TMN: Preview: FAA Corsair MK.II in 48th scale From Magic Factory

Magic Factory's 48th Corsair Mk.II in FFA colours. All the great features with new shades. The original kites & kit features in our preview....

Preview: FAA Corsair MK.II in 48th scale From Magic Factory

British Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm Corsair MK.II

From Magic Factory

Kit No. #5004

1/48th scale

Plastic injection model kit

Photo-etch included

Two marking choices are included.

Cockpit masks included

Magic Factory Website & Facebook Page

The subject: The Corsair in FAA service

The British Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm (FAA) adopted the Corsair before the United States Navy in WWII. Under the Lend-Lease agreement in November 1943, the FAA acquired the first of 95 Vought F4U-1 aircraft, designated as "Corsair I." The initial squadrons were assembled and trained in the United States, either at Brunswick, Maine, or Quonset, Rhode Island, before being transported across the Atlantic. The Royal Navy promptly integrated the Corsair into carrier operations, preceding the United States Navy in this regard. However, this rapid adoption did not imply that the British had mastered the aircraft's inherent difficulties. The Corsair’s challenging landing characteristics led to numerous fatal crashes, yet the Royal Navy proceeded with its deployment despite these risks.

The caption to this photograph, which shows one of the choices in this boxing, is "Formation photograph of six British Naval Airmen in training over the Maine countryside. They are flying American-built Chance-Vought Corsairs with British markings. These pilots will soon leave Lewiston, where they are training, and proceed to Norfolk for their deck landing exercises."

FAA Corsair Designations:
Corsair Mk I :Fleet Air Arm designation of F4U-1 (95)

Corsair Mk II : Fleet Air Arm designation of F4U-1A (540)

Corsair Mk III : Fleet Air Arm designation of F3A-1D (430)

Corsair Mk IV : Fleet Air Arm designation of FG-1D (977)

Of these marks, only the first two were used operationally.

The Corsair Mk.II

Following this initial acquisition, the FAA received an additional 510 Vought F4U-1As, designated as "Corsair II"; 430 Brewster F3A-1Ds, designated as "Corsair III"; and 977 Goodyear FG-1Ds, designated as "Corsair IV," culminating in a total of 2,012 Corsairs in service. It remains uncertain whether all British Corsair squadrons continued to receive their training in the United States.

The second marking choice in this kit was this Corsair Mk II, Major Ronald Cuthbert Hay, 47th Naval Fighter Wing Fleet Air Arm, HMS Victorious, 1944. The aircraft marking ID codes were his initials, "RH."

With the exception of the earliest deliveries, all FAA Corsairs had their wingtips reduced by approximately 20 centimetres (8 inches) to facilitate storage within British aircraft carrier hangar decks. This modification also reportedly improved the aircraft’s roll rate. Many FAA Corsairs were equipped with rails to accommodate British 7.62-centimetre (3-inch) unguided "Rocket Projectiles (RPs)." At its peak, the Corsair was operated by 19 FAA squadrons.

You can get a good look underneath due to an unfortunate landing of a Fleet Air Arm Corsair MkII.

Initially, FAA Corsairs were painted in a camouflage scheme featuring a light-green and dark-green disruptive pattern on the upper surfaces and a white underbelly. However, they were later repainted in an overall blue colour. Those deployed in the Pacific theatre bore a modified British insignia—a blue-white roundel with white bars—to distinguish them from Japanese aircraft and mitigate the risk of friendly fire.

On May 4, 1945, 1834 Squadron’s Sub. Lt TF Pocock destroyed a Japanese carrier-based Nakajima C6N Saiun reconnaissance aircraft over Okinawa while flying Corsair Mk.II

FAA Corsairs engaged in their first combat mission on 3 April 1944, when Number 1834 Squadron, operating from HMS Victorious, provided cover for an air strike against the German battleship Tirpitz in a Norwegian fjord. This operation is believed to have been the first combat deployment of the Corsair from an aircraft carrier. Additional strikes against the Tirpitz followed in July and August 1944, with Corsairs from HMS *Formidable* participating. These missions did not encounter enemy aircraft, and in fact, the Corsair never engaged in aerial combat with German Luftwaffe fighters. A direct confrontation between the Corsair and the formidable German Focke-Wulf Fw 190 remains a theoretical speculation.

Corsair Mk II “7T” aboard HMS Formidable July 1944

Following the Norwegian operations, British Corsairs were redeployed to the Indian Ocean to engage Japanese forces, with their first operational missions commencing on 19 April 1945. Royal Navy carriers subsequently played a role in the final battle for the Japanese home islands. On 9 August 1945, mere days before the conclusion of the war, Corsairs from HMS *Formidable* launched an attack on Shiogama harbour, situated on Japan’s northeast coast. During this mission, Canadian pilot Lieutenant Robert H. Gray sustained damage from enemy anti-aircraft fire but proceeded with his attack on a Japanese destroyer, successfully sinking it with a 450-kilogramme (1,000-pound) bomb before his aircraft crashed into the sea. He was posthumously awarded the final Victoria Cross of World War II.

Corsair Mk II “7L” aboard HMS Formidable July 1944

Magic Factory's new twin boxing of the Corsair in 48th scale

Magic Factory's new Corsair Mk.II is the British Fleet Air Arm version of the bent-wing bird in 48th scale. The kit has the features of the previous two Corsairs from Magic Factory, including.

- The wings can be built to folded and unfolded positions.