"Predators" |
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| Captain Philip C. DeLong, an ace from World War II with eleven air-to-air victories, leads a group of VMA-312 “Checkerboard” F4U-4 Corsairs (specifications) low over the Pacific Ocean near the Korean Peninsula. The Checkerboards were assigned to the light carrier USS Bataan (CVL-29) during the Korean War. Captain DeLong, who flew with VMA-212 during World War II, was credited with two air-to-air victories against North Korean “YaK” piston engine fighters on April 21, 1951. Flying lead with 1st Lt. Harold Daigh as his wingman, who also shot down two Communist Yak fighters that day, these two Checkerboard pilots scored the first United States Marine Corps air-to-air victories and the first by Corsairs in the Korean War. |
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| VMA-312 was commissioned on June 1, 1943, at Parris Island, South Carolina, flying the F4U-1 Corsair. Famous for the black and white checkerboard painted around the engine cowling on their Corsairs, VMA-312 has flown combat missions in every United States conflict since World War II. Today the tradition of the checkerboard paint scheme continues on the twin tails of their McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornets. |
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Original Painting 60" x 32" - Acrylic on Canvas |
