Corsair Razor Backs

[sdennison]

I was just watching an episode of "Dogfights" topic was aircraft speed. One segment was with the Corsair but some short historical video showed a flight of Corsairs with a razor back fuselage configuration. I was not aware of that airframe. I would assume it to be an early variant.

What say you WIX brain trust? Thanks.

[C VEICH]

Birdcage?

[The Inspector]

Nice photo with strong color, too bad the negative has been reversed. Look @ the location of the antenna mast.

[sdennison]

Correctamundo!

What is the history of this version? What time frame? How many?

[Pat Carry]

Correctamundo!

What is the history of this version? What time frame? How many?

One of these birdcage Corsairs was pulled out of Lake Michigan in November 2010. Although I'm not 100% on this, I think the only other Corsair with a birdcage canopy around today is the Brewster Corsair. www.brewstercorsair.com

Last edited by Pat Carry on Mon Dec 26, 2011 2:47 pm, edited 2 times in total.

[Pat Carry]

check this site www.f4ucorsair.com/tdata/history.htm

[Jerry O'Neill]

One more ex-flyer with a birdcage is in the TAM museum in Brazil.

Jerry

[RMAllnutt]

One more ex-flyer with a birdcage is in the TAM museum in Brazil.

Jerry

There is only one more or less complete birdcage F4U-1, which is the example recovered for the Navy Museum from lake Michigan. The one down at TAM is actually an F4U-1A, which was retrofitted to look like a birdcage example. The Brewster Corsair is also a -1A variant. That being said, there is an F4U-1 being restored to static in Australia (Bu.02270 at Classic Jets Fighter Museum). Also, there is a Corsair project in the USA (I forget where) which incorporates the rear fuselage of a birdcage variant (from station 186 on back)... This is the example which was under offer by Ross Jowitt in New Zealand a decade or so ago. That's about it for early Corsair variant survivors. It's always possible that a Corsair Mk.I will resurface somewhere in New England though, as the Royal Navy used about a hundred of them as trainers during the war. I surely hope that happens...

Cheers,
Richard

[C VEICH]

It's always possible that a Corsair Mk.I will resurface somewhere in New England though, as the Royal Navy used about a hundred of them as trainers during the war. I surely hope that happens...

Isn't there a relatively intact ex-Royal Navy birdcage Corsair off the New England coast somewhere that still contains the pilot's remains?

[Jerry O'Neill]

There are two in Sebago Lake in Maine with the pilot's remains inside. They are "unrecoverable" due to them being marked as official war graves.
Jerry

[Dan Jones]

Wasn't the Planes of Fame F4U originally a birdcage variant?

[JohnB]

Aren't all (but the few surviving Goodyear Corsairs with the bubble canopy) Corsairs Razorbacks?
I believe the term is usually applied to non-bubble hood Thunderbolts and Mustangs...unless I'm missing something.

As mentioned above, I believe the correct term is birdcage (ie, non-Malcolm-like, blown hood).

[The Inspector]

Info online says the 689th F4U-1 was the first one with a raised cockpit and clear view bubbled canopy making it the first F4U-1D, a number of the earlier ones were retro fitted with a 'bump' in the overhead glazing in service but kept the original style framing and shoulder windows.