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Dean Caswell

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Victories : 7
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Country : US
Fought in : WW2
Fought for : Allied

One of the last U.S. Marine Corps pilots to become a fighter ace in World War II, Col. Dean Caswell accomplished amazing feats with never a mark on his plane. Arriving in the Pacific Theatre in early 1945, Caswell immediately began flying Combat Air Patrols in a Chance Vought F4U-1D Corsair; he made all seven of his kills in this model aircraft. Caswell’s first aerial victory came during an engagement over the airfields just south of Tokyo in late February 1945, when he shot down a Japanese four-engine bomber. A few weeks later, on the return trip from an attack on the airfields and factories at Korimoto, Caswell’s flight of 10 Corsairs encountered 25-30 Japanese fighters waiting to avenge the attack. Caswell alone shot down three in less than five minutes, and the rest of the flight took out another nine Japanese planes before the engagement ended. A month later, in mid-April 1945, Caswell was one of many pilots from the USS Bunker Hill and the USS Bennington involved in an aerial melee that developed between Marine pilots from the carriers and Japanese pilots flying from several airfields that were under attack. In his short time aboard the USS Bunker Hill, Caswell flew over 100 missions, had seven confirmed aerial victories, destroyed 25-30 planes on the ground and never once received a single bullet hole in his Corsair. Among his decorations are the Silver Star, the Distinguished Flying Cross with three Gold Stars and the Air Medal with five Gold Stars.

Latest Allied Aviation Artwork !
Albacore at Cape Matapan by Ivan Berryman.	Tribute to Terry Bulloch by Ivan Berryman.	The Aircraft That Found the Bismarck by Ivan Berryman.	Tribute to Clarence 'Bud' Anderson by Ivan Berryman.

Dean Caswell

Aircraft for : Dean Caswell
A list of all aircraft associated with Dean Caswell. A profile page including a list of all art prints for the aircraft is available by clicking the aircraft name.
Squadron	Info
Corsair Click the name above to see prints featuring Corsair aircraft. Manufacturer : Chance-Vought Production Began : 1940 Number Built : 12000	Corsair The Chance-Vought F4U Corsair was arguably the finest naval aviation fighter of its era. Work on this design dates to 1938 and was headed-up by Voughts Chief Engineer, Rex Biesel. The initial prototype was powered by an 1800-HP Pratt & Whitney double Wasp radial engine. This was the third Vought aircraft to carry the Corsair name. The graceful and highly recognizable gull-wing design of the F4U permitted the aircraft to utilize a 13-foot, three-blade, Hamilton Standard propeller, while not having to lengthen the landing gear. Because of the rigors of carrier landings, this was a very important design consideration. Folding wings were also required for carrier operations. The F4U was thirty feet long, had a wingspan of 41 feet and an empty weight of approximately 7,500 pounds. Another interesting feature was the way the F4Us gear rotated 90 degrees, so it would lay flush within the wing when in the up position. In 1939 the Navy approved the design, and production commenced. The Corsair utilized a new spot welding process on its all aluminum fuselage, giving the aircraft very low drag. To reduce weight, fabric-covered outer wing sections and control surfaces were fitted. In May of 1940 the F4U made its maiden flight. Although a number of small bugs were discovered during early flight tests, the Corsair had exceptional performance characteristics. In October of 1940 the prototype F4U was clocked at 405-MPH in a speed test. The initial production Corsairs received an upgraded 2,000-HP radial giving the bird a top speed of about 425-MPH. The production models also differed from the prototype in having six, wing-mounted, 0.5 caliber machine guns. Another change was a shift of the cockpit about three feet further back in the fuselage. This latter change unfortunately made naval aviators wary of carrier landings with the F4U, due to its limited forward visibility during landings. Other concerns were expressed regarding a severe port wing drop at landing speeds and a tendency of the aircraft to bounce off a carrier deck. As a result, the F4U was initially limited to land-based USMC squadrons. Vought addressed several of these problems, and the Royal Navy deserves credit for perfecting an appropriate landing strategy for the F4U. They found that if the carrier pilot landed the F4U while making a sweeping left turn with the port wing down, that sufficient visibility was available to make a safe landing. With a kill ratio of 11 -to- 1 in WW 11 combat, the F4U proved superior in the air to almost every opposing aircraft it encountered. More than 12,000 F4Us were built and fortunately a few dozen remain in flyable condition to this date.