FAA Corsair II HMS Victorious January 1945

I used the 1/48 Tamiya F4U-1A Corsair as the basis for this project as it approximates the Corsair II as used by the Fleet Air Arm (FAA) in the 1944-45 time period. I won’t delve into the history of the Corsair or it’s use by the FAA other than to mention that the aircraft depicted here was that flown my Lt RCN Donald Sheppard while he was assigned to HMS Victorious. Lt Sheppard shot down four Japanese aircraft with this particular aircraft and a fifth with yet another Corsair to become one of the few RCN air aces of the Second World War.

As typical with most Tamiya kits this one went together very easily so I won’t go into the assembly of the kit in any great detail. Instead I’ll point out the differences one must consider when building the FAA aircraft.

Flaps:

The Corsair II did not have the step in the starboard inboard flap as fitted in the F4U-1D (Corsair IV). This was filled in with putty;

The model was built with the wings folded and the flaps in the lowered position. While it is possible to do so with the Corsair the photo evidence reveals that this configuration was seldom used by the Royal Navy (RN). Of course I figured this out after I had already folded the wings;

Wings:

To fit into the hangar decks on the British carriers the wing tips of each wing was shortened eight inches. Thus, I cut the kit’s wings off just outboard of the navigation lights and attached a strip of sheet styrene to fill in the hole;

Masts:

Photo evidence shows the standard masts of the USN Corsairs were removed by the RN and replaced by a whip antenna just behind the cockpit and another thinner whip antenna on the underside below the cockpit, just aft of the underside window. In the case of the upper antenna the post was mounted slightly to port of the fuselage centreline. A stringer ran along the centreline itself so the antenna was mounted on the port side of the stringer. I made both antenna from stretched sprue;

Fuselage Scoops:

The RN added a pair of scoops to their Corsairs. These were fitted one on either side mid-fuselage below the antenna. Some diagrams show the scoops fitted to the forward edge of the rib located in this spot and others depict it fitted to the after edge of the rib. Your pick as to which is correct;

Underside Window:

As the war progressed the underside window was painted over and replaced. However, when this was done is unclear. My model still has the window but one could paint this over and still be correct;

The various references could not agree as to the colours of the aircraft in this time period. The Osprey book and Scale Aviation Modeller International have artwork showing the aircraft in a version of blue over grey. Black and white photos of aircraft seem to point to the standard temperate scheme, although this would have been bleached by the strong tropical sun. I depicted my model with Extra Dark Sea Grey and Dark Slate Grey over Sky and I lightened all colours 40% with white;

Rondels:

Due to the proximity of the American forces the British forces adopted the SEAC roundels and colours. All red markings were removed so the fin flash had the red portion changed to white. The red centers of the roundels were painted white, also. Sky Models has a decal sheet with these roundels and fin flashes.

Landing Gear Doors Decals

Standard procedure in British carriers was to pool aircraft types such that either of the two Corsair squadrons could use any aircraft that happened to be available for assigned missions. However, aircraft were assigned to each unit so the aircraft were marked accordingly. The aircraft of 1836 Squadron displayed the squadron number “8” on the top center of each forward facing door as well as the aircraft letter on the lower center (“H” in the case of Sheppard’s aircraft). The other Corsair squadron in Victorious, 1834, only depicted the aircraft letter on the door.

This was a very enjoyable project and I would recommend this kit to anyone wishing to build a Corsair. My project is now on display in the Canadian Forces Base Esquimalt Naval and Military Museum in the Canadian naval base in Esquimalt, British Columbia, Canada.

Sky Model Decals 48-043
SAMI Vol 6 Issue 8
Fleet Air Arm – British Carrier Aviation 1939-1945 by Ron Mackay (Squadron 6085)
Osprey – Corsair aces of WW II by Mark Styling

Photos and text © 2005 by Paul O'Reilly

April 17, 2005

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