HISTORY PRESENTATION AND FLIGHT DEMONSTRATION The Corsairs of the Fleet Air Arm
Saturday April 18, 2026
Doors Open at 8am Presentation Begins at 9am
During World War II, carriers of the Royal Navy were equipped with a variety of aircraft as the war progressed. In November 1943, the Fleet Air Arm (FAA) received under the U.S. Lend-Lease program the first of 95 Vought F4U-1 Corsairs, designated as the “Corsair I”. The first squadrons were trained in the U.S. and then shipped across the Atlantic. The FAA put the Corsair into carrier operations immediately. The initial batch was followed by 510 Vought F4U-1As, designated the “Corsair II”; 430 Brewster F3A-1Ds, designated the “Corsair III”; and finally, 977 Goodyear FG-1Ds, designated “Corsair IV”.
FAA Corsairs performed their first combat on April 3rd, 1944, flying from the carrier HMS Victorious. They provided cover for a strike on the German super-battleship TIRPITZ in a Norwegian fjord.
Corsairs were a key strike element of the British Pacific Fleet (BPF). The BPF, formed in 1944. By the end of the war, the BPF included four battleships, six large fleet carriers, fifteen smaller carriers and over 750 aircraft. Attached to major task forces of the U.S. Pacific Fleet, the BPF saw action in southeast Asia and supported the invasion of Okinawa in March 1945. On 9 August 1945, Corsairs from HMS Formidable attacked targets on the northeast coast of Japan.
On Saturday, April 18th, at 9:00 am, museum docent Matt Ouding will present the story of the Corsairs in the Royal Navy. Following the presentation, there will be a flight demonstration of the museum’s restored F3A Brewster Corsair, weather permitting. It is the only surviving example of the Brewster-built Corsairs. The presentation and flight demonstration are open to all museum visitors at no additional charge.
Fleet Air Arm Vought F4U-1A Corsair MkII of 1834 Squadron HMS Victorious
