V7285RNZAF F4U-1D & FG-1D Corsairs, No.23 “Ghost” Squadron, Fighter Leader School & No.14 Sqn in Japan

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F4U-1D NZ5485 “Kohimarama IX”

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Flying Officer Alex Daly sits on NZ5485 “Kohimarama IX”, most likely on Los

Negros, August 1945. Overall colour scheme is Glossy Sea Blue.

Propeller blades are black with yellow-orange tips plus a

white spinner. (Stephanie Brooks)

F4U-1D Corsair NZ5485, Los Negros, August 1945. This aircraft is named ‘Kohimarama IX’ (after a suburb of Auckland). Beneath the name is a green maori tiki. This aircraft was operated by No.23 Squadron “The Ghosts”. Residents near their Ardmore training base said they could not actually see the pilots in their big Corsairs – they appeared to be flown by ghosts. This photo was taken with orthocromatic film causing the yellow ring of the fuselage roundel to appear dark and the blues to appear lighter. (via John Regan)

FG-1D Corsair NZ5617 with No.14 Squadron, RNZAF, Japan, 1946. NZ5617 is in the US Navy all-over Glossy Sea Blue scheme with 48 inch roundels on the wings and 36 inch on the fuselage. Note the painted out “shadow” of the previous roundel-and-bar markings. Propeller blades are black with yellow-orange tips. Spinner is also yellow-orange.

FG-1D Corsair NZ5617 “Verna”

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F4U-1D NZ5566, Fighter Leaders School

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FG-1Ds at Hobsonville airfield ready for barging to the Auckland wharves and loading onto HMS Glory for their trip to Japan. Note the rough over-painting of the older ‘operational’ roundels. (via P. Mossong)

Package contains two decal sheets, V7285 and V7285a.Ventura Decals are printed thinly. Cut out each item and dip in water for a few seconds, then leave to stand on a non absorbent surface. At first the decal will curl up and then flatten out. This indicates it has loosened. Apply carefully to a gloss painted surface and position with a minimum of moving about. We suggest “Micro Set” and “Micro Sol” to aid setting down these decals. WARNING. Test them on a decal from this sheet that is not needed for your subject.

RNZAF Corsairs in JapanAs part of New Zealand’s contribu-tion to the British Commonwealth Occupation Forces in Japan (known in NZ as J Force), No.14 (Fighter) Squadron was reformed at Ardmore, south of Auckland, in December, 1945 and travelled to Japan on the aircraft carrier HMS Glory in March 1946.

The commanding officer was Squadron Leader J.J. De Willimoff, DFC, who had served with distinc-tion in the Pacific, and commanded No.23 Squadron from it’s formation in August 1944 to 1945. The Squadron’s ground train-ing was put in the capable hands of Squadron Leader J.E. Duncan, known to all and sundry as “The Bull” due to his voice!

Ground crew member Len Mossong sitting on the wing of ‘His’ aircraft, NZ5617. Note the taped over and painted gun ports. ‘Verna’ was the name of his then fiancée, later to become his wife. (Peter Mossong)

On 9 May 1947 NZ5617 “Verna” belly landed at Iwakuni. The pilot, Flying Officer P.K. Frame took off on an Army co-operation exercise but found that the undercarriage would not fully retract. He then tried to lower the wheels by various means; attempting to raise and lower the undercarriage, rocking the wings, making high “G” turns and flying at low speed, but all attempts failed. (Peter Mossong)

Colour schemesBasic (Non Specular) Camouflage SchemeNZ5566 is in this scheme. Upper surfaces of fuselage, ANA 607 Non Specular Sea Blue; upper surfaces of mainplanes and tailplanes, ANA 606 Semi Gloss Sea Blue, merged into Non Specular Sea Blue on leading edges. Vertical (side) surfaces of engine cowling, rear fuselage and fin/rudder, ANA 608 In-termediate Blue. Undersurfaces were; ANA 601 Insignia White, but with Intermediate Blue for undersurfaces of mainplanes visible from above, when folded.

There was some variation in the application on the fuselage sides. Between the mainplanes and the vertical tail surfaces the area in Non Specular Intermediate Blue, was generally well defined, the curved sides of engine cowlings were often a graded tone. Our color side view and “crash” photo give a good indication of the scheme on NZ5566.Glossy Sea Blue schemeBoth NZ5485 and NZ5617 were painted in the US Navy all-over Glossy Sea Blue scheme.Robert E. Montgomery reports. The Glossy Sea Blue did not appear as an ANA standard until the issue of ANA Bulletin No.157b, dated 20 August 1946. This writers opinion is that the early examples of a gloss finish were produced by the simple application of clear gloss lacquer over existing Sea Blue paints. Glossy Sea Blue was included in the list of Standard Aircraft Glossy Colours as ANA 523, with the issue of Bulletin No.166d dated 11 March 1959. It is represented by FS 15042 in Fed Std 595b.

Upper wing roundel position for the all-over Glossy Sea Blue NZ5617. The aircraft had 48 inch roundels above and below both wings.

References and Acknowledgements:Stephanie Brooks, daughter of Alex Daly, Robert E. Montgomery, John Regan, David Frowen and Peter Mossong’s web site, http://rnzaf.hobbyvista.com.

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NZ5566 of the Fighter Leader School, Ardmore, 13 April 1945. It’s national insignia has been re-applied in New Zealand, with the roundel diameters reduced from the original US Navy size. (via A. Galbraith)

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14NB: Overpaint the dark blue of decal 14 with medium blue to match the roundels.