Coming Home ("Retour au Bercail")

Texte:

With its flaps, landing gear and tailhook lowered, a F4U-7 “Corsair” of Flottille 14.F begins the last part of its approach on its aircraft carrier. On the fighter's fin can be seen the “One-Eyed Corsair” symbol of the unit.

Flottille 14.F was the first French navy unit to fly Chance-Vought's legendary “bent-wing fighter”. The first pilots were sent to the United States in late 1952 to train on this capable but challenging fighter.

The unit was activated on January 15, 1953, and sent to Indochina in 1954. Flying from Bach Maï, it provided ground troops with close air support until July 1954.

Shortly after its return to France in July 1955, the Flottille was sent to Algeria for police and law enforcement work. In 1956, it took part in the fighting during the Suez canal crisis, flying off the aircraft carriers Arromanches and Lafayette.

After its return, it was sent to Algeria again and transferred to the naval air base in Cuers at the end of the Algerian War. The unit was disbanded in October 1964. It was reactivated in 1965, flying Chance-Vought's latest fighter: the F-8E(FN) “Crusader”. In 1979, the Flottille transitioned to the Super Etendard and was inactivated in 1991.

. . .

Artist: Roy Grinnell

. . .

NB: The preview presented on this page is representative of Large format (A3+) copies of the painting. Medium (A4) and small formats (A5) may vary slightly because of the different proportions of the canvas.
All copies of Roy Grinnell's paintings are shipped with a separately-printed description. Please select the desired language for the description in the drop-down menu.