F4U 'netted'

[Shay]

I hot linked my brother's Facebook pictures before (hosted on FB), in the Liberty belle thread. You just have to F5 out of the FB picture window to get the picture in typical web page window and then right click for the URL. Then you can post it here.

Shay
____________
Semper Fortis

[Shay]

From Dusty_Dog_01's FB account:













































































Thanks Jason

Shay
____________
Semper Fortis

[Dusty_Dog_01]

Shay,

Thank you sooo much for doing this! You rock!!!!!!!

Jason

[tom d. friedman]

wow that carcass is beyond toast!! bummer .....looks worse than some pacific recoveries. is the alkalinity in the salt water less than it is in the european region??

[Shay]

Shay,

Thank you sooo much for doing this! You rock!!!!!!!

Jason

Yes, it definately is an F4U-5N.

No problem.

I think we can narrow down some variables. I don't believe this Corsair is a Night Fighter (-5N) variant of the Dash 5. Notice the lack of "Exhaust Stubs" over the exhaust ports. They're missing from both port and starboard sides of the aircraft. I


If you look closely at this pic you can just barely make out the exhaust stub I'm talking about.



LOL Perhaps a better pic?




This would lead me to believe that this Corsair is a either a straight -5 or maybe a Photo bird "-5P".

Here's a picture of a Photo F4U-5P:


Notice the camera port on the lower starboard side of the aircraft. This causes the "Stars and Bars" to be positioned further aft on the Fuselage. If u'll look at the starboard side of the Sigonella Corsair in the pics Dusty Dog provided there might not be enuf rear fuselage left to see where the camera port would have been but the "Stars and Bars" are as far forward as the armor plate of the rear cockpit bulkhead. Which would have obscured the Camera port and when use with the port door open would have illegitimized the aircraft's nation insignia. So I'm highly doubting this is a F4U-5P.

Being able to eliminate all the -5N, -5NL and -5Ps hopefully gets us closer to the truth of the aircraft's identity. If this theory holds true then when compared to the chart I posted on Page 5 this would make this Corsair a USS Coral Sea bird. Maybe.

Has the Navy or NHC done any official investigation?



Shay
____________
Semper Fortis

[RMAllnutt]

Still pains me to see those photos, but very interesting none-the-less. There's still lots of useful stuff in that carcass. It's a real shame it's going to be lost. Incidentally, there is a way to determine what the aircraft serial number is. If you check the wing center section spar caps, right near the wing fold, you should see two numbers stamped into it. One of these will be the part number for the spar cap (something like VS-34072...) and the other will be the construction number for the airframe. You should find these numbers on both the top and bottom of the wing at each end of the center section spar cap. You can corrollate the construction number with the Bureau Number.... I don't have a list of these, but someone on this board is sure to do so.

All the best,
Richard

[JDK]

Fascinating detective work to follow. Good luck.

I can't believe they took a saw and chopped the wings off it. Maybe it could have been restored for static display somewhere. Maybe they could have taken a little more time and unbolted the outer wing panels. Who chops up a relic like that?

You'd need to spend a lot of money and effort to stop the thing fizzing away in front of you. 50 years in the salt ocean takes months (sometimes years) of decontamination to just stabilise the machine.

Sorry, but IMHO, it's junk that looks like part of a Corsair.

sorry, it's not junk, it's history. It's an aircraft that served our nation to protect and fight. So i don't consider it junk, no matter the condition.

I appreciate the emotion behind your post, but there's a couple of hard realities here - salt-water is bad, bad news for aircraft metals, and unless they're handled very carefully with expensive, awkward flushing etc on recovery, they are junk. The salts with just take the metal apart into dust and fizz as you watch, and the process cannot be reversed. Do a bit of research - there's been some interesting links posted here, and I suspect you'll be shocked at how fundamentally the metal is compromised.

Regards,

[Dusty_Dog_01]

Hello everyone!!!!! I know that it has been a little while since I have been on here, please forgive me! I had to go back home in July to see my daughters for a little while and we have been busy ever since returning to the island! Now onto new things!

I have managed to make it back to the aircraft a few times to try and i.d. or attempt to find something that would lend me a little bit of a hand! The only i.d. plate that I was able to find with any readable information on it came off of one of the two " radiators " on the port and starboard side of the engine compartment.

Here is what I have so far:

CHANCE VAUGHT AIRCRAFT
STRATFORD CONN.
DIVISION OF
UNITED AIRCRAFT CORPORATION

Water CAP: 44 or 14 U.S. Gallons
Total CAP: 14 U.S. Gallons
Model: F4U-5 CON** 5133
DWG. VS-55328 MAT** 52S0
TANK NO. 317 INSP: 2/9
WT. EMPTY 10.05 LBS DATE: 6-10-48

If any of this can help, please let me know! Thanks again!

Jason

[mike furline]

USS Coral Sea mishaps,
http://www.usscoralsea.net/pages/mishaps.php

[hercules130]

CHANCE VAUGHT AIRCRAFT
STRATFORD CONN.
DIVISION OF
UNITED AIRCRAFT CORPORATION

Water CAP: 44 or 14 U.S. Gallons
Total CAP: 14 U.S. Gallons
Model: F4U-5 CON** 5133
DWG. VS-55328 MAT** 52S0
TANK NO. 317 INSP: 2/9
WT. EMPTY 10.05 LBS DATE: 6-10-48

Jason,

This is great info, will narrow the search down to -5 losses post October 48.

Thanks again and I would still love any other photos you have, I believe you have my address- if not shot me a PM.

Gary

[B 25 C]

I would like to see parts cut into small pieces and sold to collectors. I would be first in line to buy one.

[Dusty_Dog_01]

Hey, quick question??????

Does anyone remember if I posted the serial numbers and other information off of the two 20mm cannons that we removed from the plane?????

Jason

[Dusty_Dog_01]

Still pains me to see those photos, but very interesting none-the-less. There's still lots of useful stuff in that carcass. It's a real shame it's going to be lost. Incidentally, there is a way to determine what the aircraft serial number is. If you check the wing center section spar caps, right near the wing fold, you should see two numbers stamped into it. One of these will be the part number for the spar cap (something like VS-34072...) and the other will be the construction number for the airframe. You should find these numbers on both the top and bottom of the wing at each end of the center section spar cap. You can corrollate the construction number with the Bureau Number.... I don't have a list of these, but someone on this board is sure to do so.

All the best,
Richard

Richard,

I am WAYYYY ahead of you on that! I was able to pull the lower port and stbd exhaust port panels with the connecting wing edges off! The stbd side panels are still together!!!!! I have three of the inwing ammo cans, two of which still have the lids on them with the position numbers (3 & 4). I found the aircraft battery with 9 of the 12 " fuses " still in tact, the two generators that went behind the pilot's seat. The armored plate that goes behind the pilot's seat, the Flaps and Landing gear gauge, I was able to remove the port side skin that has the ensignia on it, but most of the paint has come off. I will be going back sometime soon to remove the two (2) tow hooks from the bottom! Also, if you look at the pictures that Shay posted on here for me, I was able to have the one gun mount cut off, fully intact, and sand blasted! It turned out AWESOME!!!!!!!! My main goal is to find the pilot's seat in the rubble, but I doubt that I will! When I find more I will let you know!

Jason

[Dusty_Dog_01]

CHANCE VAUGHT AIRCRAFT
STRATFORD CONN.
DIVISION OF
UNITED AIRCRAFT CORPORATION

Water CAP: 44 or 14 U.S. Gallons
Total CAP: 14 U.S. Gallons
Model: F4U-5 CON** 5133
DWG. VS-55328 MAT** 52S0
TANK NO. 317 INSP: 2/9
WT. EMPTY 10.05 LBS DATE: 6-10-48

Jason,

This is great info, will narrow the search down to -5 losses post October 48.

Thanks again and I would still love any other photos you have, I believe you have my address- if not shot me a PM.

Gary

Hey again,

I have a question?????? (Amongst the many that I have already asked!!!!) In the post concerning that data plate that I pulled off of the cooler (above), what does " DWG " stand for? I came across another post on here where someone had found data plate on another F4. Below is the content:

"Unfortunately the main id plate in the cockpit had been previously removed, but a data plate attached to the mid-fuselage section reads as follows:
Airplane Model---------------->F4U-5N
Dwg or Part No.---------------> VS- 55210
Contractor No.----------------> A (S) 9771
Serial No.--------------------> A10-353 "

Jason

[mike furline]

what does " DWG " stand for?

Blue print drawing.