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Goodyear F2G Super Corsair

1945 WORLD WAR 2 X-PLANE

History of the Goodyear F2G Super Corsair

Goodyear was one of the companies responsible for mass production of the classic, war-winning Vought F4U Corsair single-seat carrier-based fighter. The aircraft served with the US and British navies during World War II (1939-1945) and achieved excellent results as a fighter and ground attack aircraft. That's what it's worth, making the genre return to combat duty in a close support role during the Korean War (1950-1953). The Goodyear aircraft were known under the "FG" designation, and the first models to be completed were a simplified fixed-wing version of the F4U-1 folding-wing variant.

These arrived as "FG-1". Other variants joining the series became the radar-carrying "FG-1E" and the drone-oriented "FG-1K". "FG-4" was a post-war addition.

Over time, Goodyear engineers advanced the development of an internal version based on the F4U-1, or FG-1, designed for low-altitude air combat missions. The resulting work resulted in the F2G "Super Corsair," a design centered on the massive and powerful Pratt & Whitney R-4360 "Major Wasp" 28-cylinder, four-row, air-cooled, radial piston engine.

The engine is the same as that used in the Hughes H-4 Hercules, the upcoming B-50 Superfortress and the soon-to-be Convair B-36 Peacemaker. Broadly speaking, the F2G retains the form and function of the original F4U, including the signature gull-wing main plane, single rudder tail and central cockpit arrangement.

Development of a new fighter aircraft began in early 1944, using the existing FG-1 airframe as a starting point. The aircraft received the development code "XF2G-1" and the upcoming production model is "F2G-1". A new buddle canopy was installed amidships, giving the pilot better all-round visibility from the cockpit. The wings carry heavy 6 x .50 M2 Browning machine guns and can carry conventional bombs or missiles underneath. Additionally, the primary aircraft is designed to support jettisonable fuel tanks (rather than bombs) to increase the operational range away from home-grown aircraft.

Like the original F4U, the F2G will be able to perform fighter and ground attack missions as needed.

Out of sufficient interest, the US Navy commissioned 418 F2G-1s in production form. As the Pacific War hadn't yet had a definite victory at the time, these numbers reflected that, especially when Goodyear's design was able to boast a significant performance boost over the existing F4U mount.

A follow-up model, the F2G-2, was designed to have a more wearer-friendly trim and signed the brand's ten.

The end result is a strong product with impressive attack power. Given its F4U heritage, it's also inherently logistically friendly, a powerful feature in grand war plans. The first flight of the XF2G-1 prototype took place on July 15, 1945, but further testing revealed some problems with the controls and overall performance was not entirely satisfactory.

The surrender of Imperial Japan in mid-August marked the end of the Pacific War and further jeopardized the Goodyear aircraft program. As early as February 1945, the U.S. Navy made progress in procuring the F8F Panda from Grumman, a longtime U.S. Navy aircraft supplier. Grumman is responsible for another US Navy winning fighter, the F6F Hellcat.

Like many propeller-powered developments in the postwar period, the F2G was threatened by the rise of turbojet-powered naval fighters in abundance - further crowding the decks of U.S. carriers with propeller-powered types.

In the end, Goodyear can only say that a total of ten F2G "Super Pirates" have been completed. Five of these are original F2G-1 models, and the remaining batches are represented by the improved F2G-2 branding. The end of the war, combined with the other points mentioned above, led to the demise of the aircraft and the cancellation of contracts for 400+ aircraft. Several F2Gs have entered the civilian market, where they have seen extended air life as high-performance racers.

A surviving example found a home at the Museum of Flight in Seattle, Washington, USA.