DALLAS, JAN. 29, 2009 – With tremendous support from numerous sources, including Chance Vought survivors, the Vought Aircraft Retiree Club completely restored an F4U Corsair. This historically significant aircraft was unveiled Jan. 24 at a ceremony at Vought’s Jefferson Street facility in Dallas. More than 400 Vought retirees and guests were in attendance, including many who worked on the original Corsair in engineering and manufacturing roles. Ex-Corsair pilots also were present.

Donations to the Retiree Club’s non-profit corporation, called the Vought Aircraft Heritage Foundation, provided the majority of funding required for the project. Vought Aircraft Industries furnished the facilities and services necessary to complete the museum-quality restoration. Over a four-year period, some 18,000 manhours were expended by Vought retirees to complete the restoration. Starting with a bare fuselage, which represented about 40 percent of the completed aircraft, the retiree craftsmen fabricated the majority of the remaining parts from scratch and from crashed aircraft parts.

The “Bent Winged Bird,” as the Corsair was affectionately referred, was designed and developed in the 1938-39 time period. It was the first American fighter to top 400 miles per hour and the first to house a 2,000 horsepower engine. The gull-wing Corsairs were the toughest foe faced by enemy pilots. It was appropriately dubbed “Whistling Death” by the enemy. Interrogation of high-ranking Japanese military officers at the end of the war disclosed the fact that they considered the Corsair the top fighter in use by any opposing service in the Pacific. At least 2,140 enemy aircraft were destroyed in air combat by Corsairs during the war, while only 189 Corsairs were lost. Production numbers were equally impressive. In late 1944, Vought was producing 300 Corsairs a month, or one every 82 minutes.

In 1950, Corsairs were assigned to Korea. Within the first 10 months of the Korean War, Corsairs accounted for 82 percent of all close support sorties flown by the Navy and the Marines. In addition to their ground support record, Navy and Marine Corps pilots were credited with 10 aerial victories in Korea.

“We are proud to support a key part of Vought’s vibrant and rich history,” said Hank Merbler, president, Vought Aircraft Heritage Foundation. “The Corsair means a great deal to this company’s heritage, its employees and servicemen in the air who had a distinct, tactical advantage. Our retirees have done a tremendous job restoring and preserving many artifacts. We’re glad they were able to make the F4U a priority.”

For more of Vought’s history as one of the nation’s first producers of military aircraft, see www.voughtaircraft.com/about/history/timeline.html. Information about the online Vought Heritage Museum can be found at www.voughtaircraft.com/heritage/.

About Vought
Vought Aircraft Industries, Inc. (http://www.voughtaircraft.com/) is one of the world’s largest independent suppliers of aerostructures.  Headquartered in Dallas, the company designs and manufactures major airframe structures such as wings, fuselage subassemblies, empennages, nacelles and other components for prime manufacturers of aircraft. Vought has annual revenue of approximately $1.6 billion and about 6,600 employees in nine U.S. locations.

Source: Vought