Corsair a tour of memories for veteran WW2 pilot

By JOEL FORD
John McArthur silently runs his hands over the dull blue paint that covers the wing of one of World War 2's most famous fighter planes.
At the same time, his eyes scan the plane's body, looking below the cockpit, below the wing and on the wing itself. It's not immediately clear what he's looking for but before long the secret is out.
"There it is," he exclaims as he pushes down a flap on the plane's wing which has the word "foot" painted just below it in small white letters.
He continues to look and slowly finds a few more flaps each marked "foot" or "hand". Eventually he finds three or four of them and then using both hands traces out an old but obviously familiar routine.
"I couldn't remember how we got in the damn things," he says, showing how he would have to use the small purpose-built holes in the plane's body to lift himself into the cockpit.
The old FG-1 Corsair fighter is at the Tauranga's Classic Flyers Club and 82-year-old Mr McArthur is explaining how he flew them in World War 2. The Corsair was flown up from Masterton last weekend and can be viewed at Classic Flyers this Sunday and Monday. It will fly out of Tauranga on Anzac Day.
Mr McArthur flew the planes during two tours of duty in the Pacific during 1944-45, carrying out patrols and raids over Japanese positions.
Looking back, he says it seems amazing - he was barely out of high school and flying one of the world's most powerful fighter planes. As a wide-eyed 19-year-old, however, he says it seemed like the norm - even though he didn't even have a driver's licence and had never driven a car.
"It didn't seem like a problem at the time. When I look at the plane now it seems so huge. When I was 19 it didn't seem nearly so big."
Nevertheless, he admits that flying the Corsairs was "hugely exciting" and says it was an amazing aircraft that was "very pilot- friendly".
Corsairs are easily recognised because of their bent wings and unusually large propellers.
The Corsair at Classic Flyers is owned by the The Old Stick and Rudder Company in Masterton. It is the only operational Corsair fighter left in New Zealand - the last of the 424 operated by the RNZAF.
Mr McArthur emphasises he was no hero in the war but just one of thousands of young men performing their duty.
He says he holds a bundle of memories, many of which will come to the fore on Anzac Day next week. As with any Kiwi veteran, the day holds an almost inexplicable significance for him.
"It's a day of remembrance, particularly for my friends, some of whom were killed."