First I'd like to thank Fencer for putting his work out there to be adopted, I know it's like your kids and the squad and I can't thank you enough for giving the opportunity to do so.
Pictures I have come across show the right side was repainted in a strange way and there's no explanation i have found. The painting i put is from a book on VF-17's 2nd tour that i think will have some background on that and fingers crossed that the book is actually available and not the one i already have. I've also come across info that VF-17 in fact did repaint their planes during tours, but mainly the fuselage only. The wings seem to have been ignored and maybe giving a fresh coat once. It's the reason some of their planes look so dark in photos forward of the cockpit and seem to have minimal wear. Ira Kepfords would be the best example since there are some many photos of it, fairly clean body and the wings are scratched to hell.
Another interesting thing is the number under the cowling, it's only shown on Blackburn's no.1 "Big Hog" and this plane. I'd imagine it may be on others but there's no photos to prove it was and how long it was on those two.
A write up Hedrick could become a book on it's own, I came across his obituary that listed his accomplishments while in the Navy.
"ROGER R. HEDRICK Rear Admiral, United States Navy
...A fighter pilot and Double Ace in WWII, he had 12 confirmed enemy kills and 3 probables. During the war he was the Executive Officer of the famous F4U Corsair Squadron VF-17, the Jolly Rogers and later commanded squadron VF-84. In the postwar he served as the Exec. Officer of NAS, Whidbey Island, WA, and of the aircraft carrier USS Boxer. He was Commanding Officer of VX-4, the F7U Cutlass squadron which first deployed Sparrow air-to-air missiles, and finally served as Dtr. of Plans and Programs for development of Polaris missile weapons system in Washington D.C. His decorations include the Silver Star, 4 Distinguished Flying Crosses, and 3 Air Medals. He retired from the Navy in 1958 and had a 17 year second career as Vice President in his brother's commercial construction firm. He is truly an American hero."
reference1img by
whitemanLS1, on Flickr
f4u1 rh4 by
whitemanLS1, on Flickr
f4u1 rh6 by
whitemanLS1, on Flickr
f4u1 rh7 by
whitemanLS1, on Flickr
f4u1 rh5 by
whitemanLS1, on Flickr
