voughtos2u

This is not the "Polar Star," Lincoln Ellsworth's Northrop Gamma 2B (NR-12269; c/n 2). That aircraft was used during Ellsworth's 1934-35 Antarctic expeditions. This aircraft is a Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) Vought-Sikorsky OS2U-3 Kingfisher, RAAF Serial No. A48-13 (ex- USN BuNo 5977), used for the 1947/48 Australian National Antarctic Research Expeditions (ANARE) aboard HMAS Wyatt Earp. Originally constructed for use by the Royal Netherlands Navy (and to wear the serial V-12) in the Netherlands East Indies, the aircraft was instead delivered to the RAAF in April 1942 and used for seaplane training through World War II. The airplane was placed into storage in August 1945, soon after the Empire of Japan announced its surrender to the Allies. The aircraft was removed from storage on October 21, 1947, and prepared for use by the ANARE, including the addition of an engine pre-heater and a new high-visibility yellow paint scheme. She'd be taken aboard HMAS Wyatt Earp on December 13, 1947. See: www.adf-serials.com.au/2a48.htm Also: www.airspacemag.com/history-of-flight/lincoln-polar-star-... en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northrop_Gamma

From a George Retelas February, 2022 Facebook post (Found by my Google search for Keith Diz Laird): Dean S. "Diz" Laird (born February 7, 1921) is the only U.S. Navy ace to have combat victories in both the Pacific and European theaters of World War II. In this new short film I produced for the USS Hornet Museum, Diz recalls his first combat flight in a F4F Wildcat with VF-4 "The Red Rippers" against the German Luftwaffe (a Junkers Ju-88 and a Heinkel He-115) on October 4, 1943 near Norway. He later added three more strikes against Japanese aircraft in the Pacific theater in a F6F Hellcat to become an "Ace". Diz Laird currently volunteers as a docent aboard the USS Hornet Museum where the ship has restored an FM-2 Wildcat that was recovered from the bottom of Lake Michigan. "Two Down, Three to Go" (5min): youtu.be/CtVOnYvv4Uw USS Hornet - Sea, Air and Space Museum American Fighter Aces Association & Friends The Tailhook Association Naval History & Heritage Command U.S. Naval Air Forces The Red Rippers