Nose art on an F4U Corsair?

Modeling Subjects Aircraft
1

I’d like to make a Corsair model for a buddy of mine, and I’d like to personalize it with some nose art. Would that be accurate? Did any Corsairs at any point in the war ever sport nose art? I’ve seen several WWII fighters sporting nose art and nicknames, but I’ve never seen a Corsair adorned in such a way.

2

I think the Navy and Marine Corps generally discouraged nose art from what I’ve read. There were some exceptions of course, but I can’t recall any on the Corsair. There are some Hellcat photos with the “shark teeth” and eyes painted on them, etc… Even squadron regalia was kept to a minimum when applied. I think Admiral King actually sent a fleet order out to the effect that the USAAF style nose art was a big NO NO on Navy birds. This policy carried over to the Korean Conflict as well.

Steve

3

While rare compared to Air Force birds, some Corsairs did have nose art. There are several examples from both WWII & the Korean War. The art was generally smaller & much more subdued than the Air Force examples.

Regards, Rick

4

Cool, that’s all I needed to hear. [:)] Do you happen to remember which birds sported the nose art, Navy or Marines?

Also, is there a good resource that details all the different color schemes for WWII Corsairs?

Thanks for the info!

5

I remember seeing nose art on Korean War F4u-5’s, but cannot recall any from WWII. If anyone knows, I’d be interested in learning about WWII nose art on Corsairs, too.

From Korea, there were the Marines Death Rattlers, from VMF-323. They sported a coiled rattlensake on the cowling; I’m also trying to remeber the Navy group with a bulldog wielding a sword. (These examples are from Adam Jarski’s book on the Corsair, which I have in one of the 1000 or so boxes still left to unpack from my recent move).

Take care,

Mark

6

Cutting Edge decals has a series of Corsair Nose Art decal sets…try Meteor Productions for picking them up…

7

Try VF-17 for WWII Navy nose art. Also many land based USMC squadrons like VMF-214 sported some artwork. Artwork was generally frowned upon on carriers, which is why Navy a/c rarely carried it.

8

Look at this site for some pictures.

http://users.skynet.be/bk317032/Menu_orientatie/htm/openmenu_algemeen.htm

9

how about this?

10

Dear friends:

Want something different? Please try:

http://www.aztecmodels.com/LE_5y6/le6.HTM

for a Latinamerican F4U Corsair from Salvadorian Air Force, I hope do you liked wich include a very nice nose art.

Best regards

Manuel

11

The Navy Squadron in question was VF26 based on USS Princeton. The Princeton was damaged/sunk and when the aircraft transferred to another carrier, can not recall which one right now, the C/O ordered the “Catmouth” removed.

The Navy, while a bit stuffy on Nose Art, did institute tail design(s) as squadron/carrier designations.

I know this does not answer your question at all…but it is a fairly slow day here…[sigh]

12

Thanks for the info, everyone. Now that I know that the Corsairs did sport nose art, I’ll be making my own.

Thanks again!