FG-1D #26 VMF-422 1945

[Jack Cook]

Lt Jessie Folmar on the wing of his FG-1D "Thundering Hog II" #26 on VMF-422 in 1945.
Has Capt Folmar, he downed a MIG-15 during the Korean War while flying a F4U-4B. Possibly the greatest moment in Corsair history!

[Rob Mears]

What do you think the chances are that the #26 on Folmar's plane might actually have been the last two digits of the Bureau Number? You know where I'm going with this. It'd be a heck of a stroke of luck wouldn't it!

Any chance Folmar might still be around? I'd love to get a peek at his log books.

[Jack Cook]

Actually it said #026 but I was to lazy to do the wholething

[Shay]

What do you think the chances are that the #26 on Folmar's plane might actually have been the last two digits of the Bureau Number?

Actually it said #026 but I was to lazy to do the wholething

Umm.....that would be insane

And Awesome.





Shay
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Semper Fortis

[mustangdriver]

So wait, is this aircraft still around?

[Shay]

Maybe......................look at the recent Soplata thread.

Shay
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Semper Fortis

[Nathan]

Oh oh, oh....you mean that this picture is the same aircraft Walter has?! Gee, I guess Jack Cook did have a picture of it! Whats the chance of that?

Thanks Jack! Pretty cool dude.

Tally ho,
Nathan

[Jack Cook]

Actually it said #026 but I was to lazy to do the wholething

I was even to lazy to put a space between wholething. See I did it again

There is no idea yet as to whether or not Jack's photo is the same airplane as Walter's. Jack's subject carried the code #026 and Walter's BuNo is 88026. Rob was just speculating that it would be interesting if the code # came from the BuNo.

There is a chance that it could be figured out with some serious investigative work. Sounds cool!

[mustangdriver]

That would be a great story to go with the plane.

[Rob Mears]

Jack do you have any shots of the plane number itself? Is it located in the standard position just forward of the national insignia? In my experience, the odds that a three digit aircraft number beginning in "0" actually reflected the last three of the Bureau Number are very high, though there are exceptions. Most times the size and configuration of the numbers on the fuselage can tell you alot in that regard.

[lmritger]

VMF-214 used that coding system, among others, so it's definitely a known practice. Now, I'm not sayin' this is a slam dunk, but here's what about 30 minutes of digging thru Joe Baugher's site brings back:

60026= SBW-1B
61026= N2S-5
62026= N2S-5
63026= F4U-4B (VMF-212) crashed in shallow water Jun 21, 1952. Pilot killed.
64026= PBY-6A
65026= SB2C-4
66026= F6F-3
67026= cancelled PB4Y-2
68026= PBV-1A (PBY-5A lic. by Vickers)
69026= TBM-3
70026= F6F-5
71026= F6F-5
72026= F6F-5N
73026= PB2B-1 (PBY-5 lic. by Boeing)
74026= FM-2
75026= FM-2
76026= TD2C-1
77026= PB4Y-2
78026= F6F-5
79026= F6F-5
80026= F6F-5
81026= F4U-4
82026= F4U-4
83026= SB2C-4
84026= PB-1W
85026= SNJ-5
86026= TBM-3E
87026= FM-1
88026= FG-1D (with Walter Soplata collection)

As the Church Lady would say, "Well, isn't that SPECIAL!" Like I said, it's not an absolute slam-dunk, but it sure LOOKS like this might be the same bird... with nose art, no less!!!

Lynn

[Shay]

If the number "026" is representative of the BuNo. And with the production of the FG-1D being 1,950. Then I guess you could potentially have 2 aircraft with "026" in the BuNo.

FG-1D production

BuNo.

76149 - 76739.........590 aircraft

87788 - 88453.........665 aircraft

92007 - 92702.........695 aircraft Total: 1950

92703 - 93301.........Canceled

Aircraft with "026" in the BuNo. are "88026" and "92026".


Somebody check my facts, but I think that's right.

Shay
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Semper Fortis

[Rob Mears]

You're correct, though 92026 probably came too late in the production run to have been present in the Pacific Theatre prior to the end of the war. It was actually just rolling off the assembly line in late May of 1945.

This is the reason the vast majority of the Goodyear FG-1D Corsairs that still exist today have no combat history. Most were late-production aircraft that saw service only with post-war Navy Reserve squadrons. They were too outdated to accompany the F4U-4's and -5's to Korea, but still new enough to serve with stateside Reserve training squadrons until the type was stricken from active service during the mid-1950's. The vast majority of FG-1D survivors were sourced directly from surviving USN surplus stocks after the type had been declared obsolete. Most WWII veteran aircraft had been scrapped long before that time.

[Shay]

Combat Vet, Nose Art, Famous pilot/s.....

This is very exciting. I wonder if the new owner is aware of this potential lineage?

If proven(documented) true and restored to flight. Would this make it the most valuable Corsair around?

Shay
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Semper Fortis