Just starting Tamiya’s 1/48 Corsair and have what may be a stupid question. What is the purpose of the clear piece directly underneath the cockpit? I have built Corsairs before and none had this piece and I am not able to find any pictures that show it or tell of its purpose.
Thanks for your repies.
It gave the pilot a view out of the bottom of the aircraft. It only existed on the F4U-1 and some very early F4U-1A’s.
Regards, Rick
I’m not sure which you are talking about, but some Naval aircraft, especially tail draggers with long noses like the Corsair, had these little windows between the pilots feet to give him an idea of his height when very close to the ground and at a high angle of attack. I don’t know if that the case with the Corsair, and never noticed such a thing on there. I know SBD’s had them.
TOM
The SBD’s had them, as did Stukas, for the purpose of scanning for the target. Once the traget came into view, you knew to roll onto your back and begin your dive.
Speaking with F4U Marine pilots about that window they said that they were never kept clean because they were pretty much useless. So if you’re going to weather your model be sure to dirty it up!
Those windows were later painted over in black ,as pilots apparently did not find them useful.
Take care,
Mark
Sorry, just checked my reference. The windows were painted in later planes, but I’m not sure they were painted black. More likely, they’d be painted the same color as the bottom of the plane.
Anyway, as Rick mentioned, they were deleted on versions after the early 1A’s.
Take care,
Mark