KD431

KD431 was built by Goodyear at Akron, Ohio, in mid-1944 as US Navy BuNo 14862, construction number 1871. Goodyear test pilot Chris Clark made its first flight. It was delivered to the Royal Navy as KD431 and shipped to Lockheed's Glasgow facility, reaching 23 Maintenance Unit at Aldergrove in November 1944.

After storage at Hawarden and Stretton, it joined 835 Squadron at Eglinton in June 1945. It then flew from the escort carriers HMS Premier and HMS Patroller. From September 1945 it served with 768 Squadron at Ballyhalbert and East Haven. Its last known deck landing was on 7 December 1945, and Peter Lovegrove is its last recorded pilot. It never saw combat.

Instead of being scrapped, the Corsair went to the College of Aeronautics at Cranfield as an instructional airframe. It stayed there until 1963, when the Historic Aircraft Preservation Society arranged its transfer to Yeovilton. The museum repainted it before putting it on show that June.

Around 2000, curator David Morris led a project to strip the 1963 paint by hand. Underneath, the original 1944 finish, stencils and markings had survived intact. Investigators also found a pencil signature, 'Smith' or 'Smity', inside a cowling. The aircraft was unveiled in summer 2006 as it looked in 1944, and is treated as a conservation object rather than a restoration.

KD431 is in Hall 2. Look closely at the worn paint, stencils and faded markings: they are the original 1944 finish, not a modern repaint.