Original F4U Corsair fuselage panel, Data Plate, fuel cap

[Bob Hudson]

Any ideas on this panel?

 

I was told the blue panel, fuel cap and ID plate all came from same Corsair, presumably the one named on the plate: serial number BU NO 97142

 

 

 

The panel is a little longer than a sheet of copy paper.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The data plate includes some sort of stamped info on modificatons made. You can also see "JAX" stamped on the plate in a few places. That would refer to NAS Jacksonville which had a large Overhaul and Repair (O&R) facility.

 

[Bob Hudson]

The guy I got this from is having memory problems but he seemed to think the access panel came from the underside of the wing.

[Bob Hudson]

The aircraft with this SN is still around, on display in Tuscon. I'm sure i saw it when I toured the Pima museum with my dad a few years ago.

 

http://www.pimaair.org/aircraft-by-name/item/vought-f4u-4-corsair

 

[Bob Hudson]

Here's its history:

 

[Bob Hudson]

The panel is about 11 x 4 inches. It has an embossed "donut" pattern that looks like it fit into an opening inside the aircraft. One end is hinged and it has the lock screws to button it up. The photos here don't show it, but that paint is perfect Corsair blue: if you love the Corsair you know it's way cool to find pieces of one, especially blur sections of the fuselage or wing.

 

 

 

Here's some photos of this particular F4U-4 on display at Pima.

 

 

[Bob Hudson]

I found a PDF file with some great details of the Corsairs. The data plate is for the mid-section of the fuselage, the section just behind the pilot.

 

[Bob Hudson]

And this is the complete part no. VS 40228:

 

[bobgee]

Don't know what they're worth but could be a good start for someone who'd like to build a Corsair- like the guy in the U.K. who built a Spitfire! LOL Bob

[Bob Hudson]

Don't know what they're worth but could be a good start for someone who'd like to build a Corsair- like the guy in the U.K. who built a Spitfire! LOL Bob

 

I like that: F4U CORSAIR STARTER KIT

[firefighter]

That is pretty cool. Anyway to find out what battles it was in and did it shoot down any enemy a/c?

[Bob Hudson]

That is pretty cool. Anyway to find out what battles it was in and did it shoot down any enemy a/c?

 

 

No combat:

 

July 1, 1946, VMF-251 was reactivated at Grosse Ile, Michigan as a Marine ready-reserve squadron and this F4U would have been wth them from 1946 to about 1950 when VMF-251 was recalled to active service and transitioned to the AD-4 Skyraider. So VMF-251 didn’t take Corsairs to Korea. In 1950 this Corsair went from VMF-251 to VMF-235 at MCAS El Toro. In September 1952 VMF-235 transitioned to the F9F Panther.

After that Corsair 97142 was with Marine Training Squadron VMAT-332, then Naval Air Reserve Training Command (NART) bases in Atlanta and outside of Kansas City at Olathe. in 1956 it went into storage at Litchfield Park before going into 21 years of civilian ownership beginning in 1959.

[P-59A]

That is very cool! We have a number of F4U crash sites in So. Cal. Most are mico sites, but some have large sections hiding in the brush.

[firefighter]

No combat:

 

July 1, 1946, VMF-251 was reactivated at Grosse Ile, Michigan as a Marine ready-reserve squadron and this F4U would have been wth them from 1946 to about 1950 when VMF-251 was recalled to active service and transitioned to the AD-4 Skyraider. So VMF-251 didn’t take Corsairs to Korea. In 1950 this Corsair went from VMF-251 to VMF-235 at MCAS El Toro. In September 1952 VMF-235 transitioned to the F9F Panther.

 

After that Corsair 97142 was with Marine Training Squadron VMAT-332, then Naval Air Reserve Training Command (NART) bases in Atlanta and outside of Kansas City at Olathe. in 1956 it went into storage at Litchfield Park before going into 21 years of civilian ownership beginning in 1959.

I missed that. Still very cool

[Bob Hudson]

I missed that. Still very cool

 

And of course now it's in a museum http://www.pimaair.org/aircraft-by-name/item/vought-f4u-4-corsair

 

 

And a google search turns up lots of photos of this F4U-4 - https://www.google.com/search?safe=off&client=safari&channel=mac_bm&source=hp&q=corsair+97142&oq=corsair+97142

[ram957]

Great pick up !!!

[viking73]

The photos here don't show it, but that paint is perfect Corsair blue

 

I think you mean Gloss Sea Blue (FS15042), Bob. I've never heard of "Corsair Blue" Sorry, I couldn't resist!!

 

Seriously though, very nice score on the F4U parts! Thanks for showing them.

 

-Derek

[Bob Hudson]

 

I think you mean Gloss Sea Blue (FS15042), Bob. I've never heard of "Corsair Blue" Sorry, I couldn't resist!!

 

Seriously though, very nice score on the F4U parts! Thanks for showing them.

 

-Derek

 

Okay, now I know what to ask for at the Home Depot paint department

 

I took another photo of it under cloudy morning skies. I just found out the name for the fasteners (which apparently open in lock a quarter turn) - "Dzus fasteners."

 

 

 

[Bob Hudson]

Still trying to figure out where this panel goes. The seller with the bad memory seemed to recall it had something to do with the gun system. I found some small drawings of the F4U and the gun bay is a place odd shaped flat pieces. Most of the skin panels are curved. Later this week I will drive down to the Leatherneck air museum at MCAS Miramar and see what I can find in a walkaround (though some their Corsair's pieces have been replaced with plywood).

 

The gun bay does have some odd shapes: