FAA Corsair Wing Walkways

[Seamus]

Afternoon all,

 

I have a quick question for the Corsair experts among you. I'm currently working through another Fleet Air Arm Corsair- JT622- and am not sure whether to include the black wing walkways or not? The Xtradecal sheet I'll be using doesn't include them on the paint plan, but a quick Google suggests that may not necessarily be the case. To be fair I can't find a picture of JT622 itself with walkways, but thought I'd double check on here first before committing one way or the other. 

 

Thanks in advance,

 

Shaun

[Dana Bell]

Hi Shaun,

 

Vought tried a number of different walkways, but all Corsair Is and IIs had them.  They were deleted partway through Corsair IV production, after the step was added to the right inboard flap.

 

Cheers,

 

 

 

Dana

[Seamus]

Thanks Dana, that's perfect. It's a Corsair II I'm building so walkways it is. Spot on 👏

[Seahawk]

14 hours ago, Dana Bell said:

Vought tried a number of different walkways, but all Corsair Is and IIs had them.  They were deleted partway through Corsair IV production, after the step was added to the right inboard flap.

 

IIRC the step was introduced very late in F4U-1D/FG-1D production.  If deletion of wing walkways came even later, that suggests to me that most, if not all, FAA Corsair IVs will have had wing walkways, and almost certainly all those that saw front-line service before the end of hostilities.  Do we know exactly when the step was introduced on FG-1Ds/Corsair IVs?  (Sorry, Dana: away from your 2 excellent Corsair books at the mo.)

[wellsprop]

Hi @Seamus, I believe the Corsair at Yeovilton is shown with its original paint and I think it has walkways.

[85sqn]

Yes to walkways., as above.

 

Best regards

 

Nick

[Dana Bell]

Sorry it took so long to find the papers on this - the elimination of the walkway was begun in June 1945 with MCR 396-1.  By that time the F4U-1 was out of production (with Vought switched over to F4U-4s) and Brewster had closed down.  The change applied to FG-1s only.

 

Cheers,

 

 

 

Dana

[Troy Smith]

20 hours ago, wellsprop said:

I believe the Corsair at Yeovilton is shown with its original paint and I think it has walkways.

these?

 

from

 

[Seahawk]

20 hours ago, wellsprop said:

Hi @Seamus, I believe the Corsair at Yeovilton is shown with its original paint and I think it has walkways.

Then we're certainly safe up up and including KD431, which covers the first 230 Corsair IVs, by my reckoning.

 

19 minutes ago, Dana Bell said:

Sorry it took so long to find the papers on this - the elimination of the walkway was begun in June 1945 with MCR 396-1.  By that time the F4U-1 was out of production (with Vought switched over to F4U-4s) and Brewster had closed down.  The change applied to FG-1s only.

 

Dana, thanks for taking the time to look this out for us.  To my mind, that doesn't allow much time for many aircraft without the walkway markings to percolate through to front-line FAA squadrons before the end of hostilities.