Sweetheart Angel Of The Marines

Historical Background

In February 1938, the US Navy Bureau of Aeronautics (BuAer) released two requests for proposals for a single-engined and a twin-engined fighter. For the former, the Navy requested a speed of 400 mph and a range of 1,000 miles. It had to carry four guns and provision for anti-aircraft bombs to be carried in the wings. Chance-Vought answered the proposals with prototype V-166 (Navy designation XF4U-1) and a contract was signed in June 1938. In February 1939, the XF4U-1 prototype was built and was powered by a prototype Pratt & Whitney XR-2800-4 Double Wasp radial engine rated at 1,805 hp. The first flight was made on 29 May 1940 and on 1 October 1940, the XF4U-1 became the first single-engined US fighter to fly faster than 400 mph. The proposed armament of two .30 cal synchronised engine cowling-mounted machine guns and two 12.7mm machine guns was however found insufficient nad in November 1940, the Navy requested a heavier armament of six 12.7mm machine guns, three in each wing. Acceptance trials began in February 1941 and on 2 April,  Vought ws awarded a contract for 584 F4U-1s. The name 'Corsair' was bestowed upon the aircraft and the first production fighter made its initial flight on 24 June 1942.

As the Corsair incorporated the largest engine at the time, a relatively large (4.06m diameter) Hamilton Standard three-blade propeller was used to extract as much power as possible from th engine. The wide propeller necessitated a long landing gear which was originally considered to retract backwards. However, the chosen chord of the wings made it difficult to make it long enough. The solution was the use of inverted gull wing design which shortened the landing gear. However, partly owing to advanced technology and greater speeds, numerous technical problems had to be solved before the Corsair can enter service. The early Corsairs suffers from low-speed stalls, poor forward visibility because of the position of the cockpit, size of the engine and the short tailwheel. The Corsair have a tendency to 'bounce'. All these were revealed during carrier trials aboard USS Sangamon on 25 September 1942. The Corsair earned disparaging nicknames such as 'Hog', 'Hognose' and 'Bent-Wing Widow-Maker'. As a result, the US Navy released the fighter to the Marine Corps who operated their aircraft from land bases.

The Corsair was sent to the frontline, specifically in the Solomon Islands in February 1943. The first combat involving Corsairs took place on 14 February 1943 but it was an inauspicious one 10 American planes lost (including two Corsairs) for the loss of four Zeroes.The Marines however quickly learned to make better use of the aircraft and they started demonstrating its superiority over Japanese air units. Also, despite the decision to issue the Corsair to the Marines, two Navy squadrons, VF-12 and VF-17 were equipped with Corsairs in 1943. VF-12 soon transferred its aircraft to the Marines while VF-17 was removed from its parent carrier, USS Bunker Hill and operated from land bases. The US Navy only cleared the Corsair to operate from carriers in April 1944 after the fitting of longer oleo struts to reduce bouncing and the adaptation of a curved approach used by Royal Navy Corsairs, which operated their Corsairs from carriers since November 1943. The first effectively carrier-based units were, interestingly, Marine Corps VMF-124 and VMF-213. The increasing needs to defend carriers against kamikaze attacks resulted in more carrier-based Corsair units.

The Corsair also show great abilities as ground attack aircraft, performing strikes using bombs, napalm and unguided rockets. This ability was demonstrated with the -1A version, and was carried over to the -1C and -1D versions. The F4U-1C was only introduced in April 1945 the -1D was introduced a year earlier. It had the new -8W water-injection engine which gave the aircraft up to 250 hp more power, which, in turn, increased performance. Speed, for example, was boosted from 417 mph to 425 mph. It also had a payload of rockets double the -1A's, as well as twin-rack plumbing for an additional belly drop tank. Such modifications necessitated the need for rocket tabs (attached to fully metal-plated underwing surfaces) and bomb pylons to be bolted on the fighter, however, causing extra drag. proved too vulnerable and were removed. The extra fuel carried by the two drop tanks would still allow the aircraft to fly relatively long missions despite the heavy, un-aerodynamic load. The canopies of most -1Ds had their struts removed along with their metal caps.

Apart from the derogatory nicknames described above, the Corsair was affectionately nicknamed 'The Angel Of Okinawa' and 'The Sweetheart of The Marianas' by the ground troops due to their CAS role during the two campaigns. It was also nicknamed 'Ensign Eliminator' because of tricky handling and it was allegedly nicknamed 'The Whispering Death' by the Japanese (no Japanese sources supported this allegation; it was however known, rather bafflingly, to the Japanese as the 'Sikorsky'). The Corsair was also built by Goodyear with designation FG-1. Corsairs of USN and USMC flew 64,051 operational sorties during the war, of which just 9,581 were flown from carrier decks. Corsair pilots claimed 2,140 aerial victories against 189 losses for a ratio of 11:1. The Corsair was also a durable design, being built between 1942 to 1953 in 16 variants. The 12,571st (and the last Corsair built), was delivered to the French in 1953. As a type, the Corsair flew its last combat missions for the both sides during the so-called 'Football War' between Honduras and El Salvador in 1969.

The Kit

Tamiya has a number of Corsairs in their catalog with the F4U-1D kit making its debut in 1998, after the F4U-1 in 1996. Tamiya's Corsairs are among the best in the market despite some 'misses' such as the step on the inner flap on the starboard wing (which was a post-war addition). The wings are also moulded in a way that modelers can choose between folded or deployed positions. Rocket launcher stubs are also provided even though no rockets were included, unlike the 1/72 scale version. Panel lines were also crisp and clear. Speaking of clear, the clear parts include two types of canopies - with or without framing. Two pilot figures were also included: one sitting in the cockpit and another standing on the wing. The kit was re-released in 2002 featuring a deck tractor, new markings and the 'missing' rockets. The decal sheet provide markings for three aircraft, all in Gloss Sea Blue:

1. VF-84, Wing 167, USS Bunker Hill February 1945;
2. VMF-112, Wing 1, USS Bennington,, January 1945; and
3. VMF-193, Wing 107, MCAS Cherry Point, January 1945.

The last aircraft has disk-less US star-and-bar.

Construction

As usual construction starts in the cockpit. The entire cockpit (plus the landing gear bays) were painted Tamiya's version of US interior green using a mixture of 1 part XF5 Flat Green and 2 parts XF3 Flat Yellow. Tamiya has accurately reproduced the Corsair's 'bottomless' cockpit and also the lengthened control stick and rudder that go with the raised pilot's seat. The instrument panel faces is supplied as a decal, which nicely conforms to the raised details on the instrument panel part especially after the application of Mr Mark Softer.. Alternatively, one can simply use drybrushing to 'pop-up' the details on the instrument panel. The seat belt is provided in the form of decal and look flat. I didn't use decal solution as it will make the seat belt even flatter! The fuselage is then closed around the cockpit - very nice fit I should say.

The engine was then assembled. Again, the parts have very nice details and only needed careful painting and wash plus additional wiring to turn it into an excellent piece of plastic art (but not me, mind). Tamiya provided two engine cowl flaps and I chose the closed one. The inner wings were then assembled; again no problems were found. The fuselage halves were then joined together, trapping the cockpit assembly. Inserts were then cemented behind the cockpit. Usually separate inserts like these (to allow multiple versions to be manufactured while using just a single mould for the main fuselage) can be the cause of fit problems but again, thankfully, it was not a problem here.The lower fuselage / inner wing and the cowling assembly were then cemented together to the fuselage. I also added the horizontal tailplanes, finishing the basic fuselage.

The wings came on next. As mentioned before, the kit allows one to build the wings as folded or deployed. In order to allow that the wings are moulded in four parts - upper/lower and outboard/inboard. I chose the deployed position. However, the joint is not very strong and that there is a slight gap between the inner and outer wings. Tamiya has designed the kit's flaps to be in the down position, which makes it visually interesting. The hole/step in the inner flap of the starboard wing was filled with two-part putty and the excess was then sanded off. The rest of the assembly is uneventful and I left the smaller and more fragile parts such as antennas, landing gears and external fuel tank for assembly after painting had been done. And while rummaging through my spares box, I found 5" HVARs from my previous build, a 1/48 Hasegawa P-38 Lightning. Great! There were eight of them and would appropriately arm my Corsair.

Painting and Decalling

I love late-war US Navy planes as they are easier to paint! Yes, I know it's kinda boring with just one colour and without much personal markings to speak of. For the Gloss Sea Blue, I used Tamiya AS-8 Navy Blue sprayed straight from the can. As mentioned before, I chose the markings of '167' off USS Bunker Hill. As that particular marking was chosen, the nose cowling ring was painted XF-3 Flat Yellow. The decals were then applied the usual way with no problems encountered, except for the decals representing tapes in front of the windscreen, which broke into several pieces which required a tedious and careful rearrangement. While looking around for pictures of the aircraft, I found that '167' was the mount of 12-victory ace LCDR Roger Hedrick, the CO of VF-84 at the time and the former XO of the original VF-17, the first 'Jolly Rogers' squadron. Many of the core of VF-84 consisted of former VF-17 veterans; however their request to have it named 'Jolly Rogers' was denied by the Navy (VF-84 eventually took over the name in the 1960s and proudly flashing the skull-and-bones insignia on the fin of their Phantoms, and later, perhaps most famously, by the F-14). Hedrick survived the kamikaze attack which decapitated the Bunker Hill and killed most of the pilots in the ready room on 11 May 1945 and retired from the Navy with the rank of Rear Admiral.

Finishing

To complete the model, I attached all the remaining parts such as the landing gears, wheel well doors, flaps, external fuel tanks and the rockets. I must mention that I goofed up painting the rockets as I misread the Hasegawa instructions. Instead of white, I painted the rockets black! And instead of OD, the warhead section was painted red. I only realised this mistake after the model has been completed! Arghhhhh!!!! As for the rockets, after searching the Internet, I decided to paint them aluminium. It's a bit tough to repaint the rockets as I had attached them using superglue and cannot be removed without damaging the railings or the rockets themselves. The warhead area was painted olive drab. I also managed to knock off the pitot tube which were quickly gobbled up by the Carpet Monster. To replace it, I used a length of styrene tubing while the 'hook' on the tube was replaced by a piece of palstic sheet cut to shape and size (more-or-less). The model than received a sludge wash and was followed by two layers of semi-gloss clear to seal everything in. 

Conclusion

Tamiya kits have the reputation of being shake and bake kits (or 'put glue and paints inside the packing box, shake it and out comes a complete model'!) and the Corsair is no exception. All parts fits nicely with no putty needed. On the down side however, the kit decals are quite thick and barely responds to setting solutions, even the strong Mr Mark Softer. Also, despite the -1D's reputation as a fighter-bomber, no ordnance were included, which is a shame for an industry leader like Tamiya.