The National Museum of the Marine Corps

My friend Mel, as you know from previous posts, just finished a Masters in Military History and has been wanting to visit the National Museum of the Marine Corps forever and finally the stars aligned and the fates agreed that it could happen and we headed down to Quantico.



I will say. I was impressed with the museum. Interactive and informative. And I'll be honest, one of my favorite parts was the open space and natural light in the middle of the museum (the lighting in museums give me headaches and it's nice to get a break from the headache inducing lights and therefore enjoy the museum more.) I also really loved the helicopters...I LOVE helicopters. Ask my family. I lived near Fort Hunter Liggett as a kid and would have to point out every helicopter that went by, and usually loudly as only a little kid can do.

Melanie and her plane - Okay...she doesn't own the plane, but she wishes she could. The corsair is one of her favorite planes.

And in her own words, a brief history -

"The Vought F4-U Corsair, the bent winged bird, or the “Whistling Death” according to the Japanese was used extensively in the Pacific Theater of WWII & during the Korean War. The Corsair was built around a powerful 3 blade 13 ft 4 in propeller to take full advantage of the Pratt-Whitney Double Wasp air-cooled radial engine. Given the size of the prop, the engineers were faced with a dilemma: either shorten the prop or lengthen the aircraft’s landing gear. If they shortened the prop, they’d lose much of the engine’s power & therefore much of the plane’s speed & climbing power, but if the landing gear was too long it wouldn’t be able to withstand the forces placed upon it during a carrier landing. The engineers solved both problems with the Corsair’s distinctive inverted gull-wing design, which raised the nose of the plane & allowed for both the large prop & the short landing gear. To make additional room on the carrier decks the wings also folded up. Once in service, a new problem was found. The raised the nose of the airplane caused the pilot to lose about 12◦ of the horizon which made carrier landings hazardous. The Navy therefore gave the bulk of their Corsairs during WWII to the Marines, who operated them off island air bases. The British Navy actually figured out how to land the aircraft on carriers using a curved approach which allowed the pilot to see the LSO (landing signals officer) & the deck until the last possible moment. This was quickly adapted by the USN & Corsairs operated off carriers throughout the end of WWII & the entirety of the Korean War. They were a favorite of the soldiers, providing close air support, & were particularly appreciated during the Chosin Reservoir Campaign. "

One of Mel's favorite Marine quote "Retreat Hell! We've Just Got Here!"

(Attributed by MajGen Ben Fuller to Col Frederick M. “Dopey” Wise, CO 2d Bn., 5th Marines, 2dDiv, AEF in France, whe told that the French troops were retreating and advised to do likewise)