran Corsair on the ground. Another raid by the Honduran Corsairs against a commercially run oil storage facility resulted in the destruction of 20% of the Salvadoran fuel reserves.
While aerial combat was rare in this conflict, there were some air-to-air engagements for the Corsair. On the morning of 17 July, a Honduran F4U-5 flown by Maj. Fernando Soto Enrique (then a Capt.) downed one of two Salvadoran P-51s that had been attacking two Honduran Corsairs on a ground support mission. Later, on his fourth sortie of the day, Maj. Soto shot down two FG-1D Corsairs from El Salvador in a single engagement. It is ironic that the last dogfighting victories for the Corsair would be over other Corsairs. To this day, Maj. Soto is the only pilot from any Central American Air force to be credited with an air combat victory.
Football War - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Both Honduras and El Salvador flew Corsairs during the conflict. The Air Force of El Salvador had 13 FG-1D corsairs in it inventory and the Honduran Air Force had a total of 17 Corsairs (nine F4U-5s and eight F4U-4s) in its roster but it is unlikely that all of the fighters from either air force were operational.
The planes were primarily used in ground attack roles and all reports seem to indicate that Honduras made better use of their Corsairs than their opponents. The success of the Honduran Corsairs in the football war was due in large part to their strategy of using the fighters for both strategic and tactical targets. In one notable raid carried out by Honduran Corsairs, they were able to crater the runway of their opponent's principal airbase and, in the process, destroy an El Salvadoran Corsair on the ground. Another raid by the Honduran Corsairs against a commercially run oil storage facility resulted in the destruction of 20% of the Salvadoran fuel reserves.
While aerial combat was rare in this conflict, there were some air-to-air engagements for the Corsair. On the morning of 17 July, a Honduran F4U-5 flown by Maj. Fernando Soto Enrique (then a Capt.) downed one of two Salvadoran P-51s that had been attacking two Honduran Corsairs on a ground support mission. Later, on his fourth sortie of the day, Maj. Soto shot down two FG-1D Corsairs from El Salvador in a single engagement. It is ironic that the last dogfighting victories for the Corsair would be over other Corsairs. To this day, Maj. Soto is the only pilot from any Central American Air force to be credited with an air combat victory.
Football War - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
