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USO Canteen FReeper Style... Dog Tags... September 25, 2002
FRiends of the USO Canteen and Snow Bunny
Posted on 09/24/2002 11:50:08 PM PDT by Snow Bunny
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To: Snow Bunny
Vought F4U Corsair
![XF4U-1](http://www.aviation-history.com/vought/files/CorsP1.jpg)
Vought XF4U-1
To the ears of American G.I.s clawing their way off the bloody beaches of Okinawa in April 1945, the sweetest sound in the world was the whistling war cry of a strangely proportioned aircraft called the Vought F4U Corsair.
The most important naval attack fighter of WWII, the Chance Vought Corsair remained in production for thirteen years.
!["Short Final"](http://www.aviation-history.com/vought/files/CorsP2.jpg)
The Corsair's most unique feature was the "bent" wing, the result of a marriage between the most powerful engine ever installed in a piston-engined fighter and one of the biggest propellers in the world. The inverted gull wing permitted the short, sturdy undercarriage required for carrier operations, allowed a low drag, 90 degree wing-fuselage junction, gave the pilot better visibility over the wing and lowered the overall height of the folded wing.
The Corsair's distinctive sound, which earned it among the Japanese the nickname of "Whistling Death", was caused by the wing-root inlets for the engine air.
![Production Line](http://www.aviation-history.com/vought/files/CorsP3.jpg)
A production contract was awarded to Chance Vought in June 1941 and the first production machine flew in June 1942 with a top speed of 415 mph, a sea-level climb rate of 3,120 ft/min and a service ceiling of 37,000 ft. The first carrier trials were carried out in September 1942 aboard the USS Sangamon.
Despite the hundreds of detailed demands contained in the specifications for the new fighter plane, the major design objective was speed - - and more speed; everything else was secondary. From the start of its design in June 1938 the paramount demand on the Corsair was that it be the fastest fighter ever built and this goal was achieved when the new plane became the first in the world to exceed 400 mph in level flight with full military equipment.
![Flight of Four](http://www.aviation-history.com/vought/files/CorsP5.jpg)
Two things are required to create the rare environment in which a seemingly ageless airplane can exist: 1.) It must be a very good airplane; and 2.) The peculiar economic or tactical situation into which it was borne must persist. The Vought Corsair met both of these environmental tests. It was one of the fastest propeller-driven airplanes in the world and its unmatched versatility included close air support abilities vital to a successful war effort.
![One Wire](http://www.aviation-history.com/vought/files/CorsP4.jpg)
The F4U Corsair was one of the great fighter plane designs of WWII. A rugged piece of flying machinery, it had the most durable production of all fighters of that day. From the first prototype delivery to the U.S. Navy in 1940, to final delivery in 1953 to the French, 12,571 F4U Corsairs had been manufactured by Vought.
First ordered into production in the fall of 1941, the Corsairs appeared in time for the bitter struggle in the southwest Pacific from Guadalcanal to VJ Day. Until late 1944, both Navy and the Marines had used the Corsair as a land-based fighter. In the final year of the war, the Corsair began operations from aircraft carriers, where it speedily ran up new spectacular scores.
![On The Roll](http://www.aviation-history.com/vought/files/CorsP6.jpg)
F4U of VF-791 makes a series of vapor rings as it starts its take-off run laden with bombs from USS Boxer, CVA-21 in Korean waters, July 6, 1951.
The Vought Corsair is forever engraved in aviation history as the last - - and the finest - - propeller-driven combat airplane.
Each of the services made an airplane great in WWII and history can never forget the Air Force's Boeing B-29 Superfortress, the Navy's Grumman F6G Hellcat and - - most certainly the Marines' Vought F4U Corsair.
To: Mr_Magoo
Each of the services made an airplane great in WWII and history can never forget the Air Force's Boeing B-29 Superfortress, the Navy's Grumman F6G Hellcat and - - most certainly the Marines' Vought F4U Corsair. Excellent story about the Corsair, Magoo...
This may very well be the best closing lines I've seen, to date, for one of your Air Power posts!
102
posted on
09/25/2002 9:41:55 AM PDT
by
HiJinx
To: GatorGirl
22
To: Aeronaut
Good morning Aeronaut and your faithful sidekick Otto. Thank you both for your steadfast overflights of protection.
To: tomkow6
"I find every OTHER year works best! LOL!"LOL! Tom, you are not going to believe this: My dad was born in 1890. He was VERY old-fashioned when we were growing up. But one thing he was very strict about was bathing. Bathing more than once a year was bad for the health, so he didn't do it.
One year, we caught him bathing out of season. We were all going around, whispering to each other, "What's wrong with Dad?" "Is he going to the hospital?"
My youngest sister was about 4 at the time, and she piped up and said, "I know!" We all looked at her in amazement. "It's simple. I just told Daddy he STINKED."
105
posted on
09/25/2002 9:56:04 AM PDT
by
redhead
To: Valin; Snow Bunny; SAMWolf; MistyCA; Victoria Delsoul; AntiJen; Kathy in Alaska; WVNan; SassyMom; ..
I "misplaced" my copy of THE RULES, but, unfortunately, I found them again....for those of you that are un-aware of THE RULES, I post them now, as a Public Affairs Announcement:
THE RULES
1. THE FEMALE ALWAYS MAKES THE RULES.
2. The rules are subject to change at any time without notification.
3. No male can possibly know all the rules. Nearly all females are born
with this knowledge.
4. If the female suspects the male knows all the rules, she may
immediately change some or all of the rules.
5. THE FEMALE IS NEVER WRONG.
6. If the female is wrong, it is because of a misunderstanding, which
was a direct result of something the male did or said wrong.
7. If rule #6 applies, the male must apologize immediately, if not sooner,
for causing the misunderstanding.
8. THE FEMALE CAN CHANGE HER MIND AT ANY GIVEN POINT IN TIME.
9. The male must never change his mind without the express written
consent from the female.
10. THE FEMALE HAS EVERY RIGHT TO BE ANGRY OR UPSET AT ANY
TIME.
11. The male must remain calm at all times, unless the female wants
him to be angry or upset.
12. The female must under no circumstances let the male know whether
or not she wants him to be angry or upset.
13. Any attempt to change these rules could result in severe bodily harm.
106
posted on
09/25/2002 9:57:19 AM PDT
by
tomkow6
To: JustAmy
"Around here - answer stupid questions." LOL
Hi, Sis! : )
To: Snow Bunny
Dog Tags...Bump !!
Fire Democrats, hire Republicans !!
GWB Is The Man !!
Snuff Saddam, NOW !!
Death To all Tyrant's !!
The Second Amendment...
America's Original Homeland Security !!
Freedom Is Worth Fighting For !!
Molon Labe !!
108
posted on
09/25/2002 10:03:42 AM PDT
by
blackie
To: MoJo2001
Please keep our enemies one step behind and our troops one step ahead. May your Guiding Light lead them to victory!MoJo, this is a beautifully said prayer.
May you help those of us in the Canteen help bring joy, comfort, and peace for those that fight on our behalf.
Hear, hear! Thank you so much for this prayer this morning.
To: tomkow6
Wow alert, tom! This picture of the Air Traffic Controllers is terrific. My hope is that a loved one might be lurking and see their son. Or that one of the young men may be able to lurk at the Canteen, see himself and let his family know.
To: Victoria Delsoul
Victoria, I love that graphic of the POW/MIA stamp! I bought lots and lots of those stamps until the Post Office told me I couldn't get them any more. Had to add additional postage, but I used them all. Thank you for the visual reminder.
To: ST.LOUIE1
Hi Bro
Two blondes are on opposite sides of a lake.
One blonde yells to the other, "How do you get to the other side?"
"You are on the other side," yells the other blonde.
112
posted on
09/25/2002 10:52:13 AM PDT
by
JustAmy
To: MoJo2001
To: All
Hi All:
Awesome! Incredible! Whatever other superlatives come to mind!
The Canteen news and information comments and graphics are heart-stirring and mind-shaking examples of the differences between now and way back then.
The foundations of our heritage of Freedom and Western Civilization are so wide and so deep, and so costly in lives and effort, and so priceless in value, one wonders how anyone can fail to marvel at our great good fortune.
My recollections of the world out there beyond the direct reach of my own senses go back 80 years. And I have disjointed impressions of a few impressive personal experiences that go back a couple of years before that.
My point, if I have one, is to do with seeing, today, photos and texts of yesterdays happenings in Afghanistan for example. Real people doing real things, right now, in the war against terrorism!
And the history! Mere words cannot convey my feelings at my age when I read about and see pictures of the Warriors for Freedom and their ships and equipage of decades and centuries ago.
And I receive E-mail - - some with photos - - about the terrible butchery and savagery that Islam is at this moment visiting, upon Christians especially, in places like the Sudan for example.
Free Republic in general, and the USO Canteen specifically, represent important, maybe even crucial, threads in the fabric of Freedom.
Truly, the internet is one of Freedom's most effective weapons against ignorance and apathy and tyranny.
God bless.
Ol Tom.
To: Severa
Good morning, Severa. Thanks to your hubby for his service to our country and to you for serving as a Navy wife.
Hi JJ and Robbie!
Comment #116 Removed by Moderator
To: HighWheeler
Morning, HiWheeler. Very good Jokes of the Day! And the history was good, too.
Comment #118 Removed by Moderator
To: B4Ranch
"Sir, this is the third day in a row you have been here asking to speak to Mr. Clinton; I've told you already that Mr. Clinton is no longer the president and no longer resides here. Don't you understand?" The old man looked at the Marine, smiled, and said, "Oh, I understand. I just love hearing it." The Marine snapped to attention, saluted and said, "See you tomorrow, Sir.
I love hearing it too! Thanks.
Comment #120 Removed by Moderator
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