F4U-1 Corsair, Navy flown by "Ike" Kepford Model Airplane (Free Shipping)

Item#: AF4U1N

MSRP Price: $215.55

Factory Direct Price: $149.95

Wing Span: 17.6"
Length: 14.1"

Manufacturer: Chance Vought

FREE SHIPPING within the U.S. (additional rates apply for other destinations)

Introducing Factory Direct Models F4U-1 Corsair Military Scale Model, This Model Airplane Replica was hand crafted with absolute precision using the finest Philippine Mahogany. Working from our library of blueprints, reference materials and their photographs, Factory Direct Models master artisans recreated this historic military warplane into an incredibly desktop display model.

Please note that the stand shown in this photograph may vary or change with the model you receive.

We also make Custom Made Airplane Models to meet your specifications with the capability to include your company logo and inscribed inscription plaque to make your model a personalized work of art. If you would like personalized Custom Model Model Please Call (866) 580-8727.

F4U-1 Corsair History:

Ira Cassius Kepford was born on 29 May 1919 in Harvey, Illinois, son of George and Emma Kepford. He was a star halfback at Northwestern University, where he joined the U.S. Naval Reserve in 1941. He was honorably discharged from the Reserve on 29 April 1942, and accepted an appointment as a Naval Aviation Cadet. Kepford earned his wings at Corpus Christi, Texas and Miami, Florida on 5 November 1942, and was assigned to VF-17, the famous "Jolly Rogers," the following January.He was one of the original hellions of this famous squadron, and was confined to quarters for ten days for mock dogfighting a P-51 right above the city of Norfolk. After training, the squadron arrived at New Georgia in the Solomons in late October, 1943.

On the Nov. 11, 1943 strike at Rabaul (also known as the Battle of the Solomon Sea) Kepford downed four enemy aircraft, for which he was awarded the Navy Cross. Flying cover for the carriers in Roger Hedrick's flight, he lit into a gaggle of Kates. Flying through Bunker Hill's intense AA, he downed a Kate only 1,000 yards from the ship. Low on fuel, he started back to base when he spotted six unescorted Vals. Making the most of the opportunity, he quickly downed three of the slow, nearly helpless dive bombers. During his firing run on a fourth Val, he ran out of ammo and realized he was practically empty of fuel. Ike radioed for a course and permission to land on a carrier. Bunker Hill took him aboard, happy to honor one of their flying defenders. Even the distinguished Capt. Ballentine was pleased to serve Ensign Kepford a cup of coffee. After a relaxing half-hour, Kepford took off in his re-fueled and re-armed Corsair. He racked up four kills and eleven hours of flight time that day.

On January 29, Kepford led his wingman, "Teeth" Burriss, in an attack on 12 Japanese fighters over Rabaul; he scored four kills, and was awarded a Gold Star for this action. Kepford and Burriss made up half of a Roving High Cover mission; the other two planes had aborted. As the bulk of the American strike/escort force flew in at about 15,000 feet, a dozen Zeros at 24,000 lurked above them. Ike and Teeth got in first, and in textbook series of dives, overhead firing passes , and recoveries, they both shot down four Zeros. This model is the one flown by Pappy Boyington. The aircraft first flew on 29 May 1940. It was immediately obvious that the aircraft was fast – it would soon become the first single seater fighter to reach 400 mph in level flight (earlier aircraft had reached that speed in a dive). This made it 50 mph faster than the Bf 109E. Cruising speed was 180 mph. It was also highly manoeuvrable. However, there were some problems with the aircraft. The “birdcage” cockpit canopy was too restrictive, and visibility was poor. More seriously, the aircraft was difficult to land – the port wing tended to drop at low speed, and it bounced on landing, not acceptable behaviour in a carrier aircraft. Despite these flaws, the high performance of the Corsair was obvious, and after tests in October 1940 the Navy placed an order for a production version.

The aircraft the Vought delivered was significantly different from the prototype. The cockpit was moved back three feet. This allowed the fuel tanks to be removed from the wings and placed in front of the pilot. This in turn allowed the installation of three .50 calibre machine guns in the each wings. The cockpit canopy was slightly improved, giving more space for the pilot to move. The under wing anti-aircraft bombs were replaced by two small bomb racks for normal bombs. Finally, the engine was changed to the Pratt & Whitney XR-2800-8, giving 2,000 hp. The top speed rose to 425 mph. These changes did delay the production of the aircraft, but made it a much more potent fighter.

The Navy ordered 584 Corsairs. However, when the production aircraft arrived the Navy decided that it was not safe for carrier operations. In addition to the problems in the prototype, the new cockpit position reduced visibility when landing. Accordingly, the first Corsairs were allocated to the Marines and to land based Navy squadrons.

The Royal Navy also received a large number of Corsairs, and almost immediately began operation them from carriers. The Corsair was first used in action from a carrier on 2 April 1944, when aircraft based on HMS Victorious took part in an attack on the German battleship Tirpitz. The British had a couple of advantages when using the early Corsair from carriers. The first was that accident – the aircraft hangers in the British carriers were not as tall as those in American ships, and so eight inches had to be chopped off the wings of the Corsair. One side-effect of this was to make the aircraft easier to handle in a stall, and thus easier to land on a carrier. More significant was that British carriers such as the Victorious had armoured flight decks. This eliminated one major problem with the Corsair on American carriers – it was eventually discovered that the arrestor hook was acting as an axe, cutting its way through their wooden flight decks.