Relic fighter plane being refurbished for exhibit at Intrepid Museum in NYC

NEW YORK (PIX11) — In our modern warfare arsenal we have fighter planes that soar through the sky at speeds greater than the speed of sound. That's quite an advancement from the prop fighters of World War II that reached top speeds of 400 miles per hour. Those planes are now historical relics.

She was the forerunner of modern-day jet fighters. The Vought F4U Corsair was one of the best naval fighters of World War II. A legend of aerial combat, Corsair is now a historic artifact of war. One of them is landing in a hangar aboard the Intrepid Museum where it's being restored for an exhibition.

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"This particular airplane took a lot of cleaning. It's been hanging in a museum for four to five decades. It's just filthy. We discovered a few things that didn't receive attention before," said Peter Torraca, manager of restoration.

Designed for carrier operations, Corsairs had to overcome early challenges before being recognized as one of the most effective fighter bombers of its time.

"Corsair was absolutely integral to winning World War II. It was used in the Pacific theater mostly," said Kate Good, Intrepid Museum's aerospace curator. "Something very different about this aircraft is that it had an inverted gull wing, which made space for the very large propeller. The gull wing also made this extremely maneuverable and very, very fast. It was the fastest plane of its time."

"One of Intrepid's pilots, Albert Lerch, became an ace in a day by shooting down seven enemy aircraft when he needed to shoot down five to become an ace. He earned the Navy Cross," Good added.

They can scrub away the old paint, but they can't wipe away the legacy of this relic of war that racked up more than 2,100 victories in aerial combat and dropped almost 16,000 tons of bombs on the enemy. After serving in the Pacific, Corsairs supported American troops in Korea.

Despite its long and arduous development process, the Corsair's exceptional endurance was unparalleled at the dawn of the jet age. The last of the more than 12,000 Corsairs rolled off the assembly line 70 years ago, and now just a handful remain, immortalized in museums all across the country. This one will go on display at the Intrepid in March.