F4U-5N Corsair, Flown by Lt. Guy Bordelon USNR, The only Navy Ace during the Korean War.
Guy Bordelon was born on 2/1/22 in Ruston LA. He received his wings and his commission in 1943. after a period of time as an instructor he was sent to the Pacific in May of 1944 assigned to VC-87 aboard USS Corregidor. At the outbreak of the Korean War he was on the staff of the Commander of Cruiser Division Three. He subsequently went aboard USS Princeton as Officer in Charge of the all weather fighter detachment of VC-3, In the Summer of 1953 he was sent ashore at the request of the Fifth Air Force to combat the night time slow flying heckler aircraft. In July he got his fifth confirmed victory to make him an Ace. He enjoyed the honor of "Triple Threat Ace"; the "Navy's only Ace of the Korean War", the only "All Night Victory" Ace, and the only "All Propeller" Ace.
He retired from the Navy in 1969 with the rank of Commander. He passed away in 2002 at the age of 80.
This is the Hasagawa kit built OOB. This kit was also released by Monogram Pro Modeler. Both kits are the same. I believe the Hasagawa kit is still available.
That's one "Bad A.." looking bird! Thinking of building one (F4U-4B) as a "What if!" with present generation paint scheme and decals. Think of it as the ultimate "COIN" ship!
Nicely done Corsair Frank.
I spent some time with Guy in 1986, even after a quarter century of retirement, he was still a 'Naval Avaitor', tough, proud and seemingly ageless.
Striking rendition of Bordelon's Corsair, Frank. Excellent paint work and weathering on that GSB; it's a deceptively simple-looking scheme and yet can create some real headaches when trying to depict it in scale. Nice job!
Nice job overall. I like the post war markings on your Corsair, more so than a WWII insignia version. And of course the "weathering" adds so much to an aircraft model, you do it justice!