GOODYEAR FG-1D CORSAIR

Michael U. Potter Historic Aircraft Collection

Goodyear-built Vought FG-1D Corsair

The Vintage Wings Corsair is dedicated to Lt. Robert Hampton “Hammie” Gray, VC, DSC, Royal Canadian Naval Volunteer Reserve, a Corsair pilot with the Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm aboard HMS Formidable, in operations in both the North Atlantic and the South Pacific theatres. Gray distinguished himself as a highly capable pilot and leader in attacks on the Kriegsmarine battleship Tirpitz in Norway as well as lengthy operations in the South Pacific.

At the end of the war, Gray was awarded the Victoria Cross posthumously for his actions in sinking the Japanese destroyer Amakusa. He is the last Canadian to be awarded the VC and the only Allied serviceman of any country or service with a memorial on Japanese soil.

Click here to read more about Robert Hampton Gray

The Vought F4U Corsair is an American fighter aircraft that saw service primarily in World War II and the Korean War. Designed and initially manufactured by Chance Vought, the Corsair was soon in great demand; additional production contracts were given to Goodyear, whose Corsairs were designated FG.

The Corsair was designed and operated as a carrier-based aircraft, and entered service in large numbers with the U.S. Navy in late 1944 and early 1945. It quickly became one of the most capable carrier-based fighter-bombers of World War II. Some Japanese pilots regarded it as the most formidable American fighter of World War II and its naval aviators achieved an 11:1 kill ratio. 

Early problems with carrier landings and logistics led to it being eclipsed as the dominant carrier-based fighter by the Grumman F6F Hellcat, powered by the same Double Wasp engine first flown on the Corsair's first prototype in 1940. Instead, the Corsair's early deployment was to land-based squadrons of the U.S. Marine Corps and U.S. Navy.

The Corsair served almost exclusively as a fighter-bomber throughout the Korean War and during the French colonial wars in Indochina and Algeria. In addition to its use by the U.S. and British, the Corsair was also used by the Royal New Zealand Air Force, French Naval Aviation, and other air forces until the 1960s. From the first prototype delivery to the U.S. Navy in 1940, to final delivery in 1953 to the French, 12,571 F4U Corsairs were manufactured in 16 separate models. Its 1942–1953 production run was the longest of any U.S. piston-engined fighter.

Type: Carrier-based fighter
First Flight: May, 1940
Total Production (All Marks): 12,500+
Wingspan: 41 ft. (12.5 m)
Engine: Pratt and Whitney R-2800
Maximum Speed: 446 mph
Manufactured: 1942-1953
Manufacturer: Goodyear
Serial Number: 3367 and U.S. Navy Bureau Number 92106
Current Registration: C-GVWC
Recent Markings: Corsair KD658 (115) of 1841 Squadron RN FAA aboard HMS Formidable