Serelle Posted May 8, 2007 Share Posted May 8, 2007 Hi folks! Does anybody know the history behind the Brewster Rack used on Corsairs during WW2? Why it's called Brewster? Who had the idea? Which was the first squadron to use it? Thanks for any help on this. Serelle Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Jay Chladek Posted May 8, 2007 Share Posted May 8, 2007 Well, there were two types of racks deployed on the F4U-1As. The first was a field modified rack deployed by units in the pacific which allowed them to carry up to a 1000 pound sized bomb on a centerline rack. Prior to this, all they could carry were a pair of 100 lb. bombs on the wings. The so-called "Brewster" rack was a more substantial looking design built by the Brewster aircraft company. Brewster license built their own Corsairs (designated F3As), but they were considered so substandard to the Vought and Goodyear Corsairs that they mainly were used for stateside training (although the RN got some on Lend Lease and did deploy them operationally). But, the Brewster built bomb rack was used on later model F4U-1As and FG-1s. By the time the F4U-1D and FG-1D came online, they had gone with the twin centerline bombrack arrangement we are most familiar with which allowed the carrying of both bombs and a centerline drop tank (A Brewster rack equipped Corsair could carry a tank or a bomb, but not both). According to the D&S Corsair book, the Brewster rack was fitted to F4U-1A BuNos 17930 thru 50349. It doesn't say which units had them or which units utilized the first field modification racks. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Serelle Posted May 8, 2007 Author Share Posted May 8, 2007 Thanks for your great explanation Jay. This doubt came up yesterday when I was reading Barrett Tilmann's book "Corsair" and there he says that VF-17 personell made field modifications on their Corsairs to carry a 1000lbs bomb on the centerline. According to Tilmann, VF-17 was the first USN squadron to use this rack. Immediately I thought about the Brewster rack, but seems it was not. Now... considering Academy's F4U-1A in 1/72.... is the rack provided in this kit the Brewster one or the field modified? :) Serelle Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Andrew D. the Jolly Rogers guy Posted May 8, 2007 Share Posted May 8, 2007 Yes, VF-17 made some homemade/improvised bomb racks for an A-G mission they undertook after the Japanese aircraft cleared out of Rabaul leaving them hungry for targets; as homemade racks, these would NOT have been the actual Brewster racks; for all I know, it may have helped inspire Brewster's group. Not familiar with the Academy kit, but I did just get the Aires wheel well set for it to use on another manufacturer's Corsair, and it's fantastic! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Serelle Posted May 8, 2007 Author Share Posted May 8, 2007 (edited) Hello Andrew. Thanks for your confirmation about the rack. Do you have any pic from these improvised racks? but I did just get the Aires wheel well set for it to use on another manufacturer's Corsair, and it's fantastic! Good to know that... I've just ordered the Aires wheel well and cockpit sets for the Academy kit! ;) :) Serelle Edited May 8, 2007 by Serelle Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Andrew D. the Jolly Rogers guy Posted May 8, 2007 Share Posted May 8, 2007 Well, if you ever get a chance to do the Tamiya 1/72 Corsairs, I can't say enough good things about them, especially compared to the Hase ones I did several of for my JR history collection. As far as their improvised ones, I haven't found any photos of them, no, but there is one fantastic contact I recently made who might. I'll keep you in mind on the off chance that any turn up. -A- Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Joe Hegedus Posted May 8, 2007 Share Posted May 8, 2007 Well, if you ever get a chance to do the Tamiya 1/72 Corsairs, I can't say enough good things about them, especially compared to the Hase ones I did several of for my JR history collection. As far as their improvised ones, I haven't found any photos of them, no, but there is one fantastic contact I recently made who might. I'll keep you in mind on the off chance that any turn up. -A- I want to say that there's a photo of one of the improvised ones in Blackburn's book (sorry, I don't recall the title offhand). It was a very crude affair consiting of some pipes welded together in basically a "square U" shape with some bent pipe to hold swaypads. It looked to be unpainted in the photo. Any of the racks included in kits would be the "Brewster" rack rather than the field-built items. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Andrew D. the Jolly Rogers guy Posted May 8, 2007 Share Posted May 8, 2007 Photo in Blackburn's book? I've got the paperback (really should have the hardcover with my interest...) and don't recall any photos that I can remember; are there photos in the hardcover? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Serelle Posted May 8, 2007 Author Share Posted May 8, 2007 (edited) Well, if you ever get a chance to do the Tamiya 1/72 Corsairs, I can't say enough good things about them, especially compared to the Hase ones I did several of for my JR history collection. I have a -1D and a Birdcage from Tamiya. This -1A from Academy was a gift from a friend and I want to take the best of it. ;) I have a something like pocket book edition of Blackburn's book as well. It has some few pics inside but I really don't remember seeing the rack on any of them. But Joe's description is similar to the rack included on Academy kit... or, it could be a very good starting point to depict it. Andrew... if you get a better pic, please let me know! :) Serelle Edited May 8, 2007 by Serelle Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Serelle Posted May 8, 2007 Author Share Posted May 8, 2007 Got this drawing guys... is this correct? Academy part depict (or try to) the left rack. Joe, this rack labeled as Field Modification matches with what you've seen on Blackburn's book? Serelle Quote Link to post Share on other sites
don f Posted May 9, 2007 Share Posted May 9, 2007 Got this drawing guys... is this correct? Academy part depict (or try to) the left rack. Joe, this rack labeled as Field Modification matches with what you've seen on Blackburn's book? Serelle Serelle, Here's an image of the field made bomb rack: Take note that this version appears to use the normal F4U-1 wing bomb rack bolted to the homemade support structure. The bomb uses the single suspension point. The drawing of the Brewster bomb rack is mostly correct. The bomb shackle detail is missing. The shackle used the bombs two point suspension lugs. The sway braces also had a stiffener (a rod) that joined one side of the sway brace to the other. See page 49 of D&S Vol. 55. Don Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Serelle Posted May 9, 2007 Author Share Posted May 9, 2007 So... is that the one used by VF-17? Thanks a lot for the pic Don! It don't seem to be so difficult to replicate indeed. Serelle Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Joe Hegedus Posted May 9, 2007 Share Posted May 9, 2007 Photo in Blackburn's book? I've got the paperback (really should have the hardcover with my interest...) and don't recall any photos that I can remember; are there photos in the hardcover? Yes, the hardcover has photos in it, and it is where I saw the photo of the field-improvised rack. The drawing Serelle posted is what it looked like per the photo-that's the same image as is in the book I've got. Joe Quote Link to post Share on other sites
don f Posted May 9, 2007 Share Posted May 9, 2007 So... is that the one used by VF-17? Thanks a lot for the pic Don! It don't seem to be so difficult to replicate indeed. Serelle Serelle, Pleased to be of assistance. Take note of a couple of details in the image. 1.) Look at the backfire pressure relief valves; the three disks just behind the bomb rack support structure. All of the Tamiya kits have this wrong. Tamiya must have used a restored aircraft that was missing part of the valves. You can correct the Tamiya kit by filling the recessed opening with a piece of plastic and scribing the circular details as shown in the image. 2.) The intercooler air door was a "pleat and flap". The Tamiya kits have this wrong. It would have been difficult to mold this part, so they settled for a simplified representation. This is harder to fix requiring removal of the kit part and making the pleats. I'm not sure if any PE sets have the corrected part. Or perhaps these corrections are too minor to bother with. Don Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Andrew D. the Jolly Rogers guy Posted May 9, 2007 Share Posted May 9, 2007 Sheesh...I definitely need to invest in the hardcover.... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Serelle Posted May 9, 2007 Author Share Posted May 9, 2007 Nice comments on Tamiya kit Don, I had already noticed the problems on the relief valves, but not on the intercooler air doors. But that seems to be very difficult to replicate, specially in a 1/72 kit. Now.... if you notice on pic you've posted, there's a small panel/door opened on the lower wing, and you can see it directly over the middle of the bomb rack. Seems to be located next to the wingroot air intake. What was that? Did it ever stay opended on a parked aircraft? Serelle Quote Link to post Share on other sites
don f Posted May 9, 2007 Share Posted May 9, 2007 Now.... if you notice on pic you've posted, there's a small panel/door opened on the lower wing, and you can see it directly over the middle of the bomb rack. Seems to be located next to the wingroot air intake. What was that? Did it ever stay opended on a parked aircraft? Serelle, That's the hydraulically actuated cooling flap for the wing root mounted oil cooler. The flap would be in whatever position the pilot selected. The kit has the flap closed. It could be in any position from fully closed to fully open. Leaving the flap closed saves you from making the detail visible when it's open - the internal structure, back of the oil cooler, etc. Don Quote Link to post Share on other sites
otis252 Posted May 10, 2007 Share Posted May 10, 2007 Hi Guys, In this thread, there has been several mentions of Blackburns book. I'm sorry, but what is the books name. It sounds interesting. Thanks Chuck Quote Link to post Share on other sites
David Walker Posted May 10, 2007 Share Posted May 10, 2007 I believe it's this one. I have a smaller paperback version of it: http://www.amazon.com/Jolly-Rogers-Blackbu...n/dp/0935553193 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Serelle Posted May 10, 2007 Author Share Posted May 10, 2007 Hi Guys,In this thread, there has been several mentions of Blackburns book. I'm sorry, but what is the books name. It sounds interesting. Thanks Chuck Here it is Chuck! Don, thanks again! :P Serelle Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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