Vought XF4U-1 Story
Fri Jul 18, 2014 8:05 am
F4U Folks:
Good day!
Just an update on the final days/whereabouts of a fine flying machine fm Vought.
It was SOC fm Navy inventory during Dec 1943 after spending sometime at the NAVY Tec Tng Ctr at Norman, Oklahoma. c. 1943. Fm this facility it prob went to Clinton. OK ( I passed that city once on I-40W) where the Navy had a Storage facility run by a Civ contractor named "Sherman Iron Works." From here it was sold in a lot with other 10-12 samples to an unid buyer poss for scrap purposes in the area or to be trucked some somewhere else in the U.S. We are still digging! Info/data tks to Nick Veronico.Photo via Vought Archives.
p.s Additionally, very few color pics exist of this bird. I'm sure Vought had plenty of color film stashed & now are in archives somewhere else. If someone has seen it in the LIFE archives plz post. I'm also looking for pics of the 1st accident c. July 1940 when it landed in a golf course near Bridgeport, CT on Jul 1940. Tks in advance for the time & attention.
Good day!
Just an update on the final days/whereabouts of a fine flying machine fm Vought.
It was SOC fm Navy inventory during Dec 1943 after spending sometime at the NAVY Tec Tng Ctr at Norman, Oklahoma. c. 1943. Fm this facility it prob went to Clinton. OK ( I passed that city once on I-40W) where the Navy had a Storage facility run by a Civ contractor named "Sherman Iron Works." From here it was sold in a lot with other 10-12 samples to an unid buyer poss for scrap purposes in the area or to be trucked some somewhere else in the U.S. We are still digging! Info/data tks to Nick Veronico.Photo via Vought Archives.
p.s Additionally, very few color pics exist of this bird. I'm sure Vought had plenty of color film stashed & now are in archives somewhere else. If someone has seen it in the LIFE archives plz post. I'm also looking for pics of the 1st accident c. July 1940 when it landed in a golf course near Bridgeport, CT on Jul 1940. Tks in advance for the time & attention.