Vought F4U Corsair

Water F4U Corsair History

One of the greatest fighter jets of all time, the American Vought F4U "Corsair" became legendary for its role in the aerial combat of World War II (1939-1945), the Korean War (1950-1953) and subsequent Several Cold War conflicts. The design is credited to Igor Sikorsky and Rex Beisel, with more than 12,500 produced in total, with production ending in 1952 - for the original design by the United States Navy (USN) That's a substantial amount for rejected aircraft.

The F4U first appeared as a US Navy carrier-based fighter until difficulties landing the aircraft on a moving carrier led to its expansion into land-based fighter use in the hands of US Navy pilots. While the U.S.

Navy turned to the equally excellent Grumman F6F Hellcat, the F4U continued to make a name for itself in the Pacific Rimeven earning the respect of Japanese enemies as one of the most feared fighters in the region.

The Corsair stemmed from a 1938 US Navy application for a new high-performance carrier-based fighter, and Chance Vought of United Aircraft responded to the call with their V-166 model. Vought engineers provided the largest engine for its compact design - the experimental Pratt & Whitney XR-2800 "Double Wasp" rated at 2,000 horsepower. There is also a huge three-blade propeller unit.

An inverted "gull-wing" layout was chosen for the main aircraft to prevent the rotating propeller blades from hitting the ground, which forced the use of full-length main landing gear legs.

The engines are traditionally mounted in the front of the fuselage, and the single-seat cockpit is located directly aft of the aircraft. The wing main aircraft is positioned amidships, the fuselage is well streamlined and the tail tapered.

The fin consists of a short (curved) vertical fin and low horizontal plane. The landing gear is in a traditional "tail" arrangement and is fully retractable. Original weapons include 4 x .50 heavy Browning machine guns. Despite the inherent advantages of the F4U design, the front view of the aircraft was obstructed (due to the position of the wings and long nose), and the pilot's rear view was limited due to the elevated spine of the fuselage.

Pilots also had difficulty getting into the cockpit due to the unique curvature of the wings.

Vought produced two prototype aircraft - the V-166A and V-166B - with the V-166A equipped with the Pratt & Whitney R1830 "Twin Wasp" engine and the V-166B with the Pratt & Whitney R2800-2 "Double Wasp" engine "Engine... The USN favored the B-type prototype, and the contract was awarded within months of Vought's submission.

In development, the aircraft will be known as "XF4U-1".

When the V-166B was first tested in 1940, it topped 400 mph (403 mph) and was the first American fighter jet to reach that speed. The first flight (as the XF4U-1) was recorded on May 29, 1940, and changes were ordered soon after.

The revised weapons scheme forced the wing fuel tanks to be relocated into the fuselage, which in turn set the cockpit three feet from the nose, posing various challenges for the pilot. In 1941, the Water Company received a contract for the series production of 584 new aircraft (F4U-1) from the U.S.

Navy. However, the first production-quality airframe did not enter service until June 25, 1942. Carrier trials began in September of that year, and the aircraft entered service on December 28a pivotal point on the Allied road to victory.

The inherent danger of landing such a high-performance aircraft on a moving carrier deck prompted the Navy to temporarily delay the F4U's carrier deployment. Instead, the aircraft was used as a U.S. Marine Corps Air Group VMF-124 land-based fighter over Bougainville in February 1943. In practice, the F4U shortened the once-unparalleled Mitsubishi A6M "Zero" fighter - the pride of the Imperial Japanese Naval Air Force - as the Zero proved poorly protected, lacking proper armor protection and self-sealing fuel tanks.

In addition, American fighter jets were vastly improved compared to the pre-war models of the first Japanese raids in the Pacific. Improved training and more experienced pilots, combined with fast and powerful fighter jets, ultimately helped turn the tide of the Pacific War.

In fact, the F4U proved to be the first Allied fighter jet capable of combating the A6M Zero wartime threat - capable of outrunning and surpassing most enemies in the Pacific Rim.

The USMC has a larger inventory of new aircraft over the next few months, and that's the performance impression of this mount. Its versatility makes it useful as a ground attack aircraft when equipped with 8 x 5 inch airborne missiles or conventional intermediate storage weighing up to 4,000 pounds.

Disposable fuel tanks help to extend the overall operational range and take the fight anywhere, Japanese army units are so used to the pirate ship attack and its accompanying dive that they nicknamed the American aircraft "Whistling to Death" (This noise is due to the airflow over the vents being cooler when the Corsair is diving at high speed).

By the end of 1943, Corsair pilots had completed more than 500 air raids, and by the end of the war in August 1945 there were about 2,140 enemy aircraft in total. The highest-scoring U.S. Marines ace was Major Gregory "Pappy" Boynton, who killed a total of 28 enemies. All of these totals are due in part to the 64,000 sorties recorded by F4U pilots throughout the war.

The Allied pilots ended up killing their Japanese foe by an astonishing 11:1.

The U.S. Navy began testing its Corsair with VF-12 squadron in October 1942. The VF-17 was equipped with new fighters in April 1943, and early USN deployments resulted in Corsairs also kinking at land bases until their carrier training and operations were complete.

In fact, the aircraft has earned nicknames like the "Ensign Eliminator" and "Ensign Killer" for its sophisticated handling on deck, but otherwise, it's still a powerful, fast and well-respected aircraft fighter. That's what the aircraft was worth, so much so that the U.S.

Navy didn't relinquish the F4U's front-line role until December 1954 -- after the Korean War.

While the US Marine Corps Corsair was a success from a land base, the British Fleet Aviation (FAA) used the mount in its intended role as a carrier-based fighter. To fit a British carrier in space, the Corsair's wings are about 20cm shorter than their American counterparts.

On 3 April 1944, the British Navy Corsair Mk II of No. 1834 Squadron was used to attack the German battleship KMS Tirpitz, and since then British pilots have also liked their Corsairs.

The history of the Corsair did not end with the last days of World War II, as the type entered service as a close support platform during the upcoming Korean War (1950-1953). Despite the arrival of jets, F4Us excel in this role because they can control flight times and fly lower than their fast-flying, gas-guzzling brethren.

These pirates attacked using machine guns and artillery, as well as rockets and conventionally thrown bombs. Astonishingly, in 1950 alone, F4U pirates accounted for about 80 percent of all U.S. Navy and Navy ground attack missions.

It is not uncommon for propeller-driven Corsairs to also successfully counter the new Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15 "Gay" jet fighters that emerged from the Soviet Union and fought for North Korea. A dedicated night fighter variant has also been added to the Corsair family, significantly extending the life of the series.

During the First Indochina War (1946-1954), French pilots relied on their F4U against the Vietnamese army in 1952-1954. These are operated by land-based forces and provide all types of close air support (CAS) for combat with French ground forces.

Corsairs also served during the Suez Crisis in the Middle East (1956), the Algerian War (1954-1962) and Tunisia (1961).

In addition to being produced by Vought - whose production line struggled to cope with the massive US military demands during World War II - the F4U was produced by Brewster (F3A-1) and Goodyear (FG-1). Marks started with the original F4U-1 (called "Corsair Mk I" in Fleet Air Force), followed by the first later F4U-1A (Corsair Mk II) and 700 Brewster-built F3A-1s (Corsair Mk II) MK III). The fighter-bomber form subsequently emerged as the F4U-1C (4 x 20mm artillery armament) and F4U-1D (P&W R2800-8W water jet) carrying 2 x 1,000 lb bombs or 8 x 5 inch rockets. The F4U-1P is a photographic reconnaissance aircraft.

The experimental night fighter version became the X4FU-2. Another form of night fighter is the F4U-2, which is based on the F4U-1. The last Corsair model for WW2 became the F4U-4, which came later in 1944. The XF4U-2 was a post-war night fighter in service with the VFN-75 and VFN-101.

The F4U-4C is a 300 Corsair with 4 x 20mm M2 cannons instead of the original 6 x machine gun armament. Other night fighters appeared as F4U-4E and F4U-4N. The F4U-4P is another photo reconnaissance aircraft.

The F4U-5 appeared in 1945, arriving later that year, thus completely missing out on World War II action. The P&W R-2800-32(E) engine produces 2,850 horsepower.

The F4U-N was equipped with radar, and production reached 214 units. The F4U-5NL is an arctic warfare variant evolved from the F4U-5N. The F4U-5P is an extended-range photographic reconnaissance aircraft. The F4U-6 was a dedicated USMC ground attack variant that was eventually renamed the AU-1 designation.

The F4U-7 was developed with inspiration from the French Navy. Both the F4U-K and FG-1K are used as drones.

Special interceptor versions, specifically designed to counter the growing threat of suicide kamikaze attacks by the Imperial Japanese Navy, became the Goodyear F2G-1 and F2G-2 (described in detail elsewhere on this site). These are used with a P&W R-4360 "Wasp Major" 28-cylinder engine that produces 3,000 horsepower, nearly 50% more power than the original Corsair product.

Minor changes to the two brands set the two apart, although neither of them saw combat in WWII, with only ten examples from testing and the end of the war.

Corsairs have been in service with the Argentine Navy, the El Salvador Air Force, the Honduran Air Force and the New Zealand Air Force in addition to the United States, United Kingdom and France. The last known flying military-grade F4U was retired in Honduras in 1979, while New Zealand deployed F4Us in 13 squadrons from 1944-49.

In popular culture, Corsair was the subject of the television series "Black Sheep Squadron" (formerly "Blaaaaaaaa") in the late 1970s. The show chronicles "Dad" Boynton (played by Robert Conrad) during his career at the Pacific Theater.

Specification

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