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Click to Enlarge F4U Corsair

Crash site on Yap Island of FG-1 Corsair VFM-122, USMC, First Lt. Girvis Haltom, Jr.

In 2005 we located and identified the crash site of First Lt. Girvis Haltom, Jr. . Girvis's VFM-122 FG-1 Corsair was shot down by antiaircraft fire on October 24, 1944.

We located a F4U Corsair crash site with the help of a Yapese villager, Louis Ruamoon. At first I thought the crash site might be pieces of the Coleman B-24 bomber, however, with the help of others I have positively identified the wreckage as part of a F4U Corsair. The site is spread out over a 800 yard area. The three main pieces we located included the engine (R-2800-18), radio (ARC-5), and tail wheel section of the fuselage. (See the information below and crash site pictures) In addition, I received information from someone on Yap regarding the location of a larger piece of the fuselage with "gull shaped wings" near the crash site. Due to shortage of time I was not able to visit this piece but left a number of disposable cameras with our guides at the Manta Ray Hotel to take pictures of additional wreckage.

Select One

View Crash Site Pictures-Page: [Index]  [1]  [2]  [3]

Navy CINCPAC COMMUNIQUE reporting a Corsair being lost over Yap on 26 October 1944

Crash Site Wreckage Information to Identify Planes as a Corsair: Engine Large piece of rear fuselage and tail wheel area Radio

F4U Corsair Data from Naval Aircraft (pdf file 1.4 MB)

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Crash Site Wreckage Information

R-2800-18 Engine from crash site New R-2800-18 Engine Engine: (It was hard to read a lot of the numbers so some of the numbers might be wrong.) 18 cylinder engine with a piston bore of 5.5 inches. The following numbers were found on the engine block in different locations: 4574 37743-130 S 50859-62 43266 424 24C Large piece of rear fuselage and tail wheel area: Large piece of fuselage with tail wheel from crash site Back fuselage and tail wheel on a Corsair. Kiwiaircraftimages.com Picture Tail wheel on a Corsair. Kiwiaircraftimages.com Picture The piece has a lot of ribs on the inside with electrical elements and a small access door. The piece has a large hydraulic element attached to the metal. A large faded white circle is on the outside of the piece with some yellow. The following numbers and letters were found on the inside of the piece: VS-11875-1 14ST ALCOA-H NAF 1108 3 The Corsair pictures above noted as "Kiwiaircraftimages.com Pictures" have been used with permission from Phillip Treweek and Kiwiaircraftimages.com. Radio: ARC-5 Radio from crash site New ARC-5 Radio Found a complete T-21 ARC-5 Military Radio near the large piece of wreckage above. The radio is smashed but I can see all the dials and markings. If you look at the pictures on the following pages and compare them to pictures on this web site you'll see an exact match: http://hug-a-bug.com/ARC5xmtr.html Radio has all the tags including CORNELL-MADE IN THE USA Please submit additional information. View Additional Crash Site Pictures-Page: [1]  [2]  [3]

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