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X-WR-CALDESC:Events for National Museum of World War II Aviation
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DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20260418
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20260419
DTSTAMP:20260414T151740
CREATED:20260319T215231Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260413T155628Z
UID:29033-1776470400-1776556799@www.worldwariiaviation.org
SUMMARY:HISTORY PRESENTATION AND FLIGHT DEMONSTRATION The Corsairs of the Fleet Air Arm Recovery and Restoration of the Brewster F3A Corsair
DESCRIPTION:Saturday April 18\, 2026 \nDoors Open at 8am    Presentation Begins at 9am \nDuring 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”. \nFAA 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. \nCorsairs 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. \nOn Saturday\,  April 18th\, at 9:00 am\, museum docent Matt Ouding will present the story of the Corsairs in the Royal Navy.  Matt’s presentation will be followed by Lex Cralley\, who salvaged the museum’s F3A Brewster Corsair from a North Carolina peat bog in 1991.  Lex will discuss his role in the recovery and restoration\, and his lengthy court battle with the Naval Historical Center over ownership of the recovered aircraft. The suit was finally resolved by an act of Congress in 2004. \nFollowing 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. \nFleet Air Arm Vought F4U-1A Corsair MkII of 1834 Squadron  HMS Victorious
URL:https://www.worldwariiaviation.org/event/history-presentation-and-flight-demonstration-the-corsairs-of-the-fleet-air-arm
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