Story and photos by James Church
John O’Connor’s Vought F4U-7 Corsair, BuNo. 133710, which had suffered heavy damage during a failed takeoff attempt, at the Jerome County Airport (KJER), in Jerome, Idaho, is now with Midwest Aero Restorations, of Danville, Illinois for completion of its rebuild to flight. The accident saw the airframe substantially damaged, structurally, throughout the airframe. While it had been hoped by many enthusiasts when first reported that it would be repaired and flying again in short order, those with knowledge of what goes into repairing such damage knew better, and a protracted process of rebuilding the aircraft was underway not long afterward.
This particular Corsair, the 58th -7 of a total of 94 produced for the French Aeronavale, first flew in 1952. Unlike most of today’s surviving Corsairs, there is a very good possibility that this airframe mat has seen combat. Though records are scarce, it is thought that 133710 took part in the Algerian War, which took place from 1955-62, as well as during the Suez Crisis, which took place during the Second Arab-Israeli War of 1956 (Operation Mousquetaire). If so, it would have worn the colorful Anglo-French yellow and black recognition bands worn by the French and British aircraft taking part, very similar to those applied to allied aircraft in order to similarly identify them during D-Day, the Allied invasion of Northern France in June 1944.
The French retired their Corsairs in 1964, and by that time, 133710 had already been deemed surplus and was in storage. Thankfully it survived to go to Quantico, Virginia, and was restored as a static exhibit for the Marine Corps Aviation Museum. Eventually, it was traded to Dean Ortner, of Wakeman, Ohio for an earlier, and more representative of Corsairs flown by the Marines during World War Two Goodyear FG-1D, and was first placed on the U.S. Registry as N33714 in 1971. Along with several others, our subject Corsair, now under the ownership of John Schaffhausen, of Hayden Lake, Idaho became one of the “stars” of the 1970s television series “Baa, Baa Black Sheep.” This series, which aired from September 1976 through April 1978 portrayed the (much fictionalized) exploits of the famed VMF-214 “Black Sheep” Squadron led by Maj. Gregory “Pappy” Boyington.
Several further ownership changes followed, one of which saw it on the Canadian Civil Registry as C-GWFU with Blain Fowler, of Camrose, Alberta, with whom the Corsair had the name “Alberta Blue” applied. It was back in the U.S. as N811AP with Phil Rogers of Manassas, Virginia by 2004, and it was from Rogers that O’Connor acquired it in 2015. The full history of this Corsair can be found in issue #80 of Warbird Digest magazine (Sept-Oct 2018) in the article “Sheeps Clothing,” written by the Vintage Aviation News resident Corsair expert-par excellence, Stephen Chapis! (www.warbirddigest.com).
In order to try and speed up what was already going to be a very long and involved rebuilding process, once disassembled at John Lane’s Airpower Unlimited facility in Jerome, the decision was made to farm out the damaged components to various restoration shops across the country, all which have had past experience with Corsair rebuilds. The tail cone went to Odegaard Wings Inc., in Kindred, North Dakota, while Ezell Aviation, of Breckenridge, Texas received the forward fuselage and center wing structure. The damaged wings were kept at the Airpower Inc. facility in Jerome for re-working. The Corsair’s P&W R-2800 engine is with Anderson Aerormotive, of Grangeville, Idaho, and has required a complete teardown due to the sudden stoppage that occurred. A replacement propeller assembly has been sourced, as a set of ailerons and other items are required to complete the job.
All of the major components are now with Midwest Aero, and while the brunt of the structural work has been completed, much further work, structural and otherwise remains to be done before the aircraft takes flight again. During our last visit, some wing skins were being riveted in place, while damage to the wheel wells and wing fold areas were also being addressed. At this point, while moving further on the rebuilding and repairing of the airframe, things are still very much in the stage of assessing what remains to be done and formulating a plan of attack to complete the aircraft. With this in mind, no timeframe has been offered for the as-yet projected completion and return to flight.
Owner John O’Connor is leaning towards putting the repaired aircraft back into the Light Gull Gray & Insignia White scheme of the AU-1 (a dedicated ground-attack variant of the Corsair used by the U.S. Marines and the French Aeronavale) BuNo. 129378, as flown by World War Two Marine Corps ace Lt. Col. John J. Bolt, while based at Quantico, Virginia in 1957 that it wore at the time of the accident. The opportunity will be taken to apply the scheme more accurately than it had been previously. While many enthusiasts might want to see it painted in the French Aeronavale scheme it wore while in active service (All 94 of the entire production run of the -7 Corsairs, the last of the type to be produced, went to the French Aeronavale), the eye-catching Gray & white scheme proved popular with airshow crowds and devoted of Vaught’s vaunted bent-wing bird alike. No doubt it will be warmly welcomed once it makes its return.
Born in Milan, Italy, Moreno moved to the U.S. in 1999 to pursue a career as a commercial pilot. His aviation passion began early, inspired by his uncle, an F-104 Starfighter Crew Chief, and his father, a military traffic controller. Childhood adventures included camping outside military bases and watching planes at Aeroporto Linate. In 1999, he relocated to Atlanta, Georgia, to obtain his commercial pilot license, a move that became permanent. With 24 years in the U.S., he now flies full-time for a Part 91 business aviation company in Atlanta. He is actively involved with the Commemorative Air Force, the D-Day Squadron, and other aviation organizations. He enjoys life with his supportive wife and three wonderful children.
Be the first to comment
Graphic Design, Branding and Aviation Art