F4U-1A (BuNo 17740) Major Gregory ‘Pappy’ Boyington, Commanding Officer, VMF-214, Vella Lavella, December, 1943.

This aircraft is a pretty typical F4U-1A and has the early 6501A-0 propeller. This Corsair has several unusual marking variations however, one being that the underside of the port wing has an early style cocarde typically seen on F4U-1 aircraft and not the -1A. This would indicate the outer port wing is actually a replacement scavenged from one of the unit’s early birdcage Corsairs. What makes this even more remarkable is the fact the aileron is also a replacement taken from a -1A, so the early birdcage wing that is overall Blue Gray has an aileron that is Non-Specular Sea Blue ‘607’ on the upper side and Intermediate Blue ‘608’ on the underside, making for quite a patchwork appearance on this aircraft.

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