Vought F4U Corsair
The F4U Corsair was a low wing monoplane fighter developed by the
Chance Vought Corporation in WWII. Similar to other aircraft
built at the time, due to the need to produce a large number of
aircraft to meet wartime demands the F4U design was licensed out to
both Brewster Aeronautical and Goodyear, designated the F3A and FG,
respectively. Per Reference [8] first flight for the Corsair
was on 29 May 1940 wih the type entering service on 28 December 1942.
A total of 12,571 of all variants were produced.
The Corsair
had a distinctive inverted gull wing and razorback profile, though a
later post variant designated the F2G was developed configured
with a
bubble canopy, though only a very limited number were produced. In
addition the main landing gear would be rotated 90 degrees to
allow them to fit within covered wells in the wings when retracted.
The Corsair along with the Grumman F6F Hellcat would serve as
the primary fighters of the US Navy and US Marine Corps during the
second half of the war in the Pacific. It would also serve
with the UK and New Zealand during the war, as well as France,
Honduras, El Salvador, and Argentina post WWII.
The
primary variants analyzed
at
this website include:
- the
F4U-1
- the
F4U-1D
- the
F4U-4
Per
Reference [8] the F4U-1 was the initial production variant of ths
Corsair family and had a Birdcage type framed canopy and a lower
seating position than later variants. This variant was also
called the Corsair Mk I in Royal Navy service. The F4U-1D was
fitted with an upgraded engine with water injection, and also had a
revised "blown" single piece canopy. In Royal Navy service it
was designated the Corsair Mk II. The F4U-4 was the last
variant to see active service during WWII. It was fitted
with a four bladed propeller and an improved engine capable of
producing more power.
As
shown in the images below distinguishing features of this
aircraft including;
- a
large radial engine
- a razorback
configuration aft the cockpit
- a
framed "birdcage" type canopy on the F4U-1
- a
"blown" single piece canopy on the F4U-1D and F4U-4
- low mounted
inverted gull folding wings
- main
landing gear that rotated 90 degrees to retract into covered wells in
the wings
[Image
Sources: Public Domain via Ref [8] - as
annotated by this site]
Notes:
This website
has been developed with a number of low cost or free programs including
Hot Metal Pro, KompoZer, MicroSoft Designer and Da Button Factory.com
Rev 3-3-25
