Ex-Honduran AF F4U-4 & F4U-5N ...

[WIX_Archive]

Originally posted by Mark Allen, Images restored 11-02-2018. Scott WRG Editor

Anyone know where these photos were taken? Date was 23 December 1979. Location & photographer unknown.


F4U-5N, N4901, ex-Honduras AF, 23 dec 79


F4U-4, N4908M, Ex-Honduran AF 2, 23 Dec 1979


F4U-4, N4908M, Ex-Honduran AF, 23 Dec 1979


F4U-5N, N4901W, Ex-Honduran AF, 23 Dec 79


F4U-5N, N4901W, Former Honduras AF, 23 Dec 1979


F4U-5N, F4U-4, BT-13, 23 Dec 1979

[John Kerr]

Mark, they could be mind, as I was one of about 6-7 photogs that day in San Angelo, TX. Aircraft were at Charlie Day's paint shop. It snowed on the way there from San Antonio. Others were Phil Friddell, John Dienst, Dan Hagendorn, Lee Bracken, Paul Kerr, Frank Garcia and one or two others.

Last edited by John Kerr on Thu Jan 09, 2014 9:51 pm, edited 2 times in total.

[Mark Allen M]

Ah Thanks John that would explain it, on the back of a couple of these photos it states (very poorly to read) "Friddell" so these photos would belong to Phil Friddell? And TX looks about right, I was thinking somewhere in FLA. I haven't a way to ask Phil for permission to post these so I'll take a chance and keep them up for now unless Phil or someone objects then I'll take them down ASAP

[zorro9]

Mark/F4U Folks:

Good day!

Those are a set of fine F4U pictures for now!

I wonder if any of the F4U folks named above took close-up pictures of the fuel tanks & their original numbers?? Who were the pilots that flew them fm Houston to the great St. Angelo area?? Any pics of them? Job well done ..just before xmas '79!

[John Kerr]

I am sure Phil wouldn't mind. We all took basically the same shots from the same angle, etc. I will check my slides in the am to see if I got any close up of the tanks. Man it was cold that day.

[jollyrogerf14]

Say,
On the F4U-4 #614, are the wings all metal?

V.C.

[Snake45]

Say,
On the F4U-4 #614, are the wings all metal?

V.C.

It's a -4, so no, they shouldn't be.

I've taken some closeup pics showing that Corsair outer wings--at least on the -4s--do not show the "bridging" you might expect to see with fabric covering. If you didn't KNOW they were fabric, you wouldn't suspect it by looking at them.

BTW, look at how dark and even the paint/color is on these airplanes. I doubt they had been repainted in several years, and yet the Glossy Sea Blue paint shows very little of the fading and "weathering" effects that some modelers are so fond of doing on everything. That GSB was pretty tough, durable paint! It would go less glossy and more flat, but that's about it.

[Triplane102]

I almost sure one of the owners/pilots had to have been Howard Pardue .

[Snake45]

I almost sure one of the owners/pilots had to have been Howard Pardue .

One of the magazines--maybe Warbirds International--did a two or three-part story on flying these Corsairs back to the US a couple years ago, written by one of the pilots. Interesting story!

[jollyrogerf14]

Also...
It appears that only 2 of the gun ports are open on the starboard wing, and all three gun ports have been faired over on the port wing.

Any thoughts? Was this common for the Honduran A.F.?

V.C.

[Scott Rose]

Images restored. Scott WRG Editor

[RB-18B]

Yep, I was there with John "Mad Dog" Kerr at San Angelo, TX in January 1980

[Snake45]

I just got Dan Hagedorn's book The 100 Hour War a couple weeks ago, and read it cover to cover. Interestingly, FAH 614 (shown above) was in an oddball overall light gray paint job at the time of the war.

[bluehawk15]

Ron Iberg, of Austin, Texas (after his USAF retirement) was one of the pilots who flew them from Honduras to the USA. Howard Pardue didn't fly them until he bought his first one from John Stokes of San Marcos.