'Best damned fighter plane in the world': MAPS volunteers rebuilding Goodyear WWII Corsair

Alan Ashworth, Akron Beacon Journal
Updated ·4 min read
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Dennis Bachtel tends to the reconstruction of a Goodyear Corsair fighter plane May 8 at the MAPS Air Museum in Green. Bachtel demonstrates using cleco fasteners on the inner wing, which are used before adding rivets at a later time.
Dennis Bachtel tends to the reconstruction of a Goodyear Corsair fighter plane May 8 at the MAPS Air Museum in Green. Bachtel demonstrates using cleco fasteners on the inner wing, which are used before adding rivets at a later time.

Tucked inside the headquarters building of the MAPS Air Museum in Green, volunteers are restoring an Akron-built Corsair, one of the U.S. military's most successful and powerful fighters in World War II.

Workers at Goodyear built slightly more than 4,000 of the aircraft, known for its speed and firepower, and the mechanical star of the 1976-1978 television series "Baa Baa Black Sheep."

Denny Bachtel, chairman of the MAPS board, said the cockpit section of the Vought Aircraft-designed plane is original, built in Akron. It came to MAPS from Goodyear, where it was on display before the company closed its World of Rubber museum in 2009.

California firm Vultures Row donates landing gear for Corsair

Cleco fasteners are arranged on the inner wing of the Goodyear Corsair at the MAPS Air Museum.
Cleco fasteners are arranged on the inner wing of the Goodyear Corsair at the MAPS Air Museum.

The restoration has been a gradual process as the volunteer crew follows the original specs, although some modifications in materials — steel instead of aluminum for the wing structure, for instance — are necessary. The rebuilding process follows the original dimensions, Bachtel said.

Stored nearby the Corsair is one of the 2,000-horsepower Pratt & Whitney engines that powered the deadly fighter, and the 13.5-foot propeller.

The plane featured six 50-caliber, wing-mounted machine guns and could carry a couple of bombs, he said.Bachtel said the project is about half done, but will still take several years to complete.

The restoration of a Goodyear Corsair fighter plane at the MAPS Air Museum is the most complex project the museum has ever undertaken, the facility's chairman says.
The restoration of a Goodyear Corsair fighter plane at the MAPS Air Museum is the most complex project the museum has ever undertaken, the facility's chairman says.
Goodyear Corsair parts glow green after a paint job at the MAPS Air Museum.
Goodyear Corsair parts glow green after a paint job at the MAPS Air Museum.

The crew is currently working on the right wing.

"This is a very complicated piece to fit," he said. "We're getting ready to rivet it together."

Bachtel said local companies have donated their expertise as the project moves forward. A California company, Vultures Row Aviation, donated the landing gear.

Corsair was a favorite of World War II pilots, military brass

Dennis Bachtel shows the Goodyear Corsair that's being restored at the MAPS Air Museum. Goodyear donated the cockpit, which was part of its World of Rubber Museum until that attraction closed in 2009.
Dennis Bachtel shows the Goodyear Corsair that's being restored at the MAPS Air Museum. Goodyear donated the cockpit, which was part of its World of Rubber Museum until that attraction closed in 2009.

Newspaper accounts during World War II offer high praise for the fighter-bomber. An Aug. 4, 1943, article in the Akron Beacon Journal called it the "Zero-killing Corsair." The Zero was the main Japanese fighter plane and at the beginning of the war was regarded as superior to Allied fighters.

Lt. Howard Paine, quoted in the story, went further in his praise of the Corsair.

"The F4U (Navy Corsair) is the best damned fighter plane in the world," Paine said. "One took two Zeros off my tail."

On April 8, 1943, Rear Admiral Ralph Davison visited the Goodyear plant in Akron.

"The Navy pilots are crazy about the Corsair," Davison said.

Battle reports showed the Corsair had superior speed and firepower compared to the Zeros, he said.

Plane under restoration named 'Sweet Velda' for a Rosie the Riveter

The Goodyear Corsair is named Sweet Velda after Velda Elma (Tharp) Graham. Velda was a "Rosie the Riveter" during World War II and volunteered to work on the Corsair before she died in 2022.
The Goodyear Corsair is named Sweet Velda after Velda Elma (Tharp) Graham. Velda was a "Rosie the Riveter" during World War II and volunteered to work on the Corsair before she died in 2022.

Goodyear produced slightly more than 4,000 of the fighters, said Bachtel.

About 3,000 went to the Navy and 1,000 to the United Kingdom.

"They (Goodyear workers) built about half of them," he said.

Goodyear workers like Velda Graham, a "Rosie the Riveter" who visited the crew at MAPS a few years ago to examine the plane she might have worked on. The MAPS team was so impressed with Graham's story they named the plane "Sweet Velda."

"She came here a couple of years ago (and we) had her do some riveting," he said. "We've got to put her name on the aircraft."

Graham died in February 2022; she was 99 years old. Her obituary refers to her work during the war, calling it what "she was most proud of."

Corsair is MAPS' 'most complex project'

Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. donated a model Corsair that is displayed in the MAPS Air Museum in Green.
Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. donated a model Corsair that is displayed in the MAPS Air Museum in Green.

Kim Kovesci, executive director of the air museum, said interest in the museum has risen in recent years, with about 40,000 visitors expected this year. It had about 6,200 when he started.

The museum features military aircraft and exhibits and includes a 1908 glider built by Canton native William H. Martin. Aircraft used in many military conflicts of the 20th century, including World War II and Vietnam, are on display.

The amount of work put in to restore an aircraft can run into thousands of hours. The B-26 Marauder project took 13,500 volunteer work hours to complete, according to the MAPS website.

Volunteers from all backgrounds can take part in restoring or building an aircraft. A diagram of the tail wheel assembly is taped to the back of the aircraft.
Volunteers from all backgrounds can take part in restoring or building an aircraft. A diagram of the tail wheel assembly is taped to the back of the aircraft.

But the Corsair project is unique, said Bachtel.

More: Local history: Akron woman, 100, recalls Rosie the Riveter days and career in teaching

"This is the most complex project anyone's done here," he said. "Other than the cockpit, we're building it."

The propeller for a Goodyear Corsair is stored in a MAPS Air Museum garage for eventual attachment to the plane that's currently being reconstructed.
The propeller for a Goodyear Corsair is stored in a MAPS Air Museum garage for eventual attachment to the plane that's currently being reconstructed.

Leave a message for Alan Ashworth at 330-996-3859 or email him at aashworth@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @newsalanbeaconj or Facebook at www.facebook.com/alan.newsman.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: MAPS restoring 'best damned fighter' Corsair at air museum in Green