Cleveland Corsairs

THE POST- WAR CLEVELAND NATIONAL AIR RACES WERE TO BE DOMINATED BY SUPER CoRsAIRs

With the war over, the Cleveland National Air Races came back to life. Gone were the wonderful one-of-a-kind "homebuilt" racers that had shown so much creativity in the pre-war events. They were replaced by a wide variety of surplus military aircraft - aircraft that offered undreamed of performance in the pre-war years. Mustangs, Airacobras, Lightnings, Kingcobras and other ex-warriors battled around the pylons to achieve the magic number one position and take home the prize money and trophies.

Big and with a thick wing, it did not seem like the Vought/Goodyear Corsair series would be ideal for the pylons but one FG-ID was entered by a former Navy pilot named Cook Cleland. Registered NX69900, the FG-11) was fairly stock but managed a sixth place finish in the 1946 event. However, Cleland had much bigger things on his mind.

Cook knew that some of the surviving Super Corsairs were stored and could be purchased if the right connections were made. The connections were apparently made and for the 1947 event, the menacing shapes of four Super Corsairs were parked on the Cleveland ramp (Cleland was paying around $1250 per aircraft). XF2G-1 NX91092/BuNo 14694 carried race number 18 and was finished in a dark blue scheme with orange cowling and was flown by Ron Puckett. F2G-2 NX5577N/BuNo 88463/#74 was finished in dark blue with white trim and the pilot was Cook Cleland. F2G-1 NX5588N/BuNo 88457/184 was finished in either black or dark blue with white trim and piloted by Tony Janazzo. XF2G-I NX5590N/BuNo 14693/#94 was overall white with red trim and Dick Becker was the pilot.

It was to be a momentous Thompson Trophy Race with competitive pilots and aircraft. Cleland would finish first, Puckett dropped out with engine problems on the 19th lap, Becker took second, but Tony Janazzo crashed on the seventh lap after apparently being overcome by exhaust fumes. Cleland averaged 396 mph with Becker at 390 mph but four racers were destroyed and one pilot was killed in the race. This caused a public outcry that nearly resulted in the end of the races.

Next year, Cleland, Becker, and Puckett were back with various modifications to their aircraft but it would be a bad year for the Super Corsairs. Puckett had some form of engine problem and could not start the Thompson but Becker and Cleland did get airborne and started to eat up the airspace around the pylons and Cleland hit 410 mph between laps three and four but by lap five, both racers were out. Both had collapses of the R-4360 induction which nearly tore the scoops off the tops of the cowlings - it was a close thing.

For 1949, the Supers were back and Cleland had come up with a greatly modified scoop for the upper cowling that hopefully solved the induction problems. Also the planes had received further racing modifications. The field was back to four Super Corsairs as F2G-1 Bureau Number 88458 had been added while assuming the registration of the crashed N5588N. This aircraft was flown by Ben McKillen and finished in a spectacular red and white scheme with race number 57. The Super Corsairs were set to dominate the various races at Cleveland and Puckett in #18 finished second in the Sohio Race (at 384 mph) while McKillen took first place in the Tinnerman Race (at 386 mph). Becker was not so lucky since the engine in #74 was damaged during qualifications and he was out of the running. However, the prestigious Thompson Race would become the property of the Supers: Cleland in #94 took first, Puckett got second, and McKillen came in third. Cleland had averaged 397 mph but during the race Bill Odom had crashed the highly modified P-51C Beguine into a house, killing a mother and child. This event, combined with the Korean War, spelled the end for the Cleveland National Air Races but the Super Corsairs ended the event in a burst of glory.

After the races, the Supers had no value. One was burned for fire practice, another scrapped for its engine. However, Race 57 and Race 74 survived and Bob Odegaard managed a near-- miraculous restoration of Race 57 back into flying shape and he is currently completing a static restoration of Race 74 for the Crawford Museum in Cleveland.

Copyright Challenge Publications Inc. Jan 2003
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