F4U Corsair RNZAF Help

[spang]

Hi, 

I have start a build in 1:48 with a Tamiya kit and i'm looking about information for 2 markings:
-NZ 5550
-NZ 5277

Both are interesting but i don't find any pictures of them and i want to be sure about the camo.

Thanks a lot for your help.
SPang

[trx850]

Hi SPang. Hopefully the following will help.

Firstly F4U-1A NZ5277. Colours were originally the standard US Navy '4 Tone' scheme of Non-Specular (matt) Sea Blue upper fuselage, Semi-Gloss Sea Blue wing and tail plane upper surfaces, Intermediate Blue fuselage sides and tail fin/rudder and wing undersides outboard of the wing fold. The undersides were Insigina White. All of these were matt finish except for the upper wing surfaces which when fresh, were semi-gloss. These colours soon faded to a grey blue hue when in service up in the Islands. It was most definately not painted in Light Grey as per that profile!

I can't find any other photos of her in my files taken earlier up in the Islands. The one above was taken post-war at the Rukuhia dump.
Note how the paint has badly faded although some traces of the darker blue uppers still show.

The above is a section of the fuselage 'cleaned-up' to show more detail. Note the paint runs under the canopy which for years have been interpreted as 'kill' markings of trucks and ships! Many photos of Corsairs show this anomaly when looked at carefully.
There are certainly bomb mission markings forward of the 'Angry Donald'. Note at this time, the cowl number 77 was white.

NZ5277 5116 F4U-1 Bu49866. Shipped from USA on 19 April 1944 aboard "USS Breton". Assembled in Espiritu Santo and BOC Unit 60 on 05 May 1944. Issued to No.15 Fighter Squadron, Guadalcanal on 18 May 1944. Coded "77". To No.14 Squadron on 08 August 1944. Badly damaged in taxying accident with NZ5275 at Kukum Field on 17 August 1944 but repaired and returned to service. To No.16 Squadron on 21 December 1944. To No.21 Squadron by April 1945. Damaged on 24 July 1945 but repaired and returned to service by September. Ferried to New Zealand in October 1945. Advertised for sale by WARB tender number 1704 and sold from Rukuhia to J. Larsen, Palmerston North on 02 March 1948. (From ADF Serials site).

Now, F4U-1D NZ5550. The colour scheme is the same as above, but being based in New Zealand all it's service life, would have just had the usual fading of the colours, but nowhere to the same extent as those from up in the Islands.

NZ5550 5794 F4U-1D Bu50547. Shipped from USA on 24 June 1944 aboard "USS Saltlake Park". Assembled at No.1 Assembly Depot, Hobsonville and BOC Unit 36, Hobsonville on 28 June 1944. Coded "RK-S". To Corsair Conversion Flight, Ardmore by September 1944. To No.21 Squadron, Ardmore by October 1944. To No.18 Squadron, Ardmore by January 1945. To No.17 Squadron, Ardmore by April 1945. To Fighter Pilots Pool, Ardmore by November 1945. To No.14 Squadron, Ardmore by December 1945. Advertised for sale by WARB tender number 1704 and sold from Rukuhia to J. Larsen, Palmerston North on 02 March 1948. (From ADF Serials site).

Cheers,
Pete M.

[spang]

Hi Pete,

Thanks a lot for the information and the pics...they very help me and give me more work on the camo and the weathering.

Cheers
Pat