Part No.	Description	CART	Price
TFM B11B810	Display Model, DieCast F-4U Corsair, Black Sheep, 1:48 Scale, Franklin Mint	ADD	$70.00

The F-4 Corsair went into development in 1938 to meet the U.S. Navy's need for a new, carrier-based fighter. Built by the Chance-Vought company, it was designed around the powerful Pratt & Whitney R-2800 Double Wasp engine, and was armed with six .50 caliber machine guns. Its 13'4" diameter Hamilton Standard prop–then the largest ever fitted to a fighter–dictated the unique "gull-wing" design on the wings, to allow adequate clearance on take-off and landing. When it finally went into action in 1943, it exceeded speeds of over 400 mph. Though early design flaws initially kept the F-4U off carrier decks, most land-based U.S. Marine air squadrons adopted the plane quickly.

By 1944, an improved model with an even more powerful engine–the R-2800-8W–began operations from carriers. To U.S. Marine ground forces in the Pacific, the plane was affectionately called the "Sweetheart of Okinawa". But to the Japanese, it became ominously known as "Whistling Death," due to a pronounced whistling sound it sometimes made caused by the wing mounted air intakes. The F-4U Corsair would become the last prop-driven fighter built in the United States–production ending in 1952–seeing action in the Korean war as late as 1952, and even later in a conflict between Honduras and El Salvador in Central America in 1969.

Model Specifications:
Length: 8.5"	Wingspan: 10"