Corsairs were first operated from carriers by the Fleet Air Arm of the Royal Navy. Trained in the US, RNFAA pilots including Canadian Lt. Robert Hampton Gray were deployed on carriers such as HMS Formidable and Victorious and carried out daring fighter escort and attack operations in the North Atlantic. This included the famous raids against the holed-up German battleship Tirpitz. HMS Formidable also fought in the Pacific theatre later in the war where Lt. Gray won the Victoria Cross. The aircraft is painted in the markings of Lt. Gray's plane to honour him.

On August 9 1945, Lieutenant Robert Hampton Gray of Nelson, B.C., flew his Corsair divebomber off HMS Formidable to attack Japanese shipping near the Home Islands. He spotted a Japanese destroyer in Onagawa Bay and dove to attack. Although his aircraft was hit repeatedly by anti-aircraft fire, he continued his dive until his aim was certain. His bombs struck the ship amidships and it quickly sank. Gray crashed a short distance away, and was subsequently awarded a posthumous Victoria Cross.