World War II aviation history lands at permanent exhibit on USS Intrepid
A refurbished FG-1D Corsair fighter, like ones that set off from the flight deck of the USS Intrepid during World War II, on display at a new exhibit in Manhattan at the aircraft carrier's museum. Credit: Ed Quinn
Five weeks after taking his wedding vows, Navy pilot Loren Isley was at war with Japan — a 21-year-old Missourian on March 18, 1945 — making what would be his final mission off the vast USS Intrepid flight deck.
Isley and his FG-1D Corsair fighter never made it back to the Intrepid, shot down and declared missing in action or lost at sea a year later.
On Friday, nearly 80 years to the day since Isley's last flight, fragments of his bomber, along with a Purple Heart and other posthumous medals donated by his family, will be on display on the Intrepid, now a fixture of Manhattan's West Side, as part of a new, permanent World War II exhibit.
The 10,500-square foot exhibit on the second level of the carrier includes 50 artifacts collected over the past 15 years that have not been on display, including a bracelet engraved with battles, discharge papers, medals and a telegram notifying a family of a casualty of war.
A section dedicated to what curators of the Intrepid Museum exhibit called Isley's Final Flight, includes the downed Corsair's propeller and other fragments, like part of a wing and the engine. The fragments have been on display for about two years but the artifacts are new additions.
The exhibit features a Corsair like the one Isley flew.
"The Corsair is what is going to welcome people into our new exhibition and it really cements this idea that the whole purpose of this ship was to safely launch and land these aircrafts," Jessica Williams, the museum's curator, said. "What better way to begin your museum experience than to look at this World War II plane."
The Corsair, assembled in Connecticut and Ohio, was among dozens of planes that took off and landed on the aircraft carrier as it was deployed to battle Japanese fighters through the Battle of Okinawa, Williams said.
It was used on the Intrepid, along with other Long Island-built aircraft, such as the Grumman Avenger Torpedo bomber, also on display at the museum, and the elusive Grumman Hellcat fighter planes, which the museum still hopes to add to its collection.
The Corsair is one of 18 Navy planes on loan at the Intrepid, as part of 28 restored planes in the museum’s collection.
"We have hoped to have one of these for many, many years, since we've been open," said Kate Good, an associate curator at the museum, referring to the Corsair. "They're very hard to find because it's not the most prevalent aircraft you can get. And we finally brought her home."
Peter Toracca, the museum’s director of restoration, spent four months working to restore the aircraft. He said the plane had to be reassembled inside the museum after taking the wings off and reattaching them.
He said moving the body of the plane into the museum was like pivoting a couch into a studio apartment.
“Flying a Corsair with 2,000 horsepower," Toracca said, "is like a Ferrari.”
The plane was so popular at the time that the Navy commissioned Goodyear to build 4,000 during the war, according to the museum.
Curators pointed to another American World War II pilot, Alfred Lerch, who became an Ace fighter in his first day flying a Corsair from the Intrepid. He received ace status by shooting down seven Japanese fighter planes within 13 minutes during the battle of Okinawa, Good said.
"They were used mainly in dogfights with Japanese aircraft and trying to avoid having Kamikaze situations," Good said of Corsairs. “The Intrepid’s role and its pilots here have a massive effect on World War Two and the outcome of it.”
Five weeks after taking his wedding vows, Navy pilot Loren Isley was at war with Japan — a 21-year-old Missourian on March 18, 1945 — making what would be his final mission off the vast USS Intrepid flight deck.
Isley and his FG-1D Corsair fighter never made it back to the Intrepid, shot down and declared missing in action or lost at sea a year later.
On Friday, nearly 80 years to the day since Isley's last flight, fragments of his bomber, along with a Purple Heart and other posthumous medals donated by his family, will be on display on the Intrepid, now a fixture of Manhattan's West Side, as part of a new, permanent World War II exhibit.
The 10,500-square foot exhibit on the second level of the carrier includes 50 artifacts collected over the past 15 years that have not been on display, including a bracelet engraved with battles, discharge papers, medals and a telegram notifying a family of a casualty of war.
A section dedicated to what curators of the Intrepid Museum exhibit called Isley's Final Flight, includes the downed Corsair's propeller and other fragments, like part of a wing and the engine. The fragments have been on display for about two years but the artifacts are new additions.
The exhibit features a Corsair like the one Isley flew.
"The Corsair is what is going to welcome people into our new exhibition and it really cements this idea that the whole purpose of this ship was to safely launch and land these aircrafts," Jessica Williams, the museum's curator, said. "What better way to begin your museum experience than to look at this World War II plane."
The Corsair, assembled in Connecticut and Ohio, was among dozens of planes that took off and landed on the aircraft carrier as it was deployed to battle Japanese fighters through the Battle of Okinawa, Williams said.
It was used on the Intrepid, along with other Long Island-built aircraft, such as the Grumman Avenger Torpedo bomber, also on display at the museum, and the elusive Grumman Hellcat fighter planes, which the museum still hopes to add to its collection.
The Corsair is one of 18 Navy planes on loan at the Intrepid, as part of 28 restored planes in the museum’s collection.
"We have hoped to have one of these for many, many years, since we've been open," said Kate Good, an associate curator at the museum, referring to the Corsair. "They're very hard to find because it's not the most prevalent aircraft you can get. And we finally brought her home."
Peter Toracca, the museum’s director of restoration, spent four months working to restore the aircraft. He said the plane had to be reassembled inside the museum after taking the wings off and reattaching them.
He said moving the body of the plane into the museum was like pivoting a couch into a studio apartment.
“Flying a Corsair with 2,000 horsepower," Toracca said, "is like a Ferrari.”
The plane was so popular at the time that the Navy commissioned Goodyear to build 4,000 during the war, according to the museum.
Curators pointed to another American World War II pilot, Alfred Lerch, who became an Ace fighter in his first day flying a Corsair from the Intrepid. He received ace status by shooting down seven Japanese fighter planes within 13 minutes during the battle of Okinawa, Good said.
"They were used mainly in dogfights with Japanese aircraft and trying to avoid having Kamikaze situations," Good said of Corsairs. “The Intrepid’s role and its pilots here have a massive effect on World War Two and the outcome of it.”
John Asbury is a breaking news and general assignment reporter. He has been with Newsday since 2014 and previously worked at The Press-Enterprise in Riverside, California.
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