BUILT
BuNo. 1850, Lt. Charles Shields, VF-41, USS Ranger (CV-4), December 1940
The first production block of the Wildcat resulted in 49 aircraft and was delivered in a prewar
scheme, meaning that the fuselage and lower wing
surfaces were sprayed in aluminum, and the upper
wing surfaces were yellow. Wing markings were
carried in all four positions, and on the fuselage
they were either applied near the front or on the
August 2022
engine cowling. The color of the tail surfaces designated the aircraft’s home carrier. In this case,
the carrier in question is the USS Ranger (CV-4),
which was the first to receive Wildcats, followed
by the USS Wasp (CV-7). The bands on the fuselage and wings, including the engine cowl ring,
indicated which unit section the aircraft was flown
by, and in the case of white, this would have been
Section No. 2. Photographs of this aircraft show
it prior to being delivered to the unit, and without
weapons or its telescopic gunsight. The first nineteen aircraft within this production block had the
engine cowl split into upper and lower halves.
INFO Eduard
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