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Re: Mojave Corsair

Posted by Rob Mears on Fri Dec 19, 2003 06:17:25 PM

In reply top Mojave Corsair posted by bdk on Fri Dec 19, 2003 02:52:43 PM

That is in fact one of the Bob Bean Corsairs (BuNo.97349) that had previously been sold by Bean to the Tuscon Inn. There it was displayed in front of the establishment on a short concrete pole for about five years.

Wally McDonnell recovered the plane for the USMC Museum around 1978 and relocated it to his place of business at Mojave where it was to be refurbished for display. This was one of about a half-dozen Corsairs that made their way through McDonnell's establishment during the 1970's. Most all of the Corsairs now owned and displayed by the USMC Museum were routed through McDonnell during that time.

Around 1980 the USMC Museum decided to recover their remaining airframes from McDonnell and relocate the stuff to other locations - some for storage and others to be completed by other parties. I've never determined what exactly happened between McDonnell and the USMC to have created the bad blood, but the head of the USMC Museum at that time (Col. Joe Payton) was not at all pleased to recount the situation. I've found that McDonnell himself is more apt to slam the phone down on its receiver than to recount the events of that time ;)

One questionable fact about BuNo.97349 is that its data plate was switched with that of F4U-4 BuNo.97142. Both of these planes were ex-Bean Corsairs which were restored alongside each other at McDonnell's during the late 1970's. Navy museum records show that the 'Polka Dot nosed' BuNo.97349 was transferred to the National Museum of Naval Aviation in Pensacola. On the contrary, the plane hanging from the ceiling in that museum is in fact BuNo.97142. The USMC Museum had BuNo.97349 relocated to Pima Air Museum after Mr. McDonnell had completed its static restoration.

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