|
The
Corsair, initially ordered by the US Navy to operate from
aircraft carriers, was relegated to land based fighter units due
to dangerous landing characteristics encountered at sea. The
2000 HP Pratt & Whitney radial engine drove a large 13’ 4’’
(4.06 m) 3 bladed propeller (4-bladed on later versions). The
curious looking inverted gull wing profile was designed to
enable the landing gear to remain relatively short for strength
while allowing for ground clearance for the large propeller, a
good design feature, but problematic for practical and safe use
on carrier decks – where landing and takeoffs were already a
touchy thing. These initial problems were eventually overcome by
the British Royal Navy which received a batch of the early
Corsairs. Corsairs had a stiff suspension which caused erratic
bouncing on landing so the suspension was softened. When landing
on a carrier, a pilot would generally cut speed sharply on the
approach but in the Corsair, this caused one wing to stall,
which resulted in a snap roll – not the sort of thing one would
desire on a landing approach! The Royal navy corrected this one
wing stall tendency by using a simple wedge device on one wing –
problem solved. Other design elements were altered that finally
resulted in the Corsair being adapted for carrier use by the US
Navy. This greatly expanded the use of this valuable asset, one
of the best prop planes of WW II that saw service well into the
1950’s fighting its way through the Korean war. Pilots flying
the Corsair accounted for 2140 Japanese aircraft downings during
WW II..
My model is a Corsair
belonging to VF – 17 Squadron that flew off the USS Bunker Hill
aircraft carrier. The USS Bunker Hill was hit by two Kamikazes
in 30 seconds apart on 11 May 1945 off Kyushu during the battle
of Okinawa. The ship was severely damaged leaving 372 dead and
264 wounded.
With this particular model I
wanted to display the rather extreme wear and tear that affected
battle worn aircraft. Aircraft fresh from the factories soon
lost their show room good looks. Camouflage finishes were
quickly marred by combinations of oil, grease and fuel spills
and maintenance crews scrambling to refill ammunition stores and
other requirements soon left boot and tool marks in many areas.
Capturing such character marks as exhaust and gun blast stains,
the bleaching affect of tropical sun, salt water and rain, mud,
rust and dirt all make for interesting challenges for modelers
to replicate. When done effectively, such weathering can achieve
a sense of life-like realism.
|
