This design is based on the F4F Wildcat “White 84” flown by Captain Joseph "Joe" Foss. Joe Foss was a United States Marine Corps (USMC) fighter ace during World War II. He was credited with 26 air victories during the war and received the Medal of Honor in recognition of his role in air combat during the Guadalcanal campaign. As with many USMC squadrons at this time, pilots did not have an aircraft assigned to them and often used what was available. Joe Foss flew at last three aircraft with VMF-121 during Guadalcanal campaign including "White 84", "Black 53", and "White 50". The BuNo’s shown on these designs are based on our “best guess” short of photographic evidence to indicate otherwise. We have also included the word “Marines” above the BuNo (as opposed to “Navy” which some paint schemes show for USMC Wildcats) to clearly identify this design as one based on a USMC aircraft.