66 | FLIGHTPATH
combined with snow, ice, and poor visibility,
but Navy composite squadrons had the add-
ed problem of launching from and landing
on a moving aircraft carrier at sea. That,
however, is where the similarity ended, as
many carrier-based night fighter pilots tak-
ing off and landing on a short flight deck, in
extreme weather conditions, experienced
mind-numbing stress, gut-wrenching take-
offs and landings, loneliness, anger, and bit-
terness. F4U-5 night and all-weather air-
craft were assigned to a detachment or
detachments belonging to a larger compos-
ite squadron that operated a variety of fight-
ers and fighter-bombers. A night fighter
detachment typically consisted of five F4U-
5N/L Corsairs, five pilots, and some 30 to 40
maintenance and ordnance personnel. Lt.
James Brown, serving aboard the aircraft
carrier USS Oriskany (CVA 34) and as-
signed to Detachment “George” of VC-3 dur-
ing the winter of 1952-53, experienced first-
hand the stress of flying a F4U-5NL during
harsh winter conditions.
On one particular evening in the Sea of Ja-
pan as Brown remembers, four of the detach-
ment’s Corsairs prepared to leave USS
Oriskany’s deck to fly a night interdiction
mission. The aircraft they were to fly had
been stored on the warm hanger deck locat-
ed below before being raised on the carrier’s
elevator to the frigid flight deck for a catapult
launch. The first, flown by the team leader
launched without difficulty, but a second
preparing to take off suffered a ruptured oil
line as it went to full power and the pilot
aborted. The third Corsair’s catapult cable
broke as it started down the flight deck, and
not having enough power for a successful
launch, the pilot jammed on the brakes caus-
ing both tires to blow out. The fully-loaded
aircraft slid sideways and skidded towards
the edge of the deck. Miraculously, the air-
craft came to a stop within inches of falling
into the sea without catching fire. Mean-
while, the team leader orbited above the ship,
his aircraft burning fuel, as the fourth Cor-
sair ran into trouble with one of its wing lock-
ing pins. One wing went down and locked
without a problem but the other, frozen solid,
would not move. After several unsuccessful
attempts to lock the wing into position, a
plane handler, in total darkness, climbed out
onto the wing, which extended over the
deck’s 50 feet above the sea and jumped up
and down until he broke the pin free and it
slid into place. This Corsair launched, and
joined up with the team leader; only two out
of the four aircraft VC-3 had planned for the
mission made it into the air that night.
Interdiction proved a thankless task as
night ground attacks on troops, vehicles and
bridges would be cleared up and bridges re-
paired by dawn. The lack of evidence to sup-
port the pilot’s reports caused distrust on the
part of senior officers. Lieutenant JamesBrown of VC-3 was taken down with “Don’t
try to win this war all by yourself” by a senior
naval officer. In the air, US Navy pilot Lt Guy
P Bordelon, Jr and Major John F. Bolt of the
Marine Corps both scored five kills, but only
Bordelon, of VC-3 scored all five of his kills at
night between June and July 1953 flying his
Corsair. The first were Yak 18 trainers being
used as night ‘hecklers’, while later the nota-
ble Lavochkin La-11a fighter was his tough
target, the last exploding in front of his guns,
destroying his night vision, and forcing him
to swiftly switch and rely on his autopilot to
fly out of trouble. Ten days after, the Korean
armistice came in to effect, and by the time
the next war flared up, the night fighting
Corsairs had flown into history.The extracts on
W.W. II (previous
issue) and Korean
War era night
fighting Corsairs
are from Alan C
Cary’s book ‘Night
Cats & Corsairs’
published by
Schiffer, and
reviewed in
this issue.RIGHT: A fully armed
F4U-5N of VMFN-513
on the ground in
Korea. [US Navy]
BELOW: Engine run-up
on VC-3 NP-5 aboard
Philippine Sea.
Vought modified 101
F4U-5Ns to the –NL
configuration. The
–NL saw extensive
service in the Korean
Conflict, primarily
with VC-3 and
VMF(N)-513. [Robert A.
Rice via Nicholas A. Veronico]
ABOVE: F4U-5NL Corsairs of VC-3 in the foreground aboard USS
Philippine Sea (CV-47) off Korea. Detachments from VC-3, nicknamed
‘The Night Hawks,’ operated from this carrier on four separate occasions
from 5 July 1950 to August 1953. [Robert A. Rice via Nicholas A. Veronico]