Naval Historywith Dr. Alex

Q&A · 1:48:28-1:48:43

Fleet Air Arm Corsairs and Lend-Lease disposal

Some British Corsairs were reportedly pushed overboard so they would count as wartime losses rather than surviving Lend-Lease equipment.

F4U CorsairFleet Air ArmLend LeaseNaval AviationWorld War II
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Question

Did the Fleet Air Arm push Corsairs overboard in 1945 to avoid Lend-Lease return requirements?

Short answer

Apparently some did; aircraft that did not survive the war no longer created the same Lend-Lease return obligation.

Notes

At least some Fleet Air Arm Corsairs went overboard at the end of the war. The relevant distinction was whether the aircraft survived hostilities under Lend-Lease terms. Disposing of an airframe at sea removed it from the postwar return or accounting problem. The number involved remains uncertain, though the underlying story is supported.