[Don Boose]

This paper model by Garry Gillard is of U.S. Navy Grumman F4F-3 Bureau of Aeronautics Number (BuNo) 1850 as it appeared when assigned to Fighting Squadron 41 (VF-41 – “The Red Rippers”) aboard USS Ranger (CV-4) between December 1940 and April 1941, when it was piloted by Lieutenant Charles "Windy" Shields who (flying a different F4F) was credited with downing four French aircraft during Operation TORCH, the November 1942 invasion of North Africa.

The F4F was the fourth carrier fighter designed by Grumman for the U.S. Navy, following the FF-1 (Grumman Design G-5) of 1933 (see Garry’s model at http://www.papermodelers.com/forum/639860-post122.html); the F2F-1 (Grumman Design G-8) of 1935; and the F3F series (F3F-1 [G-11] of 1936 and F3F-2 and F3F-3 [G-19] of 1936 to 1939). The initial proposal, XF4F-1 (G-16) was a biplane that was never built: the contract was cancelled in 1936, and Grumman submitted Design G-18 for the monoplane XF4F-2. Grumman lost the production contract to the Brewster F2A (later named “Buffalo”), but submitted an improved version (G-36) as the XF4F-3, which in its final form was produced as the F4F-3.

Grumman began delivering F4F-3s to the Navy and Marine Corps in August 1940. The first squadrons to receive the new fighters were Fighting Squadron 41 (VF-41) of USS Ranger and VF-71 of USS Wasp. These two carriers had flight decks too short to launch torpedo planes, so their air groups originally included two scout squadrons and no torpedo squadron. In late 1941, one of the scout squadrons in each air group was converted to a fighter squadron. In the case of Ranger’s Air Group 4, VF-4 was renumbered as VF-41 and Scout Squadron VS-4 was renumbered as VF-42 and equipped with fighters.

The Bruno Scissors & Planes model that Garry based his F4F-3 on depicts this aircraft at the Grumman factory in December 1940 as the aircraft was being prepared for delivery. At that time, the Navy had not yet decided which of the Ranger fighter squadrons was to receive the first F4F-3s, so the aircraft was numbered 4 -F-4 with a space after the initial "4" to leave room for a "1" or "2.” See image 1, below. By the time BuNo 1850 was delivered, it had been renumbered 41-F-4.

Garry’s model is in the pre-war natural metal and yellow upper wing surfaces color scheme. The Willow Green tail identifies the aircraft as belonging to Air Group Four (USS Ranger, CV-4). The “41-F-4” fuselage markings and the white cowling and fuselage band identify it as the lead aircraft of Section Two of VF-41. There are also black-outlined white formation chevrons on the wings (these helped the three-aircraft sections maintain formation in the air). The star forward of the cockpit is the Neutrality Patrol marking instituted in September 1939. The VF-41 “Red Rippers” squadron emblem is just under the cockpit. In March and April 1941, VF-41’s aircraft were repainted in overall Neutrality Gray, and in October 1941, all shipboard aircraft were repainted in Blue Gray and Light Gray camouflage.

In January 1942, VF-42 was reassigned to USS Yorktown, which was then deploying to the Pacific, and served with Yorktown through the momentous events of early 1942: the initial carrier raids against Japanese-held islands, the Battle of the Coral Sea, and the Battle of Midway, where Yorktown was sunk.

Ranger and VF-41 served in the Atlantic throughout the war, but BuNo 1850 was converted to long-range photo-reconnaissance configuration (F4F-3P) sometime around May 1942 and assigned to the newly established Marine Observation Squadron 251 (VMO-251). VMO-251 was deployed to the South Pacific, initially at Tontouta, New Caledonia; then to Espiritu Santo from where the squadron participated in the Guadalcanal campaign. BuNo 1850 crashed at sea on 17 November 1942, killing the pilot, Second Lieutenant K.L. Reusser, USMC.

Images:

1. Grumman F4F-3 BuNo 1850 at the Grumman factory in Bethpage, Long Island, New York, in December 1940 as it was being prepared for delivery to the USS Ranger Air Group. At that time, Grumman didn't know whether the aircraft would be delivered to VF-41 or VF-42, so the aircraft is numbered 4 -F-4, with a space after the initial "4" to leave room for a "1" or "2.” By the time 1850 was delivered, it had been renumbered 41-F-4. Source: Larkins, U.S. Navy Aircraft 1921-1941, 284.

2. A painting of Grumman F4F-3 BuNo 1850 during its December 1940 to March 1941 service with Air Group 4 aboard USS Ranger (CV-4). Source: Matthew Laird Acred, Asisbiz, available at https://www.asisbiz.com/il2/Wildcat/VF41/pages/Grumman-F4F-3-Wildcat-VF-41-Black-41F4-BuNo-1850-pilot-Charlie-Shields-CV-4-USS-Ranger-1940-0A.html, used with permission.

3. A Grumman F4F-3P of Marine Observation Squadron 251 (VMO-251) at Espiritu Santo during the Guadalcanal Campaign in 1942. BuNo 1850 would likely have appeared in similar markings at the time it crashed in November 1942. Source: Marine Corps Aviation Reconnaissance Association, Marine Observation Squadron VMO-251) History, available at http://www.mcara.us/VMO-251.html

Sources:

Aerodata International, “Grumman F4F Wildcat,” U.S. Navy Carrier Fighters of World War II, Carrollton, TX: Squadron/Signal Publications, 1987.

Air Group 4: Casablanca to Tokyo, “Fighting 4 (VF-4),” available at http://www.airgroup4.com/fighting.htm

Joe Baugher, “US Navy and US Marine Corps BuNos, Second Series (0001 to 5029),” available at http://www.joebaugher.com/navy_serials/secondseries1.html

Dana Bell, F4F Wildcat, Aircraft Pictorial #4, Tucson, AZ: Classic Warships Publishing, 2012.

Douglas E. Campbell, BuNos! Disposition of World War II USN, USMC and USCG Aircraft, Washington, DC: Syneca Research Group, 2012.

Thomas E. Doll, Berkley R. Jackson, and William A. Riley, Navy Air Colors: United States Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard Camouflage and Markings, Vol. 1 1911-1945, Carrollton, TX: Squadron/Signal, 1983.

John M. Elliott, The Official Monogram US Navy & Marine Corps Aircraft Color Guide, Vol. 2, 1940-1949, Boylston, MA: Monogram Aviation Publications, 1989.

Peter Freeman, Wings of the Fleet: US Navy & Marine Corps Aviation 1919-1941, On Target Special, Ardington, Oxfordshire, UK: The Aviation Workshop Publications Ltd., 2010, p. 91.

Frank L. Green, The Grumman F4F-3 Wildcat, Profile No. 53, Leatherhead, Surrey, UK: Profile Publications, 1965.

William Green and Gordon Swanborough, “Grumman F4F Wildcat,” U.S. Navy and Marine Corps Fighters, WW2 Aircraft Fact Files, New York: Arco Publishing Company, 1977, pp. 3-45.

Bert Kinzey, F4F Wildcat in Detail, Carrollton, TX: Squadron/Signal Publications, 2000.

William T. Larkins, U.S. Navy Aircraft 1921-1941, Concord, CA: Aviation History Publications, 1961.

Don Linn, F4F Wildcat in Action, Aircraft Number 84, Carrollton, TX: Squadron/Signal Publications, 1988.
John B. Lundstrom, The First Team: Pacific Naval Air Combat from Pearl Harbor to Midway, Annapolis: Naval Institute Press, 1984.

---, The First Team and the Guadalcanal Campaign: Naval Fighter Combat from August to November 1942, Annapolis: Naval Institute Press, 1994.

Marine Corps Aviation Reconnaissance Association, Marine Observation Squadron VMO-251 History, available at http://www.mcara.us/VMO-251.html

Mitch Mayborn and others, Grumman Guidebook, American Aircraft Series, Book 4, Dallas, TX: Flying Enterprise Publications, 1976.

Gordon Swanborough and Peter M Bowers, “Grumman F4F Wildcat,” United States Navy Aircraft Since 1911, New York: Funk & Wagnalls, 1968, pp. 204-209.