Doug Matthews
flying F4U-4 Corsair
BuNo. 97359 near
Ramona, California.
70 | FLIGHTPATH
A dummy 500-pound bomb mounted under the wing
centre section of F4U-4 Corsair BuNo. 97359.from the aircraft carrier USS Leyte, Hudn-
er’s wingman, the U.S. Navy’s first black pi-
lot, Ensign Jesse L. Brown had to make a
forced landing in rocky, snow-covered
ground behind enemy lines. When Hudner
noticed that Brown was still alive, but
trapped in the cockpit of his smoking Cor-
sair, he crash landed his own Corsair nearby
and tried to free Brown from the cockpit.
As the Corsair began to burn, Hudner alter-
nated between trying to free Brown’s leg
which was pinned in the cockpit and pack-
ing snow against the cowling to fight the
smouldering fire. Although a rescue heli-
copter eventually arrived on the scene, Hud-
ner and the helicopter
pilot together were
still not able to free
Brown who eventually
lapsed into uncon-
sciousness. With
darkness approaching
and the enemy in the
vicinity, Hudner and
the helicopter pilot fi-
nally had to abandon
Brown’s body in the
cockpit of his Corsair.
Hudner was awarded
the Medal of Honor for
his efforts to save his
squadron mate by
President Harry S.
Truman on April 13,
1951 and is currently
trying to return to
North Korea to searchfor Brown’s possible remains. In September
2011, Matthews met Hudner at a Tailhook
Convention in Reno, Nevada and introduced
the Navy hero to the Corsair that replicates
his wartime fighter plane.
Matthews’ F4U-4 Corsair currently flies
with Hudner’s name on the starboard side of
the fuselage and Brown’s name on the port
side. The paint job was done by John Lane
in Idaho, and the Corsair is often seen with
a full complement of replica armament, in-
cluding six .50 machine guns and ammuni-
tion in the wings, eight 5-inch (12.7 cm)
rockets under the outer wing panels, and
500-pound (227 kg) bombs or a pair of
150-gallon (570 litre) drop tanks under the
centre-section. A genuine reflector gun-
sight is often seen in the cockpit as well.
Although the replica external ordnance is
not very heavy, Matthews reports that the
increased weight and drag do make the air-
plane a bit sluggish at the start and the fuel
flow increases by about fifteen percent.
Matthews told us his Corsair has great han-
dling qualities in the air, being light and re-
sponsive on the controls and very stable in
each axis at all speed regimes. The cockpit is
large and comfortable, with the instruments
and controls being particularly well-situated
in the F4U-4. However, the long ‘hose nose’
limits visibility taxiing and on landing in gen-
eral, and gunnery would be a bit more chal-
lenging because the long nose tends to block
the view where the guns are bore-sighted.
In comparison to the P-51D Mustang that
Doug also owns and races at Reno, Mat-
thews noted that the Corsair is a far moreHe crash landed
his Corsair near-
by and tried to
free Brown from
the cockpit...