FUERZA AEREA SALVADORENE CORSAIRS

Air Classics, Oct 2005

Latin American nations are often quite suspicious of their bordering neighbors - usually for good reason! Given the unstable political and economic conditions of this vast area, border conflicts are not uncommon. During 1957, El Salvador had just a tiny air force hardly capable of offensive/defensive action - basically comprising a couple of T-6 Texans and three Beech T-34 Mentors. Neighboring Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua were all acquiring combat aircraft and higher-ranking Fuerza Aerea Salvadorene officers were worried about this trend.

Through its Washington embassy, Salvadorian officials approached American Military Assistance Sales (MAS) personnel about acquiring surplus combat aircraft and communications were started with the State Department. The Salvadorians had originally requested Vought F4U-5 Corsairs since Honduras had recently obtained examples of Vought's famous Naval fighter. After checking inventories, the State Department replied that Salvador could obtain surplus Douglas Sky raiders, Grumman AF Guardians, or a small batch of F4U-4 Corsairs through MAS. However, they also noted that a much larger number of Goodyear-built FG-1D Corsairs were available in very good condition at NAF Litchfield Park, Arizona. A note must be made about the Skyraiders and Guardians: If Salvador had received the ADs, they would have had the most potent weapon in Central America; the offer of the submarine hunter/killer Guardian was most odd since it was not a particular success in USN service and was a complex aircraft to operate.

Since Salvador had only the most limited of maintenance and overhaul facilities, the Americans recommended that the FAS go with the FG-1Ds. After inspection, 20 FG-1Ds were obtained for $8700 each. The FAS initially intended to have 15 flyers and five spare aircraft, but all were eventually assigned serials and were flown. The planes, even though in pretty good condition, were given standard military overhauls and delivered to Salvador in full markings.

As an interesting aside, the government of Salvador authorized the FAS to purchase five F4U-5s they had found in the States. These aircraft had been disassembled and the FAS figured they could be a good source of spares. Accordingly, the fighters were exported to Salvador where they were apparently used as parts and were never assembled or made airworthy.

With the original batch of Corsairs, the FAS also received a small number of Texans to augment their two airworthy examples. Exactly how the FAS pilots transitioned to Corsairs is unclear. Perhaps they had American instructors but it soon became evident that they did not have enough pilots for the 20 fighters. The USAF Mission in Salvador saw that the FAS could not maintain the planes so it was suggested to put half of the aircraft into storage.

With a more reasonable ten FG-1Ds up and running, FAS pilots logged nearly 400-hrs in the fighters during 1958. Obviously proud of their new charges, the FAS painted at least five of the aircraft in an overall white color scheme with blue trim and toured the planes to various towns where they performed aerobatics.

By 1968, a pivotal year for the FAS, the Corsair force was down to just five operational aircraft. In fact, the entire air force numbered just two dozen aircraft and five of these were Cavalier Mustang Hs that had just been delivered that year. The Corsairs and Mustangs were operated by Escuadrilla No. 1 and Escuadrilla No. 2.

As the political situation with neighboring Honduras deteriorated, approximately a dozen American civil Mustangs were purchased and smuggled to the FAS but there was a great deal of trouble trying to convert the civil planes into operational military machines.

A contested soccer game on 27 June 1969 was the catalyst needed to set the two countries at war in what would be the world's last clash of World War Two piston-engine fighters and at least two of the FAS FG-1Ds were lost. When the conflict was over - called the 100-Hour War by the combatants - no one was really the winner and both of the countries had done a great deal of damage to their economies.

By the end of 1969, the FAS Corsair force was down to two FG-1Ds, but these were fairly regularly flown. By the early 1970s, the FAS decided to sell the aircraft which were quickly purchased by American collectors. The two machines were FAS 215/BuNo 92629 currently with the Palm Springs Air Museum and FAS ???/BuNo 92095 which is with the Evergreen Air Museum.

Salvador also had a number of derelict FG-1D airframes along with many spare parts and as the Warbird movement grew, so did the desire for these aircraft. The planes were purchased at different times and FAS 208/BuNo 92489 is owned by Frank Arrufat and being restored by John Lane; FAS 201/BuNo 67087 has been restored and is airworthy with Chuck Wentworth as N11Y; FAS 207/BuNo 92460 was donated by the FAS to Sikorsky and is on a pole at Bridgeport, Connecticut (this aircraft really needs to come in from the cold and is an excellent candidate for airworthy restoration), and FAS 201/BuNo 67070 which was purchased by John Roxbury and is the subject of our article. Also, in the early 1990s FAS 220/BuNo 92697 was reportedly restored by the FAS and offered for sale.