F4U Corsair Photo Gallery

F4U-5 Corsair

Corsair In Flight

The Chance Vought F4U Corsair was a fighter aircraft that saw service in World War II and the Korean War. Goodyear-built Corsairs were designated FG and Brewster-built aircraft F3A.

When flown in 1940, the XF4U-1 became the first U.S. single-engine production aircraft capable of 400 mph in level flight. It was a remarkable achievement for Vought, as carrier aircraft are, compared to land-based counterparts, overbuilt to withstand the extreme stress of deck landings.

The most striking feature of the aircraft is the inverted gull wing. The design concept for the Corsair incorporated the largest available fighter engine - the 2,000 hp, 18-cylinder Pratt & Whitney R-2800 Double Wasp radial , turning an enormous 13'4" (4.06 m) Hamilton Standard propeller. The dimensions required the bent wing in order to keep the landing gear reasonably short, as well as sturdy enough for carrier landings, and to provide ground clearance for the propeller.

However, numerous technical problems had to be solved before the Corsair entered service. Carrier suitability was especially troublesome, leading to changes of the landing gear, tailwheel, and tailhook. Additionally, a small spoiler was added to the leading edge of the starboard wing to reduce adverse stall characteristics. A noticeable problem with the Corsair design was its difficulty to recover from a developed spin, as its wing shape interfered with elevator control.

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Hand-crafted Model of the F4U-4 Corsair, USMC VMF-214 "Black Sheep Squadron": The Corsair remained in continuous production from 1941 to 1952. Twelve thousand were built. The inverted gull wings were designed, in part, to extend the length of landing gear needed to create the clearance for the 13'4" prop.

A French Navy Corsair.Due to visibility problems on landing caused by a combination of the pilot's position and the length of the nose, which made landing tricky for poorly trained pilots, Corsairs were largely barred from U.S. carrier service until the end of 1944. When the aircraft finally saw combat it was nonetheless a superb fighter compared to its contemporaries, achieving a 10 to 1 victory ratio. However, nearly as many Corsairs were lost to landing accidents as the type downed enemy aircraft. Growing pains aside, Marine Corps squadrons readily took to the radical new fighter.

F4U & P-51 In-flight

F4U Corsair In Flight

F4U & P-51 In-flight

From February 1943 onward, the "U-Bird" flew from Guadalcanal and ultimately other bases in the Solomon Islands. Corsairs were flown by the famous Black Sheep Squadron VMF-214 led by Marine Fighter Ace Maj. Gregory "Pappy" Boyington in an area of the Solomon Islands called The Slot. (The real men of the sqaudron called Boyington "Gramps". They never referred to him as "Pappy". Somehow the name "Pappy" was introduced by the media. The moniker stuck and was made famous by Hollywood with the making of the TV series "Baa Baa Black Sheep".) Corsairs also served well as fighter-bombers in the Central Pacific and the Philippines. Night-fighter versions were produced, equipping Navy and Marine units ashore and afloat. British units flying from aircraft carriers solved the landing visibility problem by approaching the carrier in a medium left-hand turn, which allowed the pilot to keep the carrier's deck in view over the dip in the port wing, allowing safe carrier operations. At war's eand, Corsairs wee ashore on Okinawa combating the Kamikaze suicide pilots and flying from fleet and escort carriers.

During the war, Corsair production expanded beyond Vought to include Brewster (F3A) and Goodyear (FG) models. Allied forces flying the aircraft included the British Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm and the Royal New Zealand Air Force.

F4U Corsair Wing Fold

F4U Corsair Taxies By

F4U Corsair Wing Fold