F4U - 4 Black Sheep Corsair Wood Model Airplane (MARINES)

Painted as flown in the famous Marine Black Sheep squadron, VMF-214.

The F-4U Corsair, built by Vought, was a lightweight fighter paired with a very powerful engine. The Corsair's unusual inverted gull-wing design was necessary to give it's huge propeller ample ground clearance.The prototype was the first US combat aircraft to exceed 400 mph. The airplane went into production in 1942. The Corsair was nicknamed "Ensign Eliminator"; the strong engine torque didn't make it an easy plane to land on the deck of a carrier. The US Navy at first rejected it for shipboard operation. However, the F-4U was adopted by the Marine Corps and quickly demonstrated its effectiveness.

As a fighter, the Corsair gave the U.S. Navy pilots an aircraft that could handle anything that the Japanese put in the air. The U.S. Marine Corps used the Corsair extensively as a ground attack fighter bomber... a role the Corsair again filled during the Korean conflict. When production ended in late 1952, 12,681 F-4U's had been built. The F-4U is regarded by many as one of the greatest combat aircraft in history, and was in production for a longer period of time than any U.S. fighter other than the F-4 Phantom II.

Source and Links:
From Wikipedia
WWII F4U Corsair training film
National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution

Fully assembled, Handcrafted Model Airplane with Removable Desk Stand.


(Scale: 1/26, Length: 15.25", Wing Span: 19")