fighter aircraft
Fighter aircraft are fixed-wing military aircraft designed primarily for air-to-air combat. In military conflict, the role of fighter aircraft is to establish air superiority of the battlespace. Domination of the airspace above a battlefield ...
which saw service primarily in
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
and the
Korean War
, date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...
. Designed and initially manufactured by Chance Vought, the Corsair was soon in great demand; additional production contracts were given to Goodyear, whose Corsairs were designated FG, and Brewster, designated F3A.
The Corsair was designed and operated as a
carrier-based aircraft
Carrier-based aircraft, sometimes known as carrier-capable aircraft or carrier-borne aircraft, are naval aircraft designed for operations from aircraft carriers. They must be able to launch in a short distance and be sturdy enough to withstand ...
, and entered service in large numbers with the U.S. Navy in late 1944 and early 1945. It quickly became one of the most capable carrier-based
fighter-bombers
A fighter-bomber is a fighter aircraft that has been modified, or used primarily, as a light bomber or attack aircraft. It differs from bomber and attack aircraft primarily in its origins, as a fighter that has been adapted into other roles, w ...
of World War II. Some Japanese pilots regarded it as the most formidable American fighter of World War II and its naval aviators achieved an 11:1
kill ratio
Loss exchange ratio is a figure of merit in attrition warfare. It is usually relevant to a condition or state of war where one side depletes the resources of another through attrition. Specifically and most often used as a comparator in aerial c ...
. Early problems with carrier landings and logistics led to it being eclipsed as the dominant carrier-based fighter by the
Grumman F6F Hellcat
The Grumman F6F Hellcat is an American Carrier-based aircraft, carrier-based fighter aircraft of World War II. Designed to replace the earlier Grumman F4F Wildcat, F4F Wildcat and to counter the Japanese Mitsubishi A6M Zero, it was the United St ...
, powered by the same
Double Wasp
The Pratt & Whitney R-2800 Double Wasp is an American twin-row, 18-cylinder, air-cooled radial aircraft engine with a engine displacement, displacement of , and is part of the long-lived Pratt & Whitney Wasp series, Wasp family of engines.
...
engine first flown on the Corsair's initial prototype in 1940. Instead, the Corsair's early deployment was to land-based squadrons of the U.S. Marine Corps and U.S. Navy.
The Corsair served almost exclusively as a fighter-bomber throughout the Korean War and during the French colonial wars in
Indochina
Mainland Southeast Asia, also known as the Indochinese Peninsula or Indochina, is the continental portion of Southeast Asia. It lies east of the Indian subcontinent and south of Mainland China and is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the west an ...
. In addition to its use by the U.S. and British, the Corsair was also used by the
Royal New Zealand Air Force
The Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) ( mi, Te Tauaarangi o Aotearoa, "The Warriors of the Sky of New Zealand"; previously ', "War Party of the Blue") is the aerial service branch of the New Zealand Defence Force. It was formed from New Zeala ...
,
French Naval Aviation
French Naval Aviation (often abbreviated in French to: ''Aéronavale'' (contraction of Aéronautique navale), or ''Aviation navale'', or more simply ''l'Aéro'') is the naval air arm of the French Navy. The long-form official designation is ' ...
, and other air forces until the 1960s.
From the first prototype delivery to the U.S. Navy in 1940, to final delivery in 1953 to the French, 12,571 F4U Corsairs were manufacturedShettle 2001, p. 107. in 16 separate models. Its 1942–1953 production run was the longest of any U.S. piston-engined fighter.Donald 1995, p. 244.Wilson 1996.
Development
In February 1938 the U.S. Navy Bureau of Aeronautics published two requests for proposal for twin-engined and single-engined fighters. For the single-engined fighter the Navy requested the maximum obtainable speed, and a stalling speed not higher than . A range of was specified. The fighter had to carry four guns, or three with increased ammunition. Provision had to be made for anti-aircraft bombs to be carried in the wing. These small bombs would, according to thinking in the 1930s, be dropped on enemy aircraft formations.
In June 1938, the U.S. Navy signed a contract with Vought for a prototype bearing the factory designation V-166B, the XF4U-1, BuNo 1443. The Corsair design team was led by
Rex Beisel
Rex Buren Beisel (October 24, 1893 – January 26, 1972) was an American aeronautical engineer and pioneer in the science and industry of aviation. He was the lead designer of several successful military and civilian aircraft, but is best known fo ...
. After mock-up inspection in February 1939, construction of the XF4U-1 powered by an XR-2800-4 prototype of the
Pratt & Whitney R-2800 Double Wasp
The Pratt & Whitney R-2800 Double Wasp is an American twin-row, 18-cylinder, air-cooled radial aircraft engine with a displacement of , and is part of the long-lived Wasp family of engines.
The R-2800 saw widespread use in many important A ...
twin-row, 18-cylinder
radial engine
The radial engine is a reciprocating type internal combustion engine configuration in which the cylinders "radiate" outward from a central crankcase like the spokes of a wheel. It resembles a stylized star when viewed from the front, and is ca ...
, rated at went ahead quickly, as the very first airframe ever designed from the start to have a Double Wasp engine fitted for flight. When the prototype was completed it had the biggest and most powerful engine, largest propeller, and probably the largest wing on any naval fighter to date. The first flight of the XF4U-1 was made on 29 May 1940, with Lyman A. Bullard, Jr. at the controls. The maiden flight proceeded normally until a hurried landing was made when the elevator trim tabs failed because of flutter.
On 1 October 1940, the XF4U-1 became the first single-engine U.S. fighter to fly faster than by flying at an average ground speed of from Stratford to
Hartford
Hartford is the capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It was the seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960. It is the core city in the Greater Hartford metropolitan area. Census estimates since the ...
. The
USAAC
The United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) was the aerial warfare service component of the United States Army between 1926 and 1941. After World War I, as early aviation became an increasingly important part of modern warfare, a philosophical r ...
's twin engine
Lockheed P-38 Lightning
The Lockheed P-38 Lightning is an American single-seat, twin piston-engined fighter aircraft that was used during World War II. Developed for the United States Army Air Corps by the Lockheed Corporation, the P-38 incorporated a distinctive twi ...
had flown over 400 mph in January–February 1939.Veronico et al. 1994, p. 11. The XF4U-1 also had an excellent rate of climb although testing revealed some requirements would have to be rewritten. In full-power dive tests, speeds of up to were achieved, but not without damage to the control surfaces and access panels and, in one case, an engine failure. The spin recovery standards also had to be relaxed as recovery from the required two-turn spin proved impossible without resorting to an anti-spin chute. The problems clearly meant delays in getting the design into production.
Reports coming back from the war in Europe indicated an armament of two synchronized engine cowling-mount machine guns, and two machine guns (one in each outer wing panel) was insufficient. The
U.S. Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage of ...
's November 1940 production proposals specified heavier armament. The increased armament comprised three .50 caliber machine guns mounted in each wing panel. This improvement greatly increased the ability of the Corsair to shoot down enemy aircraft.
Formal U.S. Navy acceptance trials for the XF4U-1 began in February 1941. The Navy entered into a letter of intent on 3 March 1941, received Vought's production proposal on 2 April, and awarded Vought a contract for 584 F4U-1 fighters, which were given the name "Corsair" – inherited from the firm's late-1920s
Vought O2U
The Vought O2U Corsair was a 1920s biplane scout and observation aircraft. Developed by Vought Corporation, the O2U was ordered by the United States Navy (USN) in 1927. Powered by a 400 hp (298 kW) Pratt & Whitney R-1340 engine, it inco ...
naval biplane scout which first bore the name – on 30 June of the same year. The first production F4U-1 performed its initial flight a year later, on 24 June 1942. It was a remarkable achievement for Vought; compared to land-based counterparts, carrier aircraft are "overbuilt" and heavier, to withstand the extreme stress of deck landings.
Design
Engine considerations
The F4U incorporated the largest engine available at the time, the 18-cylinder
Pratt & Whitney R-2800
The Pratt & Whitney R-2800 Double Wasp is an American twin-row, 18-cylinder, air-cooled radial aircraft engine with a displacement of , and is part of the long-lived Wasp family of engines.
The R-2800 saw widespread use in many importan ...
Double Wasp
radial
Radial is a geometric term of location which may refer to:
Mathematics and Direction
* Vector (geometric)
In mathematics, physics, and engineering, a Euclidean vector or simply a vector (sometimes called a geometric vector or spatial vector) ...
. To extract as much power as possible, a relatively large
Hamilton Standard
Hamilton Standard was an American aircraft propeller parts supplier. It was formed in 1929 when United Aircraft and Transport Corporation consolidated Hamilton Aero Manufacturing and Standard Steel Propeller into the Hamilton Standard Propeller C ...
Hydromatic three-blade
propeller
A propeller (colloquially often called a screw if on a ship or an airscrew if on an aircraft) is a device with a rotating hub and radiating blades that are set at a pitch to form a helical spiral which, when rotated, exerts linear thrust upon ...
of was used.
Landing gear and wings
To accommodate a folding wing the designers considered retracting the main landing gear rearward but, for the chord of wing that was chosen, it was difficult to make the landing gear struts long enough to provide ground clearance for the large propeller. Their solution was an inverted gull wing, which considerably shortened the required length of the struts.Green 1973, p. 188. The anhedral of the wing's inboard section also permitted the wing and fuselage to meet at the optimum angle for minimizing drag, without using wing root fairings. The bent wing was heavier and more difficult to construct, however, offsetting these benefits.
The Corsair's aerodynamics were an advance over those of contemporary naval fighters. The F4U was the first U.S. Navy aircraft to feature landing gear that retracted into a fully enclosed wheel well. The landing gear
oleo strut
An oleo strut is a pneumatic air–oil hydraulic shock absorber used on the landing gear of most large aircraft and many smaller ones. This design cushions the impacts of landing and damps out vertical oscillations.
It is undesirable for an airp ...
s—each with its own strut door enclosing it when retracted—rotated through 90° during retraction, with the wheel atop the lower end of the strut when retracted. A pair of rectangular doors enclosed each wheel well, leaving a streamlined wing.Swinhert, Earl "Vought F4U Corsair" ''The Aviation History Online Museum''. Retrieved 3 March 2007. This swiveling, aft-retracting landing gear design was common to the
Curtiss P-40
The Curtiss P-40 Warhawk is an American single-engined, single-seat, all-metal fighter and ground-attack aircraft that first flew in 1938. The P-40 design was a modification of the previous Curtiss P-36 Hawk which reduced development time and ...
(and its predecessor, the P-36), as adopted for the F4U Corsair's main gear and its erstwhile Pacific War counterpart, the
Grumman F6F Hellcat
The Grumman F6F Hellcat is an American Carrier-based aircraft, carrier-based fighter aircraft of World War II. Designed to replace the earlier Grumman F4F Wildcat, F4F Wildcat and to counter the Japanese Mitsubishi A6M Zero, it was the United St ...
. The oil coolers were mounted in the heavily anhedraled inboard section of the wings, alongside the
supercharger
In an internal combustion engine, a supercharger compresses the intake gas, forcing more air into the engine in order to produce more power for a given displacement.
The current categorisation is that a supercharger is a form of forced induct ...
air intakes, and used openings in the leading edges of the wings, rather than protruding scoops. The large fuselage panels were made of
aluminum
Aluminium (aluminum in American and Canadian English) is a chemical element with the symbol Al and atomic number 13. Aluminium has a density lower than those of other common metals, at approximately one third that of steel. It has ...
and were attached to the frames with the newly developed technique of
spot welding
A spot welder
Spot welding (or resistance spot welding) is a type of electric resistance welding used to weld various sheet metal products, through a process in which contacting metal surface points are joined by the heat obtained from resistance ...
, thus mostly eliminating the use of rivets. While employing this new technology, the Corsair was also the last American-produced
fighter aircraft
Fighter aircraft are fixed-wing military aircraft designed primarily for air-to-air combat. In military conflict, the role of fighter aircraft is to establish air superiority of the battlespace. Domination of the airspace above a battlefield ...
to feature fabric as the skinning for the top and bottom of each outer wing, aft of the main
spar
SPAR, originally DESPAR, styled as DE SPAR, is a Dutch multinational that provides branding, supplies and support services for independently owned and operated food retail stores. It was founded in the Netherlands in 1932, by Adriaan van Well, ...
and armament bays, and for the
aileron
An aileron (French for "little wing" or "fin") is a hinged flight control surface usually forming part of the trailing edge of each wing of a fixed-wing aircraft. Ailerons are used in pairs to control the aircraft in roll (or movement around ...
s,
elevators
An elevator or lift is a cable-assisted, hydraulic cylinder-assisted, or roller-track assisted machine that vertically transports people or freight between floors, levels, or decks of a building, vessel, or other structure. They are ...
, and
rudder
A rudder is a primary control surface used to steer a ship, boat, submarine, hovercraft, aircraft, or other vehicle that moves through a fluid medium (generally aircraft, air or watercraft, water). On an aircraft the rudder is used primarily to ...
. The elevators were also constructed from plywood. The Corsair, even with its streamlining and high speed abilities, could fly slowly enough for carrier landings with full
flap
Flap may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
* ''Flap'' (film), a 1970 American film
* Flap, a boss character in the arcade game ''Gaiapolis''
* Flap, a minor character in the film '' Little Nemo: Adventures in Slumberland''
Biology and he ...
deployment of 50°.
Technical issues
In part because of its advances in technology and a top speed greater than existing Navy aircraft, numerous technical problems had to be solved before the Corsair entered service. Carrier suitability was a major development issue, prompting changes to the main landing gear, tail wheel, and
tailhook
A tailhook, arresting hook, or arrester hook is a device attached to the empennage (rear) of some military fixed-wing aircraft. The hook is used to achieve rapid deceleration during routine landings aboard aircraft carrier flight decks at sea ...
. Early F4U-1s had difficulty recovering from developed spins, since the inverted gull wing's shape interfered with elevator authority. It was also found where the Corsair's left wing could stall and drop rapidly and without warning during slow carrier landings. In addition, if the throttle were suddenly advanced (for example, during an aborted landing) the left wing could stall and drop so quickly that the fighter could flip over with the rapid increase in power. These potentially lethal characteristics were later solved through the addition of a small, -long
stall strip
A stall strip is a small component fixed to the leading edge of the wing of an airplane to modify its aerodynamic characteristics.Crane, Dale: ''Dictionary of Aeronautical Terms'', third edition, page 487. Aviation Supplies & Academics, 1997. The ...
to the leading edge of the outer right wing, just outboard of the gun ports. This allowed the right wing to stall at the same time as the left.O'Leary 1980, pp. 106–107.
Other problems were encountered during early carrier trials. The combination of an aft cockpit and the Corsair's long nose made landings hazardous for newly trained pilots because of the lack of visibility due to said features. During landing approaches, it was found that oil from the opened hydraulically-powered
cowl flaps
Aircraft engine controls provide a means for the pilot to control and monitor the operation of the aircraft's powerplant. This article describes controls used with a basic internal-combustion engine driving a propeller. Some optional or more adv ...
could spatter onto the windscreen, severely reducing visibility, and the undercarriage
oleo strut
An oleo strut is a pneumatic air–oil hydraulic shock absorber used on the landing gear of most large aircraft and many smaller ones. This design cushions the impacts of landing and damps out vertical oscillations.
It is undesirable for an airp ...
s had bad rebound characteristics on landing, allowing the aircraft to bounce down the carrier deck. The first problem was solved by locking the top cowl flaps in front of the windscreen down permanently, then replacing them with a fixed panel. The undercarriage bounce took more time to solve, but eventually a "bleed valve" incorporated in the legs allowed the hydraulic pressure to be released gradually as the aircraft landed. The Corsair was not considered fit for carrier use until the wing stall problems and the deck bounce could be solved.
Meanwhile, the more docile and simpler-to-build F6F Hellcat had begun entering service in its intended carrier-based use. The Navy wanted to standardize on one type of carrier fighter, and the Hellcat, while slower than the Corsair, was considered simpler to land on a carrier by an inexperienced pilot and proved to be successful almost immediately after introduction. The Navy's decision to choose the Hellcat meant that the Corsair was released to the U.S. Marine Corps. With no initial requirement for carrier landings, the Marine Corps deployed the Corsair to devastating effect from land bases. Corsair deployment aboard U.S. carriers was delayed until late 1944, by which time the last of the carrier landing problems, relating to the Corsair's long nose, had been tackled by the British.
Design modifications
Production F4U-1s featured several major modifications from the XF4U-1. A change of armament to six wing-mounted
M2 Browning machine gun
The M2 machine gun or Browning .50 caliber machine gun (informally, "Ma Deuce") is a heavy machine gun that was designed towards the end of World War I by John Browning. Its design is similar to Browning's earlier M1919 Browning machine gun, w ...
s (three in each outer wing panel) and their ammunition (400 rounds for the inner pair, 375 rounds for the outer) meant the location of the wing fuel tanks had to be changed. In order to keep the fuel tank close to the
center of gravity
In physics, the center of mass of a distribution of mass in space (sometimes referred to as the balance point) is the unique point where the weight function, weighted relative position (vector), position of the distributed mass sums to zero. Thi ...
, the only available position was in the forward fuselage, ahead of the cockpit. Accordingly, as a
self-sealing fuel tank
A self-sealing fuel tank is a type of fuel tank, typically used in aircraft fuel tanks or fuel bladders, that prevents them from leaking fuel and igniting after being damaged.
Typical self-sealing tanks have multiple layers of rubber and reinforc ...
replaced the fuselage mounted armament, the cockpit had to be moved back by and the fuselage lengthened. Later on, different variants of the F4U were given different armaments. While most Corsair variants had the standard armament of six .50 caliber M2 Browning machine guns, some models (like the F4U-1C) were equipped with four 20 millimeter M2 cannons for its main weapon. While these cannons were more powerful than the standard machine guns, they were not favored over the standard loadout. Only 200 models of this particular Corsair model were produced, out of the total 12,571. Other variants were capable of carrying mission specific weapons such as rockets and bombs. The F4U was able to carry up to a total of eight rockets, or four under each wing. It was able to carry up to four thousand pounds of explosive ordnance. This helped the Corsair take on a fighter bomber role, giving it a more versatile role as a ground support aircraft as well as a fighter. In addition, of armor plate was installed, along with a bullet-proof windscreen which was set internally, behind the curved
Plexiglas
Poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) belongs to a group of materials called engineering plastics. It is a transparent thermoplastic. PMMA is also known as acrylic, acrylic glass, as well as by the trade names and brands Crylux, Plexiglas, Acrylite, ...
windscreen. The canopy could be jettisoned in an emergency, and half-elliptical planform transparent panels, much like those of certain models of the
Curtiss P-40
The Curtiss P-40 Warhawk is an American single-engined, single-seat, all-metal fighter and ground-attack aircraft that first flew in 1938. The P-40 design was a modification of the previous Curtiss P-36 Hawk which reduced development time and ...
, were inset into the sides of the fuselage's turtledeck structure behind the pilot's headrest, providing the pilot with a limited rear view over his shoulders. A rectangular Plexiglas panel was inset into the lower center section to allow the pilot to see directly beneath the aircraft and assist with deck landings. The engine used was the more powerful R-2800-8 (B series) Double Wasp which produced . On the wings the flaps were changed to a
NACA
The National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) was a United States federal agency founded on March 3, 1915, to undertake, promote, and institutionalize aeronautical research. On October 1, 1958, the agency was dissolved and its assets ...
slotted type and the ailerons were increased in span to increase the roll rate, with a consequent reduction in flap span.
IFF
In logic and related fields such as mathematics and philosophy, "if and only if" (shortened as "iff") is a biconditional logical connective between statements, where either both statements are true or both are false.
The connective is bicon ...
transponder equipment was fitted in the rear fuselage. These changes increased the Corsair's weight by several hundred pounds.Russell 1984, p. 27.
Performance
The performance of the Corsair was superior to most of its contemporaries. The F4U-1 was considerably faster than the Grumman F6F Hellcat and only slower than the
Republic P-47 Thunderbolt
The Republic P-47 Thunderbolt is a World War II-era fighter aircraft produced by the American company Republic Aviation from 1941 through 1945. It was a successful high-altitude fighter and it also served as the foremost American fighter-bombe ...
. All three were powered by the R-2800. But whereas the P-47 achieved its highest speed at with the help of an
intercooled
An intercooler is a heat exchanger used to cool a gas after compression. Often found in turbocharged engines, intercoolers are also used in air compressors, air conditioners, refrigeration and gas turbines.
Internal combustion engines
Most ...
turbocharger
In an internal combustion engine, a turbocharger (often called a turbo) is a forced induction device that is powered by the flow of exhaust gases. It uses this energy to compress the intake gas, forcing more air into the engine in order to pro ...
, the F4U-1 reached its maximum speed at using a mechanically supercharged engine.
Operational history
World War II
U.S. service
=Navy testing and release to the U.S. Marine Corps
=
The U.S. Navy received its first production F4U-1 on 31 July 1942, though getting it into service proved difficult. The framed "birdcage" style canopy provided inadequate visibility for deck taxiing, and the long "hose nose" and nose-up attitude of the Corsair made it difficult to see straight ahead. The enormous torque of the Double Wasp engine also made it a handful for inexperienced pilots if they were forced to bolter. Early Navy pilots called the F4U the "hog", "hosenose", or "bent-wing widow maker".O'Rourke, G.G, Capt. USN. "Of Hosenoses, Stoofs, and Lefthanded Spads". ''United States Naval Institute Proceedings'', July 1968.
Carrier qualification trials on the training carrier USS ''Wolverine'' and escort carriers USS ''Core'' and USS ''Charger'' in 1942 found that, despite visibility issues and control sensitivity, the Corsair was "...an excellent carrier type and very easy to land aboard. It is no different than any other airplane." Two Navy units,
VF-12
Fighter Squadron 12 or VF-12 was an aviation unit of the United States Navy. Originally established on 9 January 1943, it was disestablished on 17 September 1945. It was the first US Navy squadron to be designated as VF-12.
Operational history
V ...
(October 1942) and later VF-17 (April 1943) were equipped with the F4U. By April 1943, VF-12 had successfully completed deck landing qualification.
At the time, the U.S. Navy also had the Grumman F6F Hellcat, which did not have the performance of the F4U, but was a better deck landing aircraft. The Corsair was declared "ready for combat" at the end of 1942, though qualified to operate only from land bases until the last of the carrier qualification issues were worked out. VF-17 went aboard the in late 1943, and the Chief of Naval Operations wanted to equip four air groups with Corsairs by the end of 1943. The Commander, Air Forces, Pacific had a different opinion, stating that "In order to simplify spares problems and also to insure flexibility in carrier operations present practice in the Pacific is to assign all Corsairs to Marines and to equip FightRons ighter squadronson medium and light carriers with Hellcats." VF-12 soon abandoned its aircraft to the Marines. VF-17 kept its Corsairs, but was removed from its carrier, USS ''Bunker Hill'', due to perceived difficulties in supplying parts at sea.
The Marines needed a better fighter than the F4F Wildcat. For them, it was not as important that the F4U could be recovered aboard a carrier, as they usually flew from land bases. Growing pains aside, Marine Corps squadrons readily took to the radical new fighter.
=Marine Corps combat
=
From February 1943 onward, the F4U operated from
Guadalcanal
Guadalcanal (; indigenous name: ''Isatabu'') is the principal island in Guadalcanal Province of Solomon Islands, located in the south-western Pacific, northeast of Australia. It is the largest island in the Solomon Islands by area, and the seco ...
and ultimately other bases in the
Solomon Islands
Solomon Islands is an island country consisting of six major islands and over 900 smaller islands in Oceania, to the east of Papua New Guinea and north-west of Vanuatu. It has a land area of , and a population of approx. 700,000. Its capita ...
. A dozen USMC F4U-1s of VMF-124, commanded by
Major
Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...
William E. Gise, arrived at Henderson Field (code name "Cactus") on 12 February. The first recorded combat engagement was on 14 February 1943, when Corsairs of VMF-124 under Major Gise assisted P-40s and P-38s in escorting a formation of
Consolidated B-24 Liberator
The Consolidated B-24 Liberator is an American heavy bomber, designed by Consolidated Aircraft of San Diego, California. It was known within the company as the Model 32, and some initial production aircraft were laid down as export models des ...
s on a raid against a Japanese aerodrome at Kahili. Japanese fighters contested the raid and the Americans got the worst of it, with four P-38s, two P-40s, two Corsairs, and two Liberators lost. No more than four Japanese Zeros were destroyed. A Corsair was responsible for one of the kills, albeit due to a midair collision. The fiasco was referred to as the "Saint Valentine's Day Massacre". Despite the debut, the Marines quickly learned how to make better use of the aircraft and started demonstrating its superiority over Japanese fighters. By May, the Corsair units were getting the upper hand, and VMF-124 had produced the first Corsair ace,
Second Lieutenant
Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank.
Australia
The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until ...
Kenneth A. Walsh, who would rack up a total of 21 kills during the war. He remembered:
VMF-113 was activated on 1 January 1943 at Marine Corps Air Station El Toro as part of Marine Base Defense Air Group 41. They were soon given their full complement of 24 F4U Corsairs. On 26 March 1944, while escorting four B-25 bombers on a raid over Ponape, they recorded their first enemy kills, downing eight Japanese aircraft. In April of that year, VMF-113 was tasked with providing air support for the landings at Ujelang. Since the assault was unopposed, the squadron quickly returned to striking Japanese targets in the
Marshall Islands
The Marshall Islands ( mh, Ṃajeḷ), officially the Republic of the Marshall Islands ( mh, Aolepān Aorōkin Ṃajeḷ),'' () is an independent island country and microstate near the Equator in the Pacific Ocean, slightly west of the Internati ...
for the remainder of 1944.
Corsairs were flown by the "Black Sheep" Squadron (
VMF-214
Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 214 (VMFA-214) is a United States Marine Corps attack squadron consisting of Lockheed Martin F-35B STOVL jets. It is currently in the process of transitioning from its fleet of AV-8B Harrier (V/STOL) jets. The squ ...
, led by Marine Major
Gregory "Pappy" Boyington
Gregory "Pappy" Boyington (December 4, 1912 – January 11, 1988) was an American combat pilot who was a United States Marine Corps fighter ace during World War II. He received the Medal of Honor and the Navy Cross. A Marine aviator with ...
) in an area of the Solomon Islands called " The Slot". Boyington was credited with 22 kills in F4Us (of 28 total, including six in an AVG
P-40
The Curtiss P-40 Warhawk is an American single-engined, single-seat, all-metal fighter and ground-attack aircraft that first flew in 1938. The P-40 design was a modification of the previous Curtiss P-36 Hawk which reduced development time an ...
, although his score with the AVG has been disputed). Other noted Corsair pilots of the period included VMF-124's Kenneth Walsh,
James E. Swett
James Elms Swett (June 15, 1920 – January 18, 2009) was a United States Marine Corps fighter pilot and flying ace during World War II.
,
Archie Donahue
Archie Glenn Donahue (October 24, 1917 – July 30, 2007) was a decorated American combat pilot and a United States Marine Corps fighter ace during World War II. He shot down a total of 14 Japanese planes during the war, including five in a single ...
, and Bill "Casey" Case;
VMF-215
Marine Fighting Squadron 215 (VMF-215) was a fighter squadron of the United States Marine Corps that was commissioned and fought during World War II. Known as "The Fighting Corsairs", the squadron fought in many areas of the Pacific War, including ...
's
Robert M. Hanson
Robert Murray Hanson (February 4, 1920 – February 3, 1944) was a United States Marine Corps flying ace who shot down 25 Japanese planes from the South Pacific skies. He posthumously received the Medal of Honor. One of five children, he is the eld ...
Tommy Blackburn
John Thomas Blackburn (January 24, 1912 – March 21, 1994) was an American naval aviator, World War II flying ace, and the first commanding officer of the famed F4U Corsair squadron VF-17 Jolly Rogers.
Early life
John Thomas Blackburn was born i ...
,
Roger Hedrick
Roger is a given name, usually masculine, and a surname. The given name is derived from the Old French personal names ' and '. These names are of Germanic languages, Germanic origin, derived from the elements ', ''χrōþi'' ("fame", "renown", " ...
, and Ira Kepford. Nightfighter versions equipped Navy and Marine units afloat and ashore.
One particularly unusual kill was scored by Marine Lieutenant R. R. Klingman of VMF-312 (the "Checkerboards") over Okinawa. Klingman was in pursuit of a Japanese twin-engine aircraft at high altitude when his guns jammed due to the gun lubrication thickening from the extreme cold. He flew up and chopped off the enemy's tail with the big propeller of the Corsair. Despite missing off the end of his propeller blades, he managed to land safely after this
aerial ramming
Aerial ramming or air ramming is the ramming of one aircraft with another. It is a last-ditch tactic in air combat, sometimes used when all else has failed. Long before the invention of aircraft, ramming tactics in naval warfare and ground warfare ...
attack. He was awarded the
Navy Cross
The Navy Cross is the United States Navy and United States Marine Corps' second-highest military decoration awarded for sailors and marines who distinguish themselves for extraordinary heroism in combat with an armed enemy force. The medal is eq ...
.
At war's end, Corsairs were ashore on
Okinawa
is a prefecture of Japan. Okinawa Prefecture is the southernmost and westernmost prefecture of Japan, has a population of 1,457,162 (as of 2 February 2020) and a geographic area of 2,281 km2 (880 sq mi).
Naha is the capital and largest city ...
, combating the ''kamikaze'', and also were flying from fleet and escort carriers. VMF-312,
VMF-323
Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 323 (VMFA-323) is an aircraft carrier-based aviation squadron of the United States Marine Corps. The squadron is equipped with the McDonnell Douglas F/A-18C Hornet and is based at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, ...
, VMF-224, and a handful of others met with success in the
Battle of Okinawa
The , codenamed Operation Iceberg, was a major battle of the Pacific War fought on the island of Okinawa by United States Army (USA) and United States Marine Corps (USMC) forces against the Imperial Japanese Army (IJA). The initial invasion of ...
.
=Field modifications for land-based Corsairs
=
Since Corsairs were being operated from shore bases, while still awaiting approval for U.S. carrier operations, 965 FG-1As were built as "land planes" without their hydraulic wing folding mechanisms, hoping to improve performance by reducing aircraft weight, with the added benefit of minimizing complexity.D’Angina 2014, p.22. (These Corsairs’ wings could still be manually folded.Dorr 1991, p.66.)
A second option was to remove the folding mechanism in the field using a kit, which could be done for Vought and Brewster Corsairs as well. On 6 December 1943, the Bureau of Aeronautics issued guidance on weight-reduction measures for the F4U-1, FG-1, and F3A. Corsair squadrons operating from land bases were authorized to remove catapult hooks, arresting hooks, and associated equipment, which eliminated 48 pounds of unnecessary weight. While there are no data to indicate to what extent these modifications were incorporated, there are numerous photos in evidence of Corsairs, of various manufacturers and models, on islands in the Pacific without tailhooks installed.
=Fighter-bomber
=
Corsairs also served well as fighter-bombers in the Central Pacific and the Philippines. By early 1944, Marine pilots were beginning to exploit the type's considerable capabilities in the close-support role in amphibious landings.
Charles Lindbergh
Charles Augustus Lindbergh (February 4, 1902 – August 26, 1974) was an American aviator, military officer, author, inventor, and activist. On May 20–21, 1927, Lindbergh made the first nonstop flight from New York City to Paris, a distance o ...
flew Corsairs with the Marines as a civilian technical advisor for
United Aircraft Corporation
The PJSC United Aircraft Corporation (UAC) () is a Russian Aerospace manufacturer, aerospace and Arms industry, defense corporation. With a majority stake belonging to the Russian government, it consolidates Russian private and state-owned Russian ...
in order to determine how best to increase the Corsair's payload and range in the attack role and to help evaluate future viability of single- versus twin-engine fighter design for Vought."Charles Lindbergh and the 475th Fighter Group" (from the book ''Lightning Strikes'') ''charleslindbergh.com.'' Retrieved: 5 August 2010. Lindbergh managed to get the F4U into the air with of bombs, with a bomb on the centerline and a bomb under each wing. In the course of such experiments, he performed strikes on Japanese positions during the battle for the Marshall Islands.
By the beginning of 1945, the Corsair was a full-blown "mudfighter", performing strikes with high-explosive bombs,
napalm
Napalm is an incendiary mixture of a gelling agent and a volatile petrochemical (usually gasoline (petrol) or diesel fuel). The name is a portmanteau of two of the constituents of the original thickening and gelling agents: coprecipitated al ...
tanks, and
HVAR
Hvar (; Chakavian: ''Hvor'' or ''For'', el, Φάρος, Pharos, la, Pharia, it, Lesina) is a Croatian island in the Adriatic Sea, located off the Dalmatian coast, lying between the islands of Brač, Vis and Korčula. Approximately long,
wi ...
s. It proved versatile, able to operate everything from
Bat
Bats are mammals of the order Chiroptera.''cheir'', "hand" and πτερόν''pteron'', "wing". With their forelimbs adapted as wings, they are the only mammals capable of true and sustained flight. Bats are more agile in flight than most bi ...
glide bomb
A glide bomb or stand-off bomb is a standoff weapon with flight control surfaces to give it a flatter, gliding flight path than that of a conventional bomb without such surfaces. This allows it to be released at a distance from the target rat ...
s to Tiny Tim rockets. The aircraft was a prominent participant in the fighting for the
Palaus
Palau,, officially the Republic of Palau and historically ''Belau'', ''Palaos'' or ''Pelew'', is an island country and microstate in the western Pacific. The nation has approximately 340 islands and connects the western chain of the Caro ...
,
Iwo Jima
Iwo Jima (, also ), known in Japan as , is one of the Japanese Volcano Islands and lies south of the Bonin Islands. Together with other islands, they form the Ogasawara Archipelago. The highest point of Iwo Jima is Mount Suribachi at high.
...
and Okinawa.
=Navy service
=
In November 1943, while operating as a shore-based unit in the Solomon Islands, VF-17 reinstalled the tail hooks so its F4Us could land and refuel while providing top cover over the task force participating in the
carrier raid on Rabaul
Carrier may refer to:
Entertainment
* Carrier (album), ''Carrier'' (album), a 2013 album by The Dodos
* Carrier (board game), ''Carrier'' (board game), a South Pacific World War II board game
* Carrier (TV series), ''Carrier'' (TV series), a ten- ...
. The squadron's pilots landed, refueled, and took off from their former home, ''Bunker Hill'' and on 11 November 1943.
Twelve USMC F4U-1s arrived at Henderson Field (Guadalcanal) on 12 February 1943. The U.S. Navy did not get into combat with the type until September 1943. The work done by the
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...
's
FAA
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is the largest transportation agency of the U.S. government and regulates all aspects of civil aviation in the country as well as over surrounding international waters. Its powers include air traffic m ...
meant those models qualified the type for U.S. carrier operations first. The U.S. Navy finally accepted the F4U for shipboard operations in April 1944, after the longer oleo strut was fitted, which eliminated the tendency to bounce. The first US Corsair unit to be based effectively on a carrier was the pioneer USMC squadron
VMF-124
Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 124 (VMFA-124) was a flying squadron in the Marine Forces Reserve based out of Naval Air Station Memphis flying the A-4 Skyhawk. They were part of Marine Aircraft Group 42 and were decommissioned on 19 June 1999. ...
, which joined ''Essex'' in December 1944. They were accompanied by
VMF-213
Marine Fighting Squadron 213 (VMF-213) was a reserve fighter squadron in the United States Marine Corps. Nicknamed the "Hell Hawks", the squadron fought during World War II in the Philippines and at the battles of Iwo Jima and Okinawa. With its ...
. The increasing need for fighter protection against ''
kamikaze
, officially , were a part of the Japanese Special Attack Units of military aviators who flew suicide attacks for the Empire of Japan against Allied naval vessels in the closing stages of the Pacific campaign of World War II, intending to d ...
'' attacks resulted in more Corsair units being moved to carriers.
=Sortie, kill and loss figures
=
U.S. figures compiled at the end of the war indicate that the F4U and FG flew 64,051 operational sorties for the U.S. Marines and U.S. Navy through the conflict (44% of total fighter sorties), with only 9,581 sorties (15%) flown from carrier decks.Barber 1946, Table 1. F4U and FG pilots claimed 2,140 air combat victories against 189 losses to enemy aircraft, for an overall kill ratio of over 11:1.Barber 1946, Table 2 While this gave the Corsair the lowest loss rate of any fighter of the Pacific War, this was due in part to operational circumstances; it primarily faced air-to-air combat in the Solomon Islands and Rabaul campaigns (as well as at Leyte and for kamikaze interception), but as operations shifted north and its mission shifted to ground attack the aircraft saw less exposure to enemy aircraft, while other fighter types were exposed to more air combat. Against the best Japanese opponents, the aircraft claimed a 12:1 kill ratio against the
Mitsubishi A6M Zero
The Mitsubishi A6M "Zero" is a long-range carrier-based aircraft, carrier-based fighter aircraft formerly manufactured by Mitsubishi Aircraft Company, a part of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, and was operated by the Imperial Japanese Navy from 19 ...
and 6:1 against the
Nakajima Ki-84
The is a single-seat fighter flown by the Imperial Japanese Army Air Service in the last two years of World War II. The Allied reporting name was "Frank"; the Japanese Army designation was . The Ki-84 is generally considered the best Japanese fi ...
,
Kawanishi N1K
The Kawanishi N1K ''Kyōfū'' (, "Strong Wind", Allied reporting name "Rex") is an Imperial Japanese Navy floatplane fighter. The Kawanishi N1K-J ''Shiden'' (, "Violet Lightning") was an Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service land-based version o ...
-J, and
Mitsubishi J2M
The Mitsubishi J2M ''Raiden'' (雷電, "Lightning Bolt") is a single-engined land-based fighter aircraft used by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service in World War II. The Allied reporting name was "Jack".
Design and development
The J2M was ...
combined during the last year of the war.Barber 1946, Table 28. The Corsair bore the brunt of U.S. fighter-bomber missions, delivering of bombs during the war (70% of total bombs dropped by U.S. fighters during the war).
Corsair losses in World War II were as follows:
* Aerial combat: 189
* Enemy ground and shipboard anti-aircraft fire: 349
* Operational losses during combat missions: 230
* Operational losses during non-combat flights: 692
* Destroyed aboard ships or on the ground: 164
Royal Navy
=Enhancement for carrier suitability
=
In the early days of World War II, Royal Navy fighter requirements had been based on cumbersome two-seat designs, such as the fighter/dive-bomber
Blackburn Skua
The Blackburn B-24 Skua was a carrier-based low-wing, two-seater, single-radial engine aircraft by the British aviation company Blackburn Aircraft. It was the first Royal Navy carrier-borne all-metal cantilever monoplane aircraft, as well as ...
(and its turreted derivative the
Blackburn Roc
The Blackburn Roc (company designation B-25) was a naval fighter aircraft designed and produced by the British aviation company Blackburn Aircraft. It took its name from the mythical bird of the tales of the Arabian Nights, the Roc. It was ope ...
) and the fighter/reconnaissance
Fairey Fulmar
The Fairey Fulmar is a British carrier-borne reconnaissance aircraft/fighter aircraft which was developed and manufactured by aircraft company Fairey Aviation. It was named after the northern fulmar, a seabird native to the British Isles. The F ...
, since it was expected that they would encounter only long-range bombers or flying boats and that navigation over featureless seas required the assistance of a radio operator/navigator.There were also some
Sea Gladiator
The Gloster Gladiator is a British biplane fighter. It was used by the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the Fleet Air Arm (FAA) (as the Sea Gladiator variant) and was exported to a number of other air forces during the late 1930s.
Developed privat ...
biplane fighters in useThe Royal Navy hurriedly adopted higher-performance single-seat aircraft such as the
Hawker Sea Hurricane
The Hawker Hurricane was a British single-seat fighter aircraft designed and predominantly built by Hawker Aircraft Ltd. Some versions were built in Canada by the Canada Car and Foundry Co Ltd
British variants
Hurricane Mk I
; Hurricane Mk I ( ...
and the less robust
Supermarine Seafire
The Supermarine Seafire is a naval version of the Supermarine Spitfire adapted for operation from aircraft carriers. It was analogous in concept to the Hawker Sea Hurricane, a navalised version of the Spitfire's stablemate, the Hawker Hurri ...
alongside, but neither aircraft had sufficient range to operate at a distance from a carrier task force. The Corsair was welcomed as a more robust and versatile alternative.
In November 1943, the Royal Navy received its first batch of 95 Vought F4U-1s, which were given the designation "Corsair
ark
Ark or ARK may refer to:
Biblical narratives and religion Hebrew word ''teva''
* Noah's Ark, a massive vessel said to have been built to save the world's animals from a flood
* Ark of bulrushes, the boat of the infant Moses
Hebrew ''aron''
* ...
I". The first squadrons were assembled and trained on the U.S. East Coast and then shipped across the Atlantic. The Royal Navy put the Corsair into carrier operations immediately. They found its landing characteristics dangerous, suffering a number of fatal crashes, but considered the Corsair to be the best option they had.
In Royal Navy service, because of the limited
hangar
A hangar is a building or structure designed to hold aircraft or spacecraft. Hangars are built of metal, wood, or concrete. The word ''hangar'' comes from Middle French ''hanghart'' ("enclosure near a house"), of Germanic origin, from Frankish ...
deck height in several classes of British carrier, many Corsairs had their outer wings "clipped" by to clear the deckhead.Styling 1995, p. 68. The change in span brought about the added benefit of improving the
sink rate
In aeronautics, the rate of climb (RoC) is an aircraft's vertical speed, that is the positive or negative rate of altitude change with respect to time. In most ICAO member countries, even in otherwise metric countries, this is usually expressed ...
, reducing the F4U's propensity to "float" in the final stages of landing.
The Royal Navy developed a number of modifications to the Corsair that made carrier landings more practical. Among these were a bulged canopy (similar to the
Malcolm Hood
An aircraft canopy is the transparent enclosure over the cockpit of some types of aircraft. An aircraft canopy provides a controlled and sometimes pressurized environment for the aircraft's occupants, and allows for a greater field of view ove ...
), raising the pilot's seat , and wiring shut the cowl flaps across the top of the engine compartment, diverting oil and hydraulic fluid spray around the sides of the fuselage.
=Deployment
=
The Royal Navy initially received 95 "birdcage" F4U-1s from Vought which were designated Corsair Mk I in Fleet Air Arm service.March 1998, p.237. Next from Vought came 510 "blown-canopy" F4U-1A/-1Ds, which were designated Corsair Mk II (the final 150 equivalent to the F4U-1D, but not separately designated in British use).March 1998, p.237-238. 430 Brewster Corsairs (334 F3A-1 and 96 F3A-1D), more than half of Brewster's total production, were delivered to Britain as the Corsair Mk III. 857 Goodyear Corsairs (400 FG-1/-1A and 457 FG-1D) were delivered and designated Corsair Mk IV.March 1998, p. 239. The Mk IIs and Mk IVs were the only versions to be used in combat.
The Royal Navy cleared the F4U for carrier operations well before the U.S. Navy and showed that the Corsair Mk II could be operated with reasonable success even from
escort carrier
The escort carrier or escort aircraft carrier (U.S. hull classification symbol CVE), also called a "jeep carrier" or "baby flattop" in the United States Navy (USN) or "Woolworth Carrier" by the Royal Navy, was a small and slow type of aircraft ...
s. It was not without problems; one was excessive wear of the arrester wires, due both to the weight of the Corsair and the understandable tendency of the pilots to stay well above the stalling speed. A total of 2,012 Corsairs were supplied to the United Kingdom.Swanborough and Bowers 1976, p. 404.
Fleet Air Arm
The Fleet Air Arm (FAA) is one of the five fighting arms of the Royal Navy and is responsible for the delivery of naval air power both from land and at sea. The Fleet Air Arm operates the F-35 Lightning II for maritime strike, the AW159 Wil ...
(FAA) units were created and equipped in the United States, at
Quonset Point
Quonset Point (), also known simply as Quonset, is a small peninsula in Narragansett Bay in the town of North Kingstown, Rhode Island. Its name is widely known from the Quonset hut, which was first manufactured there. ''Quonset'' is an Algonqu ...
or Brunswick and then shipped to war theaters aboard escort carriers. The first FAA Corsair unit was 1830 NAS, created on the first of June 1943, and soon operating from . At the end of the war, 18 FAA squadrons were operating the Corsair. British Corsairs served both in Europe and in the Pacific. The first, and also most important, European operations were the series of attacks (
Operation Tungsten
Operation Tungsten was a Second World War Royal Navy air raid that targeted the German battleship ''Tirpitz''. The operation sought to damage or destroy ''Tirpitz'' at her base in Kaafjord in the far north of Norway before she could become ...
) in April, July, and August 1944 on the , for which Corsairs from and provided fighter cover. It appears the Corsairs did not encounter aerial opposition on these raids.
From April 1944, Corsairs from the
British Pacific Fleet
The British Pacific Fleet (BPF) was a Royal Navy formation that saw action against Japan during the Second World War. The fleet was composed of empire naval vessels. The BPF formally came into being on 22 November 1944 from the remaining ships ...
Operation Cockpit
Operation Cockpit was an Allied attack against the Japanese-held island of Sabang on 19 April 1944. It was conducted by aircraft flying from British and American aircraft carriers and targeted Japanese shipping and airfields. A small number of ...
, an attack on Japanese targets at Sabang island, in the
Dutch East Indies
The Dutch East Indies, also known as the Netherlands East Indies ( nl, Nederlands(ch)-Indië; ), was a Dutch colony consisting of what is now Indonesia. It was formed from the nationalised trading posts of the Dutch East India Company, which ...
.
In July and August 1945, Corsair naval squadrons 1834, 1836, 1841, and 1842 took part in a series of strikes on the Japanese mainland, near Tokyo. These squadrons operated from ''Victorious'' and ''Formidable.'' On 9 August 1945, days before the end of the war, Corsairs from ''Formidable'' attacked
Shiogama
is a city located in Miyagi Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 52,662, and a population density of 3,032 persons per km² in 23,270 households. The total area of the city is .
Geography
Shiogama is in north-central Miya ...
harbor on the northeast coast of Japan.
Royal Canadian Navy Volunteer Reserve
The Royal Canadian Navy Volunteer Reserve (RCNVR) was a naval reserve force of the Royal Canadian Navy, which replaced the Royal Navy Canadian Volunteer Reserve (RNCVR).
Foundation
The RCNVR was created in 1923. The organization was established ...
pilot, Lieutenant
Robert Hampton Gray
Robert Hampton "Hammy" Gray, , RCNVR (November 2, 1917 – August 9, 1945) was a Canadian naval officer, pilot, and recipient of the Victoria Cross (VC) during World War II, one of only two members of the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm to have been t ...
, of 1841 Squadron was hit by flak but pressed home his attack on the Japanese destroyer escort ''
Amakusa
, which means "Heaven's Grass," is a series of islands off the west coast of Kyushu, the southernmost of the four main islands of Japan.
Geography
The largest island of the Amakusa group is Shimoshima, which is 26.5 miles long and 13.5 mil ...
'', sinking it with a bomb but crashing into the sea. He was posthumously awarded Canada's last
Victoria Cross
The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious award of the British honours system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces and may be awarded posthumously. It was previously ...
, becoming the second fighter pilot of the war to earn a Victoria Cross as well as the final Canadian casualty of World War II.
FAA Corsairs originally fought in a camouflage scheme with a Dark Slate Grey/Extra Dark Sea Grey disruptive pattern on top and Sky undersides, but were later painted overall dark blue. As it had become imperative for all
Allied
An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...
aircraft in the Pacific Theater of World War II to abandon all use of any "red devices" in their national insignia — to prevent any chance of misidentification with Japanese military aircraft, all of which bore the circular, all-red ''
Hinomaru
The national flag of Japan is a rectangular white banner bearing a crimson-red circle at its center. This flag is officially called the , but is more commonly known in Japan as the . It embodies the country's sobriquet: the Land of the Rising S ...
'' insignia (nicknamed a "meatball" by Allied aircrew) that is still in use to this day, the United States removed all areas of red color (specifically removing the red center to the roundel) and removed any sort of national fin/rudder markings, which at that time had seven horizontal red stripes, from the American national aircraft insignia scheme by 6 May 1942. The British did likewise, starting with a simple paintover with white paint, of their "Type C" roundel's red center, at about the time the U.S. Navy removed the red-center from their roundel. Later, a shade of
slate gray
Slate gray is a gray color with a slight azure tinge that is a representation of the average color of the material slate. As a tertiary color, slate is an equal mix of purple and green pigments.
Slaty, referring to this color, is often used t ...
center color replaced the white color on the earlier roundel. When the Americans starting using the added white bars to either side of their blue/white star roundel on 28 June 1943; SEAC British Corsairs, most all of which still used the earlier blue/white Type C roundel with the red center removed, added similar white bars to either side of their blue-white roundels to emulate the Americans.
In all, out of 18 carrier-based squadrons, eight saw combat, flying intensive ground attack/interdiction operations and claiming 47.5 aircraft shot down.
At the end of World War II, under the terms of the Lend-Lease agreement, the aircraft had to be paid for or to be returned to the U.S. As the UK did not have the means to pay for them, the Royal Navy Corsairs were pushed overboard into the sea in Moreton Bay off Brisbane, Australia.
Royal New Zealand Air Force
Equipped with obsolete
Curtiss P-40
The Curtiss P-40 Warhawk is an American single-engined, single-seat, all-metal fighter and ground-attack aircraft that first flew in 1938. The P-40 design was a modification of the previous Curtiss P-36 Hawk which reduced development time and ...
s, Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) squadrons in the South Pacific performed impressively, in particular in the air-to-air role. The American government accordingly decided to give New Zealand early access to the Corsair, especially as it was not initially being used from carriers. Some 424 Corsairs equipped 13 RNZAF squadrons, including
No. 14 Squadron RNZAF
14 Squadron RNZAF is a squadron of the Royal New Zealand Air Force. In 2015 the squadron was re-raised and equipped with 11 Beechcraft T-6 Texan II. A new aerobatic display team called the Black Falcons was also formed using the new aircraft. The ...
and
No. 15 Squadron RNZAF
No. 15 Squadron was a fighter squadron of the Royal New Zealand Air Force that was formed in June 1942. It served in Tonga, Guadalcanal, New Georgia, Espiritu Santo, Bougainville Island, Bougainville and Green Island, Papua New Guinea, Green Isla ...
, replacing
Douglas SBD Dauntless
The Douglas SBD Dauntless is a World War II American naval scout plane and dive bomber that was manufactured by Douglas Aircraft from 1940 through 1944. The SBD ("Scout Bomber Douglas") was the United States Navy's main carrier-based scout/div ...
es as well as P-40s.Russell 1984, p. 28. Most of the F4U-1s were assembled by Unit 60 with a further batch assembled and flown at
RNZAF Station Hobsonville
The Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) ( mi, Te Tauaarangi o Aotearoa, "The Warriors of the Sky of New Zealand"; previously ', "War Party of the Blue") is the aerial warfare, aerial military service, service branch of the New Zealand Defence Fo ...
. In total there were 336 F4U-1s and 41 F4U-1Ds used by the RNZAF during the Second World War. Sixty FG-1Ds arrived late in the war.Russell 1984, pp. 48–87.
The first deliveries of lend-lease Corsairs began in March 1944 with the arrival of 30 F4U-1s at the RNZAF Base Depot Workshops (Unit 60) on the island of
Espiritu Santo
Espiritu Santo (, ; ) is the largest island in the nation of Vanuatu, with an area of and a population of around 40,000 according to the 2009 census.
Geography
The island belongs to the archipelago of the New Hebrides in the Pacific region o ...
in the
New Hebrides
New Hebrides, officially the New Hebrides Condominium (french: link=no, Condominium des Nouvelles-Hébrides, "Condominium of the New Hebrides") and named after the Hebrides Scottish archipelago, was the colonial name for the island group ...
. From April, these workshops became responsible for assembling all Corsairs for the RNZAF units operating the aircraft in the South West Pacific; and a Test and Despatch flight was set up to test the aircraft after assembly. By June 1944, 100 Corsairs had been assembled and test flown. The first squadrons to use the Corsair were 20 and 21 Squadrons on Espiritu Santo, operational in May 1944. The organization of the RNZAF in the Pacific and New Zealand meant that only the pilots and a small staff belonged to each squadron (the maximum strength on a squadron was 27 pilots): squadrons were assigned to several Servicing Units (SUs, composed of 5–6 officers, 57 NCOs, 212 airmen) which carried out aircraft maintenance and operated from fixed locations: hence F4U-1 ''NZ5313'' was first used by 20 Squadron/1 SU on Guadalcanal in May 1944; 20 Squadron was then relocated to 2 SU on Bougainville in November. In all there were ten front line SUs plus another three based in New Zealand. Because each of the SUs painted its aircraft with distinctive markings and the aircraft themselves could be repainted in several different color schemes, the RNZAF Corsairs were far less uniform in appearance than their American and FAA contemporaries. By late 1944, the F4U had equipped all ten Pacific-based fighter squadrons of the RNZAF.
By the time the Corsairs arrived, there were very few Japanese aircraft left in New Zealand's allocated sectors of the Southern Pacific, and despite the RNZAF squadrons extending their operations to more northern islands, they were primarily used for close support of American, Australian, and New Zealand soldiers fighting the Japanese. At the end of 1945, all Corsair squadrons but one (No. 14) were disbanded. That last squadron was based in Japan, until the Corsair was retired from service in 1947.
No. 14 Squadron was given new FG-1Ds and in March 1946 transferred to
Iwakuni
is a city located in Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan.
History
Iwakuni was formerly the castle town of the Iwakuni han, which was formed by Lord Hiroie Kikkawa after he was banished there for supporting the defeated shōgun. The Kikkawa clan ruled ...
, Japan as part of the
British Commonwealth Occupation Force
The British Commonwealth Occupation Force (BCOF) was the British Commonwealth taskforce consisting of Australian, British, Indian and New Zealand military forces in occupied Japan, from 1946 until the end of occupation in 1952.
At its peak, t ...
.Tillman 1979, p. 192. Only one airworthy example of the 437 aircraft procured survives: FG-1D ''NZ5648''/''ZK-COR'', owned by the Old Stick and Rudder Company at
Masterton
Masterton ( mi, Whakaoriori), a large town in the Greater Wellington Region of New Zealand, operates as the seat of the Masterton District (a territorial authority or local-government district). It is the largest town in the Wairarapa, a r ...
, New Zealand.
Captured Corsairs
On 18 July 1944, a British Corsair F4U-1A, '' JT404'' of
1841 Naval Air Squadron
1841 Naval Air Squadron (1841 NAS) was a Naval Air Squadron of the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm
The Fleet Air Arm (FAA) is one of the five fighting arms of the Royal Navy and is responsible for the delivery of naval air power both from land ...
, was involved in anti-submarine patrol from HMS ''Formidable'' en route to
Scapa Flow
Scapa Flow viewed from its eastern end in June 2009
Scapa Flow (; ) is a body of water in the Orkney Islands, Scotland, sheltered by the islands of Mainland, Graemsay, Burray,S. C. George, ''Jutland to Junkyard'', 1973. South Ronaldsay and ...
after the Operation Mascot attack on the German battleship ''Tirpitz''. It flew in company with a
Fairey Barracuda
The Fairey Barracuda was a British carrier-borne torpedo and dive bomber designed by Fairey Aviation. It was the first aircraft of this type operated by the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm (FAA) to be fabricated entirely from metal.
The Barracuda ...
. Due to technical problems the Corsair made an emergency landing in a field on
Hamarøy
Hamarøy ( smj, Hábmer) is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Nordland Counties of Norway, county, Norway. It is part of the Districts of Norway, traditional district of Salten. The administrative centre of the municipality is t ...
north of
Bodø
Bodø (; smj, Bådåddjo, sv, Bodö) is a municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Salten. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Bodø (which is also the capital of Nordland count ...
, Norway. The pilot, Lt Mattholie, was taken prisoner and the aircraft captured undamaged. Luftwaffe interrogators failed to get the pilot to explain how to fold the wings so as to transport the aircraft to Narvik. The Corsair was ferried by boat for further investigation. Later the Corsair was taken to Germany and listed as one of the captured enemy aircraft (''Beuteflugzeug'') based at '' Erprobungsstelle Rechlin'', the central German military aviation test facility and the equivalent of the
Royal Aircraft Establishment
The Royal Aircraft Establishment (RAE) was a British research establishment, known by several different names during its history, that eventually came under the aegis of the Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom), UK Ministry of Defence (MoD), bef ...
, for 1944 under repair. This was probably the only Corsair captured by the Germans.
In 1945, U.S. forces captured an F4U Corsair near the Kasumigaura flight school. The Japanese had repaired it, covering damaged parts on the wing with fabric and using spare parts from crashed F4Us. It seems Japan captured two force-landed Corsairs fairly late in the war and may have even tested one in flight.
Korean War
During the Korean War, the Corsair was used mostly in the close-support role. The AU-1 Corsair was developed from the F4U-5 and was a ground-attack version which normally operated at low altitudes: as a consequence the Pratt & Whitney R-2800-83W engine used a single-stage, manually controlled supercharger, rather than the two-stage automatic supercharger of the -5. The versions of the Corsair used in Korea from 1950 to 1953 were the AU-1, F4U-4B, -4P, and -5N and -5NL.Thompson 2004, p. 118. There were dogfights between F4Us and Soviet-built
Yakovlev Yak-9
The Yakovlev Yak-9 (russian: Яковлев Як-9) is a single-engine, single-seat multipurpose fighter aircraft used by the Soviet Union and its allies during World War II and the early Cold War. It was a development of the robust and successf ...
fighters early in the war, but when the enemy introduced the
Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15
The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15 (russian: Микоя́н и Гуре́вич МиГ-15; USAF/DoD designation: Type 14; NATO reporting name: Fagot) is a jet fighter aircraft developed by Mikoyan-Gurevich for the Soviet Union. The MiG-15 was one of ...
, the Corsair was outmatched. On 10 September 1952, a MiG-15 made the mistake of getting into a turning contest with a Corsair piloted by Marine Captain Jesse G. Folmar, with Folmar shooting the MiG down with his four 20 mm cannon. In turn, four MiG-15s shot down Folmar minutes later; Folmar bailed out and was quickly rescued with little injury.
F4U-5N and -5NL Corsair night fighters were used to attack enemy supply lines, including truck convoys and trains, as well as interdicting night attack aircraft such as the
Polikarpov Po-2
The Polikarpov Po-2 (also U-2, for its initial ''uchebnyy'', 'training', role as a flight instruction aircraft) served as an all-weather multirole Soviet biplane, nicknamed ''Kukuruznik'' (russian: Кукурузник,Gunston 1995, p. 292. NAT ...
"Bedcheck Charlies", which were used to harass United Nations forces at night. The F4Us often operated with the help of
C-47
The Douglas C-47 Skytrain or Dakota (Royal Air Force, RAF, Royal Australian Air Force, RAAF, Royal Canadian Air Force, RCAF, Royal New Zealand Air Force, RNZAF, and South African Air Force, SAAF designation) is a airlift, military transport ai ...
'flare ships' which dropped hundreds of 1,000,000
candlepower
Candlepower (abbreviated as cp or CP) is a unit of measurement for luminous intensity. It expresses levels of light intensity relative to the light emitted by a candle of specific size and constituents. The historical candlepower is equal to 0.981 ...
magnesium flares to illuminate the targets. For many operations detachments of U.S. Navy F4U-5Ns were posted to shore bases. The leader of one such unit, Lieutenant
Guy Bordelon
Guy Pierre Bordelon Jr. (February 1, 1922 – December 19, 2002) was a United States Navy flying ace during the Korean War, shooting down five enemy aircraft. Bordelon was the only U.S. Navy aviator to become an ace in the war.
A veteran of World ...
of VC-3 Det D (Detachment D), off , became the Navy's only ace in the war, in addition to being the only American ace in Korea that used a piston engined aircraft. Bordelon, nicknamed "Lucky Pierre", was credited with three
Lavochkin La-9
The Lavochkin La-9 (NATO reporting name Fritz) was a Soviet fighter aircraft produced shortly after World War II. It was one of the last piston engined fighters to be produced before the widespread adoption of the jet engine.
Development
La-9 r ...
Yakovlev Yak-18
The Yakovlev Yak-18 (russian: Яковлев Як-18; NATO reporting name Max) is a tandem two-seat military primary trainer aircraft manufactured in the Soviet Union. Originally powered by one 119 kW (160 hp) Shvetsov M-11FR-1 radial p ...
s between 29 June and 16/17 July 1952. Navy and Marine Corsairs were credited with a total of 12 enemy aircraft.
More generally, Corsairs performed attacks with cannons, napalm tanks, various iron bombs, and unguided rockets. The 5 inch HVAR was a reliable standby; sturdy Soviet-built armor proved resistant to the HVAR's punch, which led to a new
shaped charge
A shaped charge is an explosive charge shaped to form an explosively formed penetrator (EFP) to focus the effect of the explosive's energy. Different types of shaped charges are used for various purposes such as cutting and forming metal, init ...
Lieutenant
A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations.
The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...
Thomas J. Hudner, Jr.
Thomas Jerome Hudner Jr. (August 31, 1924 – November 13, 2017) was an officer of the United States Navy and a naval aviator. He rose to the rank of captain, and received the Medal of Honor for his actions in trying to save the life of his wingm ...
, flying an F4U-4 of VF-32 off , was awarded the
Medal of Honor
The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest military decoration and is awarded to recognize American soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen, guardians and coast guardsmen who have distinguished themselves by acts of valor. ...
for crash landing his Corsair in an attempt to rescue his squadron mate, Ensign
Jesse L. Brown
Jesse LeRoy Brown (October 13, 1926 – December 4, 1950) was a United States Navy officer. He was the first African-American aviator to complete the United States Navy's basic flight training program (though not the first African-American Navy ...
, whose aircraft had been forced down by antiaircraft fire near
Changjin
Changjin County is a mountainous county in South Hamgyong Province, North Korea.
Geography
Changjin lies on the Rangrim and Pujŏllyong ranges, and most of the county sits atop the Kaema Plateau. Due to this location, Changjin has a particul ...
. Brown, who did not survive the incident, was the U.S. Navy's first African American naval aviator.
Aéronavale
After the war, the French Navy had an urgent requirement for a powerful carrier-borne close-air support aircraft to operate from the French Navy's four aircraft carriers that it acquired in the late 1940s (Two former U.S. Navy and two Royal Navy carriers were transferred). Secondhand US Navy Douglas SBD Dauntless dive-bombers of Flotille 3F and 4F were used to attack enemy targets and support ground forces in the
First Indochina War
The First Indochina War (generally known as the Indochina War in France, and as the Anti-French Resistance War in Vietnam) began in French Indochina from 19 December 1946 to 20 July 1954 between France and Việt Minh (Democratic Republic of Vi ...
. Former US Grumman F6F-5 Hellcats and Curtiss SB2C Helldivers were also used for close air support. A new and more capable aircraft was needed.
First Indochina War
The last production Corsair was the F4U-7'', which was built specifically for the French naval air arm, the Aéronavale. The XF4U-7 prototype did its test flight on 2 July 1952 with a total of 94 F4U-7s built for the
French Navy
The French Navy (french: Marine nationale, lit=National Navy), informally , is the maritime arm of the French Armed Forces and one of the five military service branches of France. It is among the largest and most powerful naval forces in t ...
's ''Aéronavale'' (79 in 1952, 15 in 1953), with the last of the batch, the final Corsair built, rolled out on 31 January 1953.Rochotte, Léon C., Ramon Josa, and Alexandre Gannier "Capitaine de Frégate (H): Les Corsair français" ''NetMarine.net'', 1999. Retrieved: 14 July 2009. The F4U-7s were actually purchased by the U.S. Navy and passed on to the Aéronavale through the U.S. Military Assistance Program (MAP). The French Navy used its F4U-7s during the second half of the First Indochina War in the 1950s (12.F, 14.F, 15.F Flotillas), where they were supplemented by at least 25 ex-USMC AU-1s passed on to the French in 1954, after the end of the Korean War.
On 15 January 1953, Flotille 14F, based at Karouba Air Base near Bizerte in Tunisia, became the first Aéronavale unit to receive the F4U-7 Corsair. Flotille 14F pilots arrived at
Da Nang
Nang or DanangSee also Danang Dragons ( ; vi, Đà Nẵng, ) is a class-1 municipality and the fifth-largest city in Vietnam by municipal population. It lies on the coast of the East Sea of Vietnam at the mouth of the Hàn River, and is one ...
,
Vietnam
Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...
on 17 April 1954, but without their aircraft. The next day, the carrier USS ''Saipan'' delivered 25 war-weary ground attack ex-USMC AU-1 Corsairs (flown by VMA-212 at the end of the Korean War) to Tourane Air Base. During three months operating over Vietnam (including in support of the
Battle of Dien Bien Phu
The Battle of Dien Bien Phu (french: Bataille de Diên Biên Phu ; vi, Chiến dịch Điện Biên Phủ, ) was a climactic confrontation of the First Indochina War that took place between 13 March and 7 May 1954. It was fought between the Fr ...
), the Corsairs flew 959 combat sorties totaling 1,335 flight hours. They dropped some 700 tons of bombs and fired more than 300 rockets and 70,000 20 mm rounds. Six aircraft were damaged and two shot down by
Viet Minh
The Việt Minh (; abbreviated from , chữ Nôm and Hán tự: ; french: Ligue pour l'indépendance du Viêt Nam, ) was a national independence coalition formed at Pác Bó by Hồ Chí Minh on 19 May 1941. Also known as the Việt Minh Fro ...
.
In September 1954, F4U-7 Corsairs were loaded aboard and brought back to France in November. The surviving Ex-USMC AU-1s were taken to the Philippines and returned to the U.S. Navy. In 1956, Flotille 15F returned to
South Vietnam
South Vietnam, officially the Republic of Vietnam ( vi, Việt Nam Cộng hòa), was a state in Southeast Asia that existed from 1955 to 1975, the period when the southern portion of Vietnam was a member of the Western Bloc during part of th ...
, equipped with F4U-7 Corsairs.
Suez Crisis
The 14.F and 15.F Flotillas also took part in the Anglo-French-Israeli seizure of the
Suez Canal
The Suez Canal ( arz, قَنَاةُ ٱلسُّوَيْسِ, ') is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, connecting the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea through the Isthmus of Suez and dividing Africa and Asia. The long canal is a popular ...
in October 1956, code-named Operation Musketeer. The Corsairs were painted with yellow and black recognition stripes for this operation. They were tasked with destroying Egyptian Navy ships at Alexandria but the presence of U.S. Navy ships prevented the successful completion of the mission. On 3 November 16 F4U-7s attacked airfields in the Delta, with one Corsair shot down by anti-aircraft fire. Two more Corsairs were damaged when landing back on the carriers. The Corsairs engaged in Operation Musketeer dropped a total of 25 tons of bombs, and fired more than 500 rockets and 16,000 20mm rounds.
Algerian War
As soon as they disembarked from the carriers that took part in Operation Musketeer, at the end of 1956, all three Corsair Flotillas moved to Telergma and Oran airfields in Algeria from where they provided CAS and helicopter escort. They were joined by the new "
Flottille 17F
Flottille 17F is a squadron of French Naval Aviation which currently flies the Dassault Rafale M from Landivisiau Naval Air Base. It was formed during April 1958 at Hyeres Naval Air Base and flew the Vought F4U7 Corsair for training purposes.
...
", established at Hyères in April 1958.
French F4U-7 Corsairs (with some borrowed AU-1s) of the 12F, 14F, 15F, and 17F Flotillas conducted missions during the
Algerian War
The Algerian War, also known as the Algerian Revolution or the Algerian War of Independence,( ar, الثورة الجزائرية '; '' ber, Tagrawla Tadzayrit''; french: Guerre d'Algérie or ') and sometimes in Algeria as the War of 1 November ...
between 1955 and 1962. Between February and March 1958, several strikes and CAS missions were launched from , the only carrier involved in the Algeria War.
Tunisia
France recognized
Tunisian independence
Tunisian independence was a process that occurred from 1952 to 1956 between France and a separatist movement, led by Habib Bourguiba. He became the first Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Tunisia after negotiations with France successfully had br ...
and sovereignty in 1956 but continued to station military forces at Bizerte and planned to extend the airbase. In 1961, Tunisia asked France to evacuate the base. Tunisia imposed a blockade on the base on 17 July, hoping to force its evacuation. This resulted in a battle between militiamen and the French military which lasted three days. French paratroopers, escorted by Corsairs of the 12F and 17F Flotillas, were dropped to reinforce the base and the Aéronavale launched air strikes on Tunisian troops and vehicles between 19–21 July, carrying out more than 150 sorties. Three Corsairs were damaged by ground fire.
French experiments
In early 1959, the ''Aéronavale'' experimented with the
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...
wire-guided
A wire-guided missile is a missile that is guided by signals sent to it via thin wires connected between the missile and its guidance mechanism, which is located somewhere near the launch site. As the missile flies, the wires are reeled out behi ...
anti-tank missile
An anti-tank guided missile (ATGM), anti-tank missile, anti-tank guided weapon (ATGW) or anti-armor guided weapon is a Missile guidance, guided missile primarily designed to hit and destroy Armoured fighting vehicle, heavily armored military v ...
on F4U-7 Corsairs. The 12.F pilots trained for this experimental program were required to manually pilot the missile at approximatively two kilometers from the target on low altitude with a joystick using the right hand while keeping track of a flare on its tail, and piloting the aircraft using the left hand; an exercise that could be very tricky in a single-seat aircraft under combat conditions. Despite reportedly effective results during the tests, this armament was not used with Corsairs during the ongoing Algerian War.
The ''Aéronavale'' used 163 Corsairs (94 F4U-7s and 69 AU-1s), the last of them used by the
Cuers
Cuers () is a commune in the Var department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southeastern France.
It was one of the locations of the 1995 Éric Borel spree killings.
Geography Climate
Cuers has a hot-summer Mediterranean climate (K ...
-based 14.F Flotilla were out of service by September 1964, with some surviving for museum display or as civilian
warbird
A warbird is any vintage military aircraft now operated by civilian organizations and individuals, or in some instances, by historic arms of military forces, such as the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight, the RAAF Museum Historic Flight, or the ...
s. By the early 1960s, two new modern aircraft carriers, and , had entered service with the French Navy and with them a new generation of jet-powered combat aircraft.
"Football War"
Corsairs flew their final combat missions in 1969 during the "
Football War
The Football War ( es, La guerra del fútbol; colloquial: Soccer War), also known as the Hundred Hours' War or 100 Hour War, was a brief military conflict fought between El Salvador and Honduras in 1969. Existing tensions between the two countr ...
" between
Honduras
Honduras, officially the Republic of Honduras, is a country in Central America. The republic of Honduras is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Oce ...
and
El Salvador
El Salvador (; , meaning " The Saviour"), officially the Republic of El Salvador ( es, República de El Salvador), is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south b ...
, in service with both air forces. The conflict was allegedly triggered, though not really caused, by a disagreement over a soccer (
association football
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...
) match. Captain Fernando Soto of the
Honduran Air Force
The Honduras Air Force ( es, Fuerza Aérea Hondureña, sometimes abbreviated to FAH in English) is the air force of Honduras. As such it is the air power arm of the Honduras Armed Forces.
History
The first Honduras military flying took place ...
shot down three
Salvadoran Air Force
The Salvadoran Air Force ( es, Fuerza Aérea Salvadoreña, abbreviated FAS) is the air force component of the Armed Forces of El Salvador, and is an independent branch from the army and navy.
Early history
The Salvadoran Army Air Force ('' es, ...
aircraft on 17 July 1969. In the morning he shot down a
Cavalier Mustang
The Cavalier Mustang was a post-World War II civilian-modified version of the North American P-51 Mustang aircraft. Although originally intended as a high speed personal aircraft, the Cavalier was also exported for use as a fighter and close air ...
, killing the pilot. In the afternoon, he shot down two FG-1s; the pilot of the second aircraft may have bailed out, but the third exploded in the air, killing the pilot. These combats were the last ones among propeller-driven aircraft in the world and also making Soto the only pilot credited with three kills in an American continental war. El Salvador did not shoot down any Honduran aircraft. At the outset of the Football War, El Salvador enlisted the assistance of several American pilots with
P-51
The North American Aviation P-51 Mustang is an American long-range, single-seat fighter and fighter-bomber used during World War II and the Korean War, among other conflicts. The Mustang was designed in April 1940 by a team headed by James ...
and F4U experience. Bob Love (a Korean war ace), Chuck Lyford, Ben Hall, and
Lynn Garrison
Lynn Garrison (born April 1, 1937) is a Canadian pilot and political adviser. He was a Royal Canadian Air Force fighter pilot in the 403 City of Calgary Squadron, before holding jobs as a commercial pilot, film producer, director and mercenary. ...
are believed to have flown combat missions, but it has never been confirmed. Lynn Garrison had purchased F4U-7 133693 from the French MAAG office when he retired from French naval service in 1964. It was registered N693M and was later destroyed in a 1987 crash in San Diego, California.
Legacy
The Corsair entered service in 1942. Although designed as a carrier fighter, initial operation from carrier decks proved to be troublesome. Its low-speed handling was tricky due to the left wing stalling before the right wing. This factor, together with poor visibility over the long nose (leading to one of its nicknames, "The Hose Nose"), made landing a Corsair on a carrier a difficult task. For these reasons, most Corsairs initially went to
Marine Corps
Marines, or naval infantry, are typically a military force trained to operate in littoral zones in support of naval operations. Historically, tasks undertaken by marines have included helping maintain discipline and order aboard the ship (refle ...
squadrons which operated off land-based runways, with some early Goodyear-built examples (designated FG-1A) being built with fixed wings. The USMC aviators welcomed the Corsair with open arms as its performance was far superior to the contemporary
Brewster F2A Buffalo
The Brewster F2A Buffalo is an American fighter aircraft which saw service early in World War II. Designed and built by the Brewster Aeronautical Corporation, it was one of the first U.S. monoplanes with an arrestor hook and other modifications ...
and Grumman F4F-3 and -4 Wildcat.
Moreover, the Corsair was able to outperform the primary Japanese fighter, the A6M Zero. While the Zero could outturn the F4U at low speed, the Corsair was faster and could outclimb and outdive the A6M.Styling 1995
This performance advantage, combined with the ability to take severe punishment, meant a pilot could place an enemy aircraft in the killing zone of the F4U's six
.50
This is a list of firearm cartridges which have bullets in the to caliber range.
*''Length'' refers to the cartridge case
Case or CASE may refer to:
Containers
* Case (goods), a package of related merchandise
* Cartridge case or casing, a ...
(12.7 mm) M2 Browning machine guns and keep him there long enough to inflict major damage. The 2,300 rounds carried by the Corsair gave just under 30 seconds of fire from each gun.
Beginning in 1943, the Fleet Air Arm also received Corsairs and flew them successfully from Royal Navy carriers in combat with the British Pacific Fleet and in Norway.These were clipped-wing Corsairs, the wingtips shortened to clear the lower overhead height of RN carriers. FAA also developed a curving landing approach to overcome the F4U's deficiencies.
Infantrymen nicknamed the Corsair "The Sweetheart of the
Marianas
The Mariana Islands (; also the Marianas; in Chamorro: ''Manislan Mariånas'') are a crescent-shaped archipelago comprising the summits of fifteen longitudinally oriented, mostly dormant volcanic mountains in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, betw ...
" and "The Angel of Okinawa" for its roles in these campaigns. Among Navy and Marine aviators, the aircraft was nicknamed "Ensign Eliminator" and "Bent-Wing Eliminator" because it required many more hours of flight training to master than other Navy carrier-borne aircraft. It was also called simply "U-bird" or "Bent Wing Bird". Although Allied World War II sources frequently make the claim that the Japanese called the Corsair the "Whistling Death", Japanese sources do not support this, and it was mainly known as the Sikorsky.
The Corsair has been named the official aircraft of
Connecticut
Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its cap ...
due to its multiple connections to Connecticut businesses including airframe manufacturer Vought-Sikorsky Aircraft, engine manufacturer
Pratt & Whitney
Pratt & Whitney is an American aerospace manufacturer with global service operations. It is a subsidiary of Raytheon Technologies. Pratt & Whitney's aircraft engines are widely used in both civil aviation (especially airlines) and military aviat ...
and propeller manufacturer
Hamilton Standard
Hamilton Standard was an American aircraft propeller parts supplier. It was formed in 1929 when United Aircraft and Transport Corporation consolidated Hamilton Aero Manufacturing and Standard Steel Propeller into the Hamilton Standard Propeller C ...
.
Variants
During World War II, Corsair production expanded beyond Vought to include Brewster and Goodyear models. Allied forces flying the aircraft in World War II included the Fleet Air Arm and the Royal New Zealand Air Force. Eventually, more than 12,500 F4Us would be built, comprising 16 separate variants.
F4U-1 (called Corsair Mk I by the
Fleet Air Arm
The Fleet Air Arm (FAA) is one of the five fighting arms of the Royal Navy and is responsible for the delivery of naval air power both from land and at sea. The Fleet Air Arm operates the F-35 Lightning II for maritime strike, the AW159 Wil ...
):
The first production version of the Corsair with the distinctive "birdcage" canopy and low seating position. The differences over the XF4U-1 were as follows:
* Six Browning AN/M2 machine guns were fitted in the outer wing panels, displacing fuel tanks.
* An enlarged fuel tank was fitted ahead of the cockpit, in place of the fuselage armament. The cockpit was moved back by .
* The fuselage was lengthened by .
* The more powerful R-2800-8 Double Wasp was fitted.
* of armor plate was fitted to the cockpit and a thick bullet-resistant glass panel was fitted behind the curved windscreen.
* IFF transponder equipment was fitted.
* Curved transparent panels were incorporated into the fuselage behind the pilot's headrest.
* The flaps were changed from deflector type to
NACA
The National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) was a United States federal agency founded on March 3, 1915, to undertake, promote, and institutionalize aeronautical research. On October 1, 1958, the agency was dissolved and its assets ...
slotted.
* The span of the ailerons was increased while that of the flaps was decreased.
* One auxiliary fuel cell (not a self-sealing type) was installed in each wing leading edge, just outboard of the guns.
The Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm received 95 Vought F4U-1s. These were all early "birdcage" Corsairs. Vought also built a single F4U-1 two-seat trainer; the Navy showed no interest.
F4U-1A (called Corsair Mk II by the
Fleet Air Arm
The Fleet Air Arm (FAA) is one of the five fighting arms of the Royal Navy and is responsible for the delivery of naval air power both from land and at sea. The Fleet Air Arm operates the F-35 Lightning II for maritime strike, the AW159 Wil ...
):
Mid-to-late production Corsairs incorporated a new, taller, wider canopy with only two frames — very close to what the
Malcolm hood
An aircraft canopy is the transparent enclosure over the cockpit of some types of aircraft. An aircraft canopy provides a controlled and sometimes pressurized environment for the aircraft's occupants, and allows for a greater field of view ove ...
did for British fighter aircraft — along with a simplified windscreen; the new canopy design allowed the semi-elliptical turtledeck "flank" windows to be omitted. The designation F4U-1A to differentiate these Corsairs from earlier "birdcage" variants was allowed to be used internally by manufacturers. The pilot's seat was raised which, combined with the new canopy and a lengthening of the tailwheel strut, allowed the pilot better visibility over the long nose. In addition to these changes, the bombing window under the cockpit was omitted. These Corsairs introduced a -long stall strip just outboard of the gun ports on the right wing leading edge and improved undercarriage oleo struts which eliminated bouncing on landing, making these the first truly "carrier capable" F4Us.
Three hundred and sixty F4U-1As were delivered to the Fleet Air Arm. In British service, they were modified with "clipped" wings ( was cut off each wingtip) for use on British aircraft carriers, although the Royal Navy had been successfully operating the Corsair Mk I since 1 June 1943 when No. 1830 Squadron NAS was commissioned and assigned to HMS ''Illustrious''. F4U-1s in many
USMC
The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through co ...
squadrons had their arrester hooks removed. Additionally, an experimental R-2800-8W engine with water injection was fitted on one of the late F4U-1As. After satisfactory results, many F4U-1As were fitted with the new powerplant. The aircraft carried in the main fuel tank, located in front of the cockpit, as well as an unarmored, non-self-sealing fuel tank in each wing. This version of the Corsair was the first to be able to carry a drop tank under the center-section. With drop tanks fitted, the fighter had a maximum ferry range of just over .
F3A-1 and F3A-1D (called Corsair Mk III by the Fleet Air Arm):
This was the designation for Brewster-built F4U-1. Labor troubles delayed production, and the Navy ordered the company's contract terminated; they folded soon after. Poor quality wing fittings meant that these aircraft were red-lined for speed and prohibited from aerobatics after several lost their wings. None of the Brewster-built Corsairs reached front line units. 430 Brewster Corsairs (334 F3A-1 and 96 F3A-1D), more than half of Brewster's total production, were delivered to the Fleet Air Arm.
FG-1A and FG-1D (called Corsair Mk IV by the Fleet Air Arm):
This was the designation for Corsairs that were license-built by Goodyear, to the same specifications as Vought's Corsairs. The first Goodyear built FG-1 flew in February 1943Bowman 2002, p.110. and Goodyear began delivery of FG-1 Corsairs in April 1943. The company continued production until the end of the war and delivered 4,007 FG-1 series Corsairs, including sixty FG-1Ds to the RNZAF and 857 (400 FG-1 and FG-1A, and 457 FG-1D) to the Royal Navy as Corsair Mk IVs.
F4U-1B: This was an unofficial post-war designation used to identify F4U-1s modified for Fleet Air Arm use.
F4U-1C:
The prototype F4U-1C, appeared in August 1943 and was based on an F4U-1. A total of 200 of this variant were built from July to November 1944; all were based on the F4U-1D and were built in parallel with that variant. Intended for ground-attack as well as fighter missions, the F4U-1C was similar to the F4U-1D but its six machine guns were replaced by four AN/M2 cannons with 231 rounds of ammunition per gun. The F4U-1C was introduced to combat during 1945, most notably in the Okinawa campaign. The firepower of 20 mm was highly appreciated. It was believed that the 20 mm cannon was more effective for all types of combat work than the .50 caliber machine gun.Action Reports of Air Group 84, Kyushu - Shikoku - Kure - Okinawa operations, 27 May 1945 However, despite the superior firepower, many navy pilots preferred .50 caliber machine guns in air combat due to jam and freezing problems of the 20mm cannons.ACA-1 Aircraft Action Reports, CVG-85, 12 May 1945 These problems were reduced as the ordnance crews gained experience until the performance of the guns compared favorably with the .50 caliber, but freezing problems remained at until gun heaters were installed.
F4U-1D (called Corsair Mk II by the Fleet Air Arm):
This variant was introduced in April 1944, and was built in parallel with the F4U-1C. It had the new R-2800-8W Double Wasp engine equipped with water injection. This change gave the aircraft up to more power, which, in turn, increased performance. Speed was increased from to . Due to the U.S. Navy's need for fighter-bombers, it had a payload of rockets (double the -1A's) carried on permanent launching rails, as well as twin pylons for bombs or drop tanks. These modifications caused extra drag, but the additional fuel carried by the two drop tanks would still allow the aircraft to fly relatively long missions despite heavy, un-aerodynamic loads. A single piece "blown" clear-view canopy was adopted as standard equipment for the -1D model, and all later F4U production aircraft. 150 F4U-1D were delivered to the Fleet Air Arm.
F4U-1P: A rare photo reconnaissance variant.Green 1975, p. 149.
XF4U-2: Special night fighter variant, equipped with two auxiliary fuel tanks.Moran 1978, p. 94.
F4U-2: Experimental conversion of the F4U-1 Corsair into a carrier-borne nightfighter, armed with five machine guns (the outboard, right gun was deleted), and fitted with Airborne Intercept (AI) radar set in a radome placed outboard on the
starboard
Port and starboard are nautical terms for watercraft and aircraft, referring respectively to the left and right sides of the vessel, when aboard and facing the bow (front).
Vessels with bilateral symmetry have left and right halves which are ...
wing. Since Vought was preoccupied with more important projects, only 32 were converted from existing F4U-1s by the
Naval Aircraft Factory
The Naval Aircraft Factory (NAF) was established by the United States Navy in 1918 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was created to help solve aircraft supply issues which faced the Navy Department upon the entry of the U.S. into World War I. ...
and another two by front line units.
The type saw combat with VF(N)-101 aboard and USS ''Intrepid'' in early 1944, VF(N)-75 in the
Solomon Islands
Solomon Islands is an island country consisting of six major islands and over 900 smaller islands in Oceania, to the east of Papua New Guinea and north-west of Vanuatu. It has a land area of , and a population of approx. 700,000. Its capita ...
, and
VMF(N)-532
Marine Night Fighter Squadron 532 (VMF(N)-532) was a United States Marine Corps night fighter squadron that was commissioned during World War II. The squadron, which flew the Vought F4U Corsair, F4U-2 Corsair, was the second night fighter squadro ...
on
Tarawa
Tarawa is an atoll and the capital of the Republic of Kiribati,Kiribati ''
XF4U-3: Experimental aircraft built to hold different engines in order to test the Corsair's performance with a variety of power plants. This variant never entered service. Goodyear also contributed a number of airframes, designated FG-3, to the project. A single sub-variant XF4U-3B with minor modifications was also produced for the
FAA
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is the largest transportation agency of the U.S. government and regulates all aspects of civil aviation in the country as well as over surrounding international waters. Its powers include air traffic m ...
.
XF4U-4: New engine and cowling.
F4U-4: The last variant to see action during World War II. Deliveries to the U.S. Navy of the F4U-4 began in early 1945. It had the dual-stage-supercharged -18W engine. When the cylinders were injected with the water/alcohol mixture, power was boosted to . The aircraft required an air scoop under the nose and the unarmored wing fuel tanks of capacities were removed for better maneuverability at the expense of maximum range. The propeller was changed to a four blade type. Maximum speed was increased to and climb rate to over as opposed to the of the F4U-1A. The "4-Hog" retained the original armament and had all the external load (i.e., drop tanks, bombs) capabilities of the F4U-1D. The windscreen was now flat bullet-resistant glass to avoid optical distortion, a change from the curved Plexiglas windscreens with the internal plate glass of the earlier Corsairs. Vought also tested the two F4U-4Xs (BuNos 49763 and 50301, prototypes for the new R2800) with fixed wingtip tanks (the Navy showed no interest) and an Aeroproducts six-blade
contraprop
Aircraft equipped with contra-rotating propellers, also referred to as CRP, coaxial contra-rotating propellers, or high-speed propellers, apply the maximum power of usually a single piston or turboprop engine to drive a pair of coaxial propel ...
(not accepted for production).
F4U-4B: 300 F4U-4s ordered with alternate gun armament of four AN/M3 cannon.
F4U-4E and F4U-4N: Developed late in WWII, these nightfighters featured radar radomes projecting from the right wingtip. The -4E was fitted with the
APS-4
The AN/APS-4, originally known as ASH (air-surface, model H) is an early military air to air and air to surface radar used by American and British warplanes during World War II.
APS-4 operated in the X band at 3 cm, compared to the 10&n ...
search radar, while the -4N was fitted with the APS-6 type. In addition, these aircraft were often refitted with four 20 mm M2 cannons similar to the F4U-1C. Though these variants would not see combat during WWII, the nightfighter variants would see great use during the Korean war.
F4U-4K: Experimental drone.
F4U-4P: F4U-4 equivalent to the -1P, a rare photo reconnaissance variant.
XF4U-5: New engine cowling, other extensive changes.
F4U-5: A 1945 design modification of the F4U-4, first flown on 21 December 1945, was intended to increase the F4U-4 Corsair's overall performance and incorporate many Corsair pilots' suggestions. It featured a more powerful Pratt and Whitney R-2800-32(E) engine with a two-stage supercharger,Swanborough and Bowers 1976, p. 406. rated at a maximum of . Other improvements included automatic blower controls, cowl flaps, intercooler doors, and oil cooler for the engine, spring tabs for the elevators and rudder, a completely modernized cockpit, a completely retractable tail wheel, and heated cannon bays and pitot head. The cowling was lowered two degrees to help with forward visibility, but perhaps most striking as the first variant to feature all-metal wings (223 units produced). Maximum speed was and max rate of climb at sea level 4,850 feet per minute.
F4U-5N: Radar equipped version (214 units produced)
F4U-5NL: Winterized version (72 units produced, 29 modified from F4U-5Ns (101 total)). Fitted with rubber de-icing boots on the leading edge of the wings and tail.
F4U-5P: Long-range photo-reconnaissance version (30 units produced)
F4U-6: Re-designated AU-1, this was a ground-attack version produced for the U.S. Marine Corps.
F4U-7 : AU-1 airframe with -18w engine developed for the
French Navy
The French Navy (french: Marine nationale, lit=National Navy), informally , is the maritime arm of the French Armed Forces and one of the five military service branches of France. It is among the largest and most powerful naval forces in t ...
.
FG-1E: Goodyear FG-1 with radar equipment.
FG-1K: Goodyear FG-1 as drone.
FG-3: Turbosupercharger version converted from FG-1D.
FG-4: Goodyear F4U-4, never delivered.
AU-1: U.S. Marines attack variant with extra armor to protect the pilot and fuel tank, and the oil coolers relocated inboard to reduce vulnerability to ground fire. The supercharger was simplified as the design was intended for low-altitude operation. Extra racks were also fitted. Fully loaded for combat the AU-1 weighed 20% more than a fully loaded F4U-4, and was capable of carrying 8,200 lb of bombs. The AU-1 had a maximum speed of 238 miles per hour at 9,500 ft, when loaded with 4,600 lb of bombs and a 150-gallon drop-tank. When loaded with eight rockets and two 150-gallon drop-tanks, maximum speed was 298 mph at 19,700 ft. When not carrying external loads, maximum speed was 389 mph at 14,000 ft. First produced in 1952 and used in Korea, and retired in 1957. Re-designated from F4U-6.
Super Corsair variants
In March 1944, Pratt & Whitney requested an F4U-1 Corsair from Vought Aircraft for evaluation of their new P&W R-4360, Wasp Major 4-row 28-cylinder "corncob" radial engine. The F2G-1 and F2G-2 were significantly different aircraft. F2G-1 featured a manual folding wing and propeller, while the F2G-2 had hydraulic operated folding wings, propeller, and carrier arresting hook for carrier use."F2G Histories" ''airrace.com.'' Retrieved: 5 August 2010. There were five pre-production XF2G-1s: BuNo 14691, 14692, 14693 (Race 94), 14694 (Race 18), and 14695. There were ten production F2Gs: Five F2G-1s BuNo 88454 (
Museum of Flight
The Museum of Flight is a private non-profit air and space museum in the Seattle metropolitan area. It is located at the southern end of King County International Airport (Boeing Field) in the city of Tukwila, immediately south of Seattle.< ...
in Seattle, Washington), 88455, 88456, 88457 (Race 84), and 88458 (Race 57) and five F2G-2s BuNo 88459, 88460, 88461, 88462, and 88463 (Race 74). Five F2Gs were sold as surplus and went on to racing success after the war (indicated by the "Race" number after the BuNo), winning the Thompson trophy races in 1947 and 1949. The only surviving F2G-1s are BuNos 88454 and 88458 (Race 57). The only surviving F2G-2 was BuNo 88463 (Race 74). It was destroyed in a crash September 2012 after having a full restoration completed in July 2011.
Operators
;
*
Argentine Navy
The Argentine Navy (ARA; es, Armada de la República Argentina). This forms the basis for the navy's ship prefix "ARA". is the navy of Argentina. It is one of the three branches of the Armed Forces of the Argentine Republic, together with the ...
Air Force of El Salvador
The Salvadoran Air Force ( es, Fuerza Aérea Salvadoreña, abbreviated FAS) is the air force component of the Armed Forces of El Salvador, and is an independent branch from the army and navy.
Early history
The Salvadoran Army Air Force ('' es, ...
operated 5 F4Us and 20 FG-1Ds from 1957 to 1976
;
*
French Navy
The French Navy (french: Marine nationale, lit=National Navy), informally , is the maritime arm of the French Armed Forces and one of the five military service branches of France. It is among the largest and most powerful naval forces in t ...
operated 69 AU-1 and 94 F4U-7 from 1954 to 1964
**
Aeronavale
French Naval Aviation (often abbreviated in French to: ''Aéronavale'' (contraction of Aéronautique navale), or ''Aviation navale'', or more simply ''l'Aéro'') is the naval air arm of the French Navy. The long-form official designation is ' ...
Flottille 17F
Flottille 17F is a squadron of French Naval Aviation which currently flies the Dassault Rafale M from Landivisiau Naval Air Base. It was formed during April 1958 at Hyeres Naval Air Base and flew the Vought F4U7 Corsair for training purposes.
...
;
*
Honduran Air Force
The Honduras Air Force ( es, Fuerza Aérea Hondureña, sometimes abbreviated to FAH in English) is the air force of Honduras. As such it is the air power arm of the Honduras Armed Forces.
History
The first Honduras military flying took place ...
operated 19 from 1956 to 1979
;
*
Royal New Zealand Air Force
The Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) ( mi, Te Tauaarangi o Aotearoa, "The Warriors of the Sky of New Zealand"; previously ', "War Party of the Blue") is the aerial service branch of the New Zealand Defence Force. It was formed from New Zeala ...
operated 368 F4U-1s and 60 FG-1Ds from 1944 to 1949
**
No. 14 Squadron RNZAF
14 Squadron RNZAF is a squadron of the Royal New Zealand Air Force. In 2015 the squadron was re-raised and equipped with 11 Beechcraft T-6 Texan II. A new aerobatic display team called the Black Falcons was also formed using the new aircraft. The ...
**
No. 15 Squadron RNZAF
No. 15 Squadron was a fighter squadron of the Royal New Zealand Air Force that was formed in June 1942. It served in Tonga, Guadalcanal, New Georgia, Espiritu Santo, Bougainville Island, Bougainville and Green Island, Papua New Guinea, Green Isla ...
**
No. 16 Squadron RNZAF
No. 16 Squadron was a fighter squadron of the Royal New Zealand Air Force. Formed in July 1942 at RNZAF Base Woodbourne, the squadron was equipped with Curtiss P-40 Kittyhawks and later F4U Corsairs. The squadron fought in the Southwest Pacifi ...
**
No. 17 Squadron RNZAF
No. 17 Squadron was a fighter squadron of the Royal New Zealand Air Force. Formed in October 1942 at Ohakea, the squadron was initially equipped with Curtiss P-40 Kittyhawks, before converting to F4U-1 Corsairs in 1944. The squadron fought in ...
**
No. 18 Squadron RNZAF
No. 18 Squadron was a squadron of the Royal New Zealand Air Force. Formed in June 1943 at RNZAF Base Woodbourne, the squadron was initially equipped with Curtiss P-40 Kittyhawks, before converting to F4U-1 Corsair fighter bombers in 1944. The ...
**
No. 19 Squadron RNZAF
No. 19 Squadron was a squadron of the Royal New Zealand Air Force. Formed on 10 December 1941 at RNZAF Station Ohakea from members of No. 3 Squadron equipped with P-40 Kittyhawk and later with the Chance-Vought F4U-1 Corsair fighter bombers.
...
**
No. 20 Squadron RNZAF
No. 20 Squadron was a squadron of the Royal New Zealand Air Force. It was first established at as an army co-operation unit, serving in this role between 1942 and 1943. In January 1944, the squadron was reformed as a fighter unit at equipped with ...
**
No. 21 Squadron RNZAF
No. 21 Squadron was a squadron of the Royal New Zealand Air Force. Formed in May 1944, it was equipped with F4U-1 Corsair fighter bombers.
History
21 Squadron was deployed to Kukum Field on Guadalcanal from June–July 1944, to Piva Airfield ...
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...
Fleet Air Arm
The Fleet Air Arm (FAA) is one of the five fighting arms of the Royal Navy and is responsible for the delivery of naval air power both from land and at sea. The Fleet Air Arm operates the F-35 Lightning II for maritime strike, the AW159 Wil ...
operated 2,012 Corsairs of all types during World War II, including 95 Corsair Is (F4U-1), 510 Corsair IIs (F4U-1A), 430 Corsair IIIs (F3A-1D), and 977 Corsair IVs (FG-1D)
;
*
United States Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...
*
United States Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through combi ...
Surviving aircraft
According to the
FAA
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is the largest transportation agency of the U.S. government and regulates all aspects of civil aviation in the country as well as over surrounding international waters. Its powers include air traffic m ...
* Abrams, Richard. ''F4U Corsair at War''. London: Ian Allan Ltd., 1977. .
* Angelucci, Enzo with Peter M. Bowers. ''The American Fighter''. New York: Orion Books, 1985. .
* Barber, S.B. ''Naval Aviation Combat Statistics: World War II, OPNAV-P-23V No. A129''. Washington, D.C.: Air Branch, Office of Naval Intelligence, 1946.
* Bell, Dana. ''F4U-1 Corsair, Vol. 1'', Aircraft Pictorial, No. 7. Tucson: Classic Warships Publishing, 2014. .
* Blackburn, Tom. ''The Jolly Rogers''. New York: Orion Books, 1989. .
* Bowman, Martin W. ''Vought F4U Corsair''. Marlborough, UK: The Crowood Press Ltd., 2002. .
* Campbell, Douglas E. "BuNos! Disposition of World War II USN, USMC, USCG Aircraft Listed by Bureau Number". 2012.
* Condon, John Pomeroy. ''Corsairs and Flattops: Marine Carrier Warfare, 1944–1945''. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press, 1998. .
* D’Angina, James. "Vought F4U Corsair". Oxford, UK: Osprey Publishing, 2014.
* Dean, Francis H. ''America's Hundred Thousand''. Atglen, Pennsylvania: Schiffer Publishing Ltd., 1997. .
* Donald, David, ed. ''American Warplanes of World War II''. London: Aerospace Publishing. 1995. .
* Dorr, Robert F. "Marine Air, The History of the Flying Leathernecks in Words and Photos" New York: Berkley Publishing Group, 2005. .
* Drendel, Lou. ''U.S. Navy Carrier Fighters of World War II''. Carrollton, Texas: Squadron/Signal Publications Inc., 1987. .
* Green, William. ''Famous Fighters of the Second World War''. Garden City, New York: Doubleday & Company, 1975. .
* Green, William. "Vought F4U-1, F4U-4 (FG-1 Corsair)". ''War Planes of the Second World War, Volume Four: Fighters''. Garden City, New York: Doubleday & Company, 1973, pp. 188–194. .
* Green, William and Gordon Swanborough. "Chance Vought F4U Corsair". ''WW2 Aircraft Fact Files: U.S. Navy and Marine Corps Fighters''. London: Macdonald and Jane's Publishers Ltd., 1976, pp. 16–29. .
* Grossnick, Roy A. and William J. Armstrong. ''United States Naval Aviation, 1910–1995''. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Historical Center, 1997. .
* Guyton, Boone T. ''Whistling Death: The Test Pilot's Story of the F4U Corsair''. Atglen, Pennsylvania: Schiffer Publishing Ltd., 1996. .
* ''The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft''. London: Aerospace Publishing/Orbis Publishing, 1985.
* Irons, Martin. ''Corsair Down!''. Atglen, Pennsylvania: Schiffer Publishing Ltd., 2022.
* Jablonski, Edward. ''Airwar''. New York: Doubleday & Co., 1979. .
* Johnsen, Frederick A. ''F4U Corsair''. New York: Crown Publishers, 1983. .
* Kinzey, Bert. ''F4U Corsair Part 2: F4U-4 Through F4U-7: Detail and Scale Vol 56''. Carrolton, Texas: Squadron Signal Publications, 1998.
* Kristy, Ben. Aviation Curator, National Museum of the Marine Corps, Quantico, Virginia. Emailed remarks regarding FG-1A Corsairs. 25 February 2013
* Maloney, Edward T. and Uwe Feist. ''Chance Vought F4U Corsair, Vol. 11''. Fallbrook, California: Aero Publishers, Inc., 1967. .
* March, Daniel J. "British Warplanes of World War II". Westport, CT: AIRtime Publishing Inc., 1998.
* Mondey, David. ''The Hamlyn Concise Guide to American Aircraft of World War II''. London: Octopus Publishing Group Ltd., 1982. .
* Moran, Gerard P., ''Aeroplanes Vought, 1917–1977''. Terre Haute, Indiana: Aviation Heritage Books, Sunshine House, Inc., 1978. .
* Morris, David. ''Corsair KD431: The Time Capsule Fighter''. Stroud, UK: Sutton Publishing Ltd., 2006. .
* Musciano, Walter A. ''Corsair Aces: The Bent-wing Bird Over the Pacific''. New York: Arco Publishing Company, Inc., 1979. .
* Núñez, Padin and Jorge Félix. ''Vought F4U-5,-5N & 5NL Corsair (serie Aeronaval Nro.18)'' (in Spanish). Buenos Aires, Argentina: Museo de la Aviacón Naval, Instituto Aeronaval, 2004.
* Okumiya, Masatake and
Jiro Horikoshi
was the chief engineer of many Japanese fighter designs of World War II, including the Mitsubishi A6M Zero fighter.
Early life
Jiro Horikoshi was born near the city of Fujioka, Gunma Prefecture, Japan, in 1903. Horikoshi graduated from the new ...
, with
Martin Caidin
Martin Caidin (September 14, 1927 – March 24, 1997) was an American author, screenwriter, and an authority on aeronautics and aviation.
Caidin began writing fiction in 1957. In his career he authored more than 50 fiction and nonfiction books ...
. ''Zero!'' New York: E.P. Dutton & Co., 1956.
* O'Leary, Michael. ''United States Naval Fighters of World War II in Action''. Poole, Dorset, UK: Blandford Press, 1980. .
* Pautigny, Bruno (translated from the French by Alan McKay). ''Corsair: 30 Years of Filibustering 1940–1970''. Paris: Histoire & Collections, 2003. .
* ''Pilots Manual for F4U Corsair''. Appleton, Wisconsin: Aviation Publications, 1977 (reprint). .
* ''Pilot's Notes for Corsair I-IV: Air Publications 2351A, B, C & D-P.N.''. London: Air Ministry, August 1944.
* Russell, Warren P. ''Chance Vought F4U-1/F4U-1D and Goodyear FG-1D Corsair: NZPAF, RNZAF Aircraft colour schemes''. Invercargill, New Zealand: New Zealand Aero Products, 1984.
* Sakaida, Henry. ''Imperial Japanese Navy Aces 1937–45 – Osprey Aircraft of the Aces 22''. Botley, Oxford: Osprey Publishing, 1998, .
* Sherrod, Robert. ''History of Marine Corps Aviation in World War II''. Washington, D.C.: Combat Forces Press, 1952. No ISBN.
* Shettle, M.L. ''Marine Corps Air Stations of World War II''. Bowersville, Georgia: Schaertel Publishing Co., 2001. .
* Styling, Mark. ''Corsair Aces of World War 2'' (Osprey Aircraft of the Aces No 8). London: Osprey Publishing, 1995. .
* Sullivan, Jim. ''F4U Corsair in action''. Carrollton, TX: Squadron/Signal Publications, 1977. .
* Sullivan, Jim. ''F4U Corsair in action''. Carrollton, TX: Squadron/Signal Publications, 2010. .
* Swanborough, Gordon and Peter M. Bowers. ''United States Navy Aircraft since 1911''. London: Putnam, Second edition, 1976. .
* Thetford, Owen. ''British Naval Aircraft since 1912''. London: Putnam, Fourth edition, 1978. .
* Thompson, Warren. "Marine Corsairs in Korea". ''International Air Power Review'', Volume 11, Winter 2003/2004, Norwalk, CO: AirTime Publishing, 2004. .
* Thompson, Warren. ''F4U Corsair Units of the Korean War: Osprey Combat Aircraft 78''. Botley, Oxford UK: Osprey Publishing, 2009.
* Tillman, Barrett. ''Corsair — The F4U in World War II and Korea''. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press, 1979. .
* Tillman, Barrett. ''Vought F4U Corsair''. Warbird Tech Series, Vol. 4. North Branch, Minnesota: Speciality Press, 1996. .
* Veronico, Nick and John M. and Donna Campbell. ''F4U Corsair''. St. Paul, Minnesota: Motorbooks International, 1994. .
* Wilson, Randy. "From Bent-winged Bird to Whistling Death." ''The Dispatch''. Midland, Texas: Confederate Air Force, 1996.