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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