Chance Vought Corsair F4U

The fourth in a series. Another blue aeroplane rendered in pencils.


I'm a fan of the Chance Vought Corsair F4U, probably because my father served in the RNZAF 30SU Servicing Unit (Corsairs), serving on Espirito Santo, Guadalcanal, Bouganville, Green (Nissan) Island & Jacquinot Bay. There were 237 F4U-1s and 127 F4U-1Ds used by the RNZAF during the Second World War.

I'm also rather impressed by the noise of its 2,000 hp 18-cylinder Pratt & Whitney R-2800 Double Wasp radial engine - just magnificent.

In the drawing, a USAF F4U Corsair does a slow, low level pass. By late 1944, the RNZAF had equipped all 10 Pacific-based fighter squadrons with 424 Corsairs. Only one airworthy example survives: NZ5648/ZK-COR, owned by the Old Stick and Rudder Company at Masterton, NZ.

The Corsair is also the official aircraft of the State of Connecticut, USA - one of my photographs of RNZAF's only surviving Corsair is used on the 'State Symbols of USA' website (here).