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| Post-War A place to discuss post WWII to Vietnam. |
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| | #1 |
| Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: FL
Posts: 3,529
| Last Corsair Kills and F4U vs P-51's Corsairs flew their final combat missions during the 1969 "Football War" between Honduras and El Salvador. The conflict was famously triggered, though not really caused, by a disagreement over a football match. Both sides claimed various numbers of kills, and predictably each side disputed the claims of the other Both Honduras and El Salvador flew Corsairs during the conflict. The Air Force of El Salvador had 13 FG-1D corsairs in it inventory and the Honduran Air Force had a total of 17 Corsairs (nine F4U-5s and eight F4U-4s) in its roster but it is unlikely that all of the fighters from either air force were operational. The planes were primarily used in ground attack roles and all reports seem to indicate that Honduras made better use of their Corsairs than their opponents. The success of the Honduran Corsairs in the football war was due in large part to their strategy of using the fighters for both strategic and tactical targets. In one notable raid carried out by Honduran Corsairs, they were able to crater the runway of their opponent's principal airbase and, in the process, destroy an El Salvadoran Corsair on the ground. Another raid by the Honduran Corsairs against a commercially run oil storage facility resulted in the destruction of 20% of the Salvadoran fuel reserves. While aerial combat was rare in this conflict, there were some air-to-air engagements for the Corsair. On the morning of 17 July, a Honduran F4U-5 flown by Maj. Fernando Soto Enrique (then a Capt.) downed one of two Salvadoran P-51s that had been attacking two Honduran Corsairs on a ground support mission. Later, on his fourth sortie of the day, Maj. Soto shot down two FG-1D Corsairs from El Salvador in a single engagement. It is ironic that the last dogfighting victories for the Corsair would be over other Corsairs. To this day, Maj. Soto is the only pilot from any Central American Air force to be credited with an air combat victory. Football War - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia |
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| | #2 |
| Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Orange County, CA
Posts: 10,813
| Great story!
__________________ "Pilot to copilot..... what are those mountain goats doing up here in the clouds?" |
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| | #3 |
| Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Colorado, USA
Posts: 1,896
| To this day, Maj. Soto is the only pilot from any Central American Air force to be credited with an air combat victory. That's pretty amazing, since there has been a lot of turmoil there. What if Mexico tried to fight a war?
__________________ ![]() "His motor's conked out!" "What's the differance, they're all Nazis!" "Luke, shut up!" "Fear the hook!" "Oh.....I wanna fly." "You mean the kind that go under water and fly up the stairs?" "What you doing? Oh Nooooo!" |
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| | #4 |
| aka Dickcheese ![]() Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Washington State
Posts: 14,011
| They'd have to stop at noon for a siesta.
__________________ "Some people spend an entire lifetime wondering if they made a difference in the world. But, the [U.S.] Marines don't have that problem." -- Ronald Reagan Master of Duplicate Posts |
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| | #5 |
| IP/Mech THE GREAT GAZOO ![]() Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Colorado, USA
Posts: 16,877
| Soto's Plane...
__________________ > I Support Doug Gillis < |
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| | #6 |
| Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: FL
Posts: 3,529
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| | #7 |
| Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: FL
Posts: 3,529
| Great subject for an aviation artist: Corsair slashing through P-51's |
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| | #8 |
| aka Dickcheese ![]() Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Washington State
Posts: 14,011
| Lyle?
__________________ "Some people spend an entire lifetime wondering if they made a difference in the world. But, the [U.S.] Marines don't have that problem." -- Ronald Reagan Master of Duplicate Posts |
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| | #9 |
| Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Montrose, Colorado
Posts: 3,525
| Good stuff comis, thank you, great picture. |
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| | #10 |
| Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Montrose, Colorado
Posts: 3,525
| Thanks Flyboy for the picture. Good looking airplane. I guess that story settles the argument about which fighter was superior, Corsair or Mustang? Just kidding! |
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| | #11 |
| IP/Mech THE GREAT GAZOO ![]() Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Colorado, USA
Posts: 16,877
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__________________ > I Support Doug Gillis < |
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| | #12 |
| Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: FL
Posts: 3,529
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| | #13 |
| Minister of Whoopass ![]() Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Long Island Native in Mississippi
Posts: 18,463
| He could tell ya, but then he'd have to kill u...
__________________ My IL2 Video Tribute to My Grandfather: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HtzN5RuNNJk My 1/32nd Rendition of His Corsair: http://www.ww2aircraft.net/forum/2-p...3-a-20416.html |
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| | #14 |
| Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: FL
Posts: 3,529
| I think Corsairs could still pull their weight as drug interdicion planes... Scenereo: Cessna 414 flying at 300 feet w/o nav lights near Nogalas. They refuse attempts at visual communiction Shells from four 20mm cannons rip through the fusealge Hell, they should go back into prduction. |
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| | #15 |
| IP/Mech THE GREAT GAZOO ![]() Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Colorado, USA
Posts: 16,877
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__________________ > I Support Doug Gillis < |
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