GEORG v. RAUCH COLLECTION
No. 13845. Vought O2U-1A Corsair ("HP-2" c/n 472) Argentine Navy
Photographed at the cruiser Almirante Brown, Argentina, 1929-1931, source unknown
04/03/2020. Remarks by Georg v. Rauch: "Four O2U-1As were procured, all delivered in 1929, these were initially allotted the serials HP-1 to HP-4 (c/n 471 to 474), the HP prefix actually stood for Hidro de Patrulla (Patrol Seaplane). Later they were reserialed R-57 to R-60 (R for Reconocimiento or Reconnaissance), subsequently they were reserialed another five times before the came on the Argentine civil registry:
These four aircraft proved a long lived quartet, some of them were practically entirely rebuilt at the naval repair shops. Post WW II the four aircraft were donated to the Ministry of Agriculture which used them along Junkers K 43, Ju 52/3m and AéM.B.2 aircraft as crop sprayers. The plane pictured is one of those aircraft during catapult trials aboard heavy cruiser ARA Almirante Brown in Italy."
