Whistling Death

“Whistling Death.” (Photo by Ron Palermo.)

“Ron, that’s a fabulous photograph,” I said.
“I just blogged a Corsair among my April calendars, and your picture is better than the calendar-picture.”
Ron, like me, is a retired Regional Transit bus-driver. For 16&1/2 years (1977-1993) I drove bus for Regional Transit Service (RTS) in Rochester, NY, a public employer, the transit-bus operator in Rochester and environs.
Ron also belongs to the nearby National Warplane Museum at Geneseo’s Airport. They have a collection of classic propellor airplanes, including a few WWII warbirds. They also have a jet-powered T-33 trainer, based on the F-80 “Shooting Star.”
Every summer they put on an airshow of classic airplanes, many of which are WWII warbirds. They display a hosted B-17, plus their own C-47 transport, the military version of the Douglas DC-3.
The show attracts many classic airplanes, many of which are WWII warbirds. Many are P-51 Mustangs. All bow to the Mustang fighter-plane. All Americans, by law, should be required to see, and hear, a P-51 Mustang fly.
In 2014 the show attracted the Chance-Vought F4U Corsair pictured above. I also took my own photograph, but Ron’s is way better.
The Corsair was stored inside the group’s hanger. There it was, wings folded just like on a carrier-deck, “Hose-Nose,” “Whistling Death.”
Ron got it right! Prominent is that huge 14-foot propeller, and its Pratt and Whitney R-2800-8 engine. Corsairs lack the beauty and grace of a P-51, but face-on they mean business.
The Grumman F6F Hellcat uses the same engine, but it’s not as fast. The Corsair is a hotrod, minimal airplane with a monster motor. A Corsair was capable of over 400 mph; first for a single-engine fighter.
Corsairs were a terror in the skies. Japanese pilots called ‘em “Whistling-Death” because they emitted a whistle in hot pursuit. Those Japanese pilots considered the Corsair their greatest threat.
Corsairs are rife with compromise, so are easy to identify. It’s that inverted gull-wing, necessitated by that giant propellor. In order to clear that propellor the landing-gear would have had to be stilts. Instead the wing was drooped.
“Not often does a Corsair make that airshow,” Ron said.
In 2014 one did. I shot it too, but Ron got the extraordinary.