Navy FG-1D Corsair
Fighter Factory

One of the most powerful and unique fighter planes of the Second World War was developed by the Chance Vought Corporation during the late 1930’s. The inverted gull wings and abnormally large propeller put the Vought Corsair in the record books as the first U.S. war plane to exceed 400 mph. The earliest XF4U-1 prototype was tested in 1938 and three years later, the U.S. Navy placed its initial order for 584 aircraft. The first F4U-1A Corsairs were powered by a Pratt & Whitney R-2800 Double Wasp engine that produced 2,000 hp. The strong engine and large propeller pulled the Corsair at speeds up to 425 mph. The war time demand for these airplanes required Vought to contract out much of the production to the Goodyear and Brewster aircraft plants.

There was no difference in the design of any of these different manufactured aircraft, except those planes coming from the Goodyear plant in Akron, Ohio, were designated as an FG-1D. The first Navy squadron to receive the F4U-1 was VF-12 at North Island, California, followed by VF-17 at the Naval Air Station in Norfolk, Virginia. The Marines were also receiving Corsairs at this time, but both branches were having difficulty landing them on aircraft carriers, because the left wing would stall first at low speeds. This forced the Navy to temporarily suspend carrier operations, until the British perfected such shipboard landings.

Original F4U-1A Corsairs were equipped with two fuselage and two wing guns. These were quickly replaced with six 0.5 inch Browning machine guns capable of 390 rounds each. Pilots loved flying this plane because the bent wing allowed for greater visibility from the cockpit. The Corsair gave the Americans the advantage against the Japanese in the South Pacific. Very few changes were made to the Corsair as new variants were produced. The cockpits were switched from a birdcage, framework canopy to a two-frame bubble canopy. Several squadrons rigged bomb racks for 500 and 1,000 pound bombs and soon water injected Pratt & Whitney Engines were installed for an extra 300 hp.

The final World War II version was the F4U-1D, which was considered the ultimate wartime Corsair, due to its larger Pratt & Whitney R-2800-8W engine and its increased armaments. The F4U-1D often had four rocket launching stubs under each wing for five-inch HVAR rockets. This model also had two wing root pylons which could carry large bombs, 154 gallon drop tanks, or even napalm. The F4U-1D was the first version of Corsairs assigned to carriers and quickly replaced the Grumman F6F Hellcat. There were 3,682 “D” variants built, most of which came from the Goodyear plant in Akron, Ohio.

The Corsair was used by the United States, England, and the Royal New Zealand Air Forces during the Second World War. As the United States phased out their Corsair in the 1950’s, many were exported to other countries. El Salvador and Honduras last used Corsairs against each other during a conflict in Central America in the early 1960’s. Because of the high speeds and handling of the Corsair, many were eventually used at air races, similar to those held annually at the Reno Air Races.

History of the Fighter Factory's
Navy FG-1D Corsair

The Fighter Factory’s FG-1D Corsair was produced by Goodyear under license from the Vought Aircraft Company prior to the end of the war in May 1945. It was delivered to the United States Navy two months later. Not much is known about the Naval history of this plane, but it is believed that it was never used in combat due to the extremely low engine time and excellent body condition during its 13 years of active duty. However, some of its time was spent in California at San Diego and Santa Ana.

Near the end of its military career, it was believed to have served with a New York Naval Air Reserve Squadron as a training aircraft. The plane was stricken from the Navy records in 1956 after spending the majority of its final time in storage. In 1964, the Corsair was purchased by a family in Santa Rosa, California for their young son to fly. Not realizing the fast speeds and power of the Corsair, he ended up exchanging the plane evenly for a North American AT-6 trainer. This trade was made in March of 1968 with Valley Air Services in Sunnyside, Washington. After a quick refurbishment, the plane flew in the opening ceremonies of the Reno Air Races that same year. Less than one year later, the Corsair was sold and ferried to Stratford, Connecticut.

The plane changed hands several more times and was based with subsequent owners in West Palm Beach, FL; Dallas, TX; Miami, FL; and finally in Oklahoma City, OK. It was here in Oklahoma City, that a retired World War Two Marine aviator had brought it for his own personal use to occasionally fly. At this time it was painted in a Marine Corps design with replica rockets under the wings. In 1996, it was inspected by the Fighter Factory as a possible acquisition, but the actual purchase did not finally occur until the summer of 1999. It was flown to Virginia in August of that same year and did occasional training and familiarization flights in the local area.

All of the year 2001 was spent with the aircraft not flying, as the staff of the Fighter Factory undertook a massive restoration process to return the airplane back to its original wartime configuration. It was repainted in 2002 to replicate the colors and markings of a former local resident, Ray Beacham, who was born in Norfolk, Virginia, in 1918 and raised in nearby Kitty Hawk, NC. He joined the United States Navy in 1939 and earned his wings the following year. Beacham began his military career, training cadets to fly at Pensacola, Florida. In 1943 Lt. Beacham was assigned to the VF-17 fighter squadron.

They trained in Norfolk, Virginia, and then Manteo, North Carolina, under the command of Lt. Cdr.Tom Blackburn. When September of 1943 came, VF-17 boarded the USS Bunker Hill aircraft carrier, which would take them through the Panama Canal to Hawaii. The remainder of the journey to the South Pacific was aboard the carrier USS Prince William. VF-17 arrived in the South Pacific in October of 1943. Ray Beacham would complete two combat tours with VF-17, flying from the islands of Ondongo and Bougainville, since these Corsairs were not yet considered safe to land and operate on aircraft carriers. The famous “Skull and Crossbones” adorned the nose of the Corsairs in this squadron. Ray Beacham, nicknamed “the Kitty Hawk Kid” by his fellow aviators, was credited with shooting down two Japanese Zeros.

His first engagement with a Zero was on November 1, 1943, which is the day Ray Beacham is credited with the first kill for Squadron VF-17. His second kill was during a low altitude dogfight near Bougainville. Ray Beacham earned the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Purple Heart, and many other decorations during his 21 years of active duty. The Purple Heart was awarded to Beacham when his air group was attacked by twenty to thirty Japanese Zeros. His plane was damaged and before he could make it back to Bougainville, he was forced to crash land in the waters off of Empress Augusta Bay in the dark.

After his Pacific tours with VF-17, Ray Beacham stayed in the Navy and finally ended his Naval career in 1961 at the Naval Air Station Norfolk. He earned his teaching degree from Old Dominion College in 1962, and subsequently taught algebra and general math at Northside Junior High School for 17 years. Ray Beacham passed away of Alzheimers in January of 1997. Several artifacts of his military career are housed in a small museum dedicated to VF-17 at the Dare County Regional Airport in Manteo, NC.

This Corsair is believed to be one of the lowest total time Corsairs flying today. You can see the Fighter Factory’s Corsair in its paint scheme depicting the design and marking of Ray Beacham’s personal aircraft at several airshows along the East Coast.

XF4U-1 1938 Vought Prototype
F4U-1 First production in 1942
F4U-1A New raised canopy instead of birdcage framework
F3A-1A Brewster manufactured version
FG-1A Goodyear version of Vought F4U-1A
F4U-1C Had four 20-mm cannons used for ground strafing
F4U-1D Larger water injected engine, added fuel and bomb pylons
FG-1D Goodyear manufactured version F4U-1D
F4U-1P Photo reconnaissance version with aerial camera for surveillance
F4U-4 Four bladed propeller and chin air scoop
F4U-4N Night fighter variant with wing mounted radome
F4U-5 Two air intake scoops at lower part of the engine cowling
F4U-7 Produced exclusively for French Navy
AU-1 Heavy armor plating for low level ground attack
F2G Goodyear manufactured. 3000 hp P & W. Exceeded 450 mph

Photos of our 1945
Navy FG-1D Corsair aircraft