The F4U Corsair

Our primary mount is the Vought F4U Corsair. Get to know her – or she will most definitely make herself known to you.

Comparison of the Corsair
F4U-1, F4U-1A, F4U-1C

Michael "Stans" Stansfield

XF4U-1

The story of the F4U Corsair began on 1 February, 1938, when Vought received a United States Navy proposal to design a new ship-based fighter. Vought submitted two proposed fighters, designs V-166A and V-166B. The Bureau of Aeronautics accepted design V-166B on 8 April, 1938. The USN desiginated the proposed fighter as the XF4U-1 and mandated that it be capable of exceeding 400 miles per hour. Vought designed the XF4U-1 around the new 1805 horsepower Pratt & Whitney XR-2800-2 radial engine and gave the aircraft its characteristic inverted gull wing so that a 13foot 4 inch diameter propeller could be used and still keep the main landing gear struts as short as possible. The XF4U-1 made its maiden flight on 29 May, 1940. The aircraft met the Navy’s requirements, posted a top speed of 405 mph, and a contract for 624 production aircraft was awarded.

F4U-1

The F4U-1 was the first production version. The cockpit had been moved 3 feet aft to make room for a self-sealing 237 gallon fuel tank. This did nothing to improve the pilots view over the nose. This version featured a low windscreen and canopy with the canopy having multiple braces, similar to that of the XF4U-1. Pilots referred to this canopy as the squirrel cage or bird cage. The F4U-1 was armed with six 50 caliber Browning M2 machine guns, the four inboard guns were armed with 400 rounds each, the outboard guns with 375 rounds each. There was a centerline hard point for attaching a 170 gallon external fuel tank. Brewster designed a small bomb rack to be attached beneath the outer wing panels, giving the Corsair the ability to carry a pair of 250 pound bombs. The F4U-1 was also heavily armored, with a flat section of bullet proof glass located just inside the rounded windscreen, the area over the main fuel tank and the cowl deck around the windscreen being .109 inch thick aluminum and the bulkhead behind the pilot being armored steel plate.

The F4U-1 was equipped with the uprated Pratt & Whitney R-2800-8 engine, producing a peak of 2000 horsepower. The F4U-1 was capable of speeds up to 397 mph at 23,000 feet; a sea-level rate of climb of 2,890 feet per minute, and a service ceiling of 36,900 feet. A capable fighter it was, but it was not without problems. The most notable problems were the poor visibility out of the cockpit, the main landing gear oleo’s tended to give the plane a nasty bounce if it was set down hard, and the aircraft had a tendency to roll sharply to the left during a stall. VF-17 was the first squadron equipped with Corsairs and they ironed out the bounce problem, but with problems of the Corsair and only one USN squadron equipped with the type, VF-17 was assigned to a shore base and most Corsairs were soon destined to U.S. Marine Corps service.

F4U-1A

The F4U-1A was the next major variant. Although Vought petitioned the Navy for an official "-1A" model designation, no such designation was officially granted, thus all F4U-1A’s were officially listed as F4U-1’s. The -1A incorporated the design changes and modifications that were great improvements over the -1. The main gear oleos were modified and the severe bounce was eliminated. The tail wheel strut height was increased by 6 inches, improving forward visibility on the ground as well as the ground handling habits of the Corsair. The pilot’s seat was raised 7 inches, the angle of the windscreen steepened and a semi-bubble canopy with only two braces was added. A small spoiler was placed on the leading edge of the right outer wing panel, this would make the right wing stall at the same speed as the left wing, lessening the severe roll to the left during a stall. The improved cockpit did not come without a price, the top speed of the Corsair dropped to 390 mph at 24,000 feet. Late in the production run of the -1A, the engine was changed to the R-2800-8W, featuring a water/methanol injection system which allowed the engine to reach 2,250 hp for a maximum of 5 minutes. This boosted the top speed of the Corsair back to 409 mph.

The armament of the -1A was identical to that of the -1. During the opening months of 1944, VF-17 and VMF-222 developed a bomb rack that could be attached to the centerline hard points under the fuselage. This rack design was standardized by Brewster and Corsairs were soon toting 500 and 1000 pound bombs.

F4U-1C/D

The next variants were the F4U-1C and -1D, the only difference between the two being the -1C having four 20mm cannons and the -1D having six 50 caliber machine guns. Both were produced on the same Vought assembly lines, with batches of -1C’s intermingled with -1D production. Many changes went into these versions. The R-2800-8W of the late -1A Corsair was retained, but the starting system was changed from an explosive cartridge starter to an electric starter. The top speed of the -1C/-1D was 417 mph at 19,900 feet. The 62 gallon fuel cells in each outer wing panel were deleted. On all but the first batches of the -1D, the two canopy braces were deleted. The external ordnance on the -1C and D featured the centerline hard point of the previous versions plus a pair of pylons for drop tanks, bombs, or the 11.75 inch diameter "Tiny Tim" 1100 pound rocket. Under each outer wing panel provision was made for up to four 5 inch high velocity rockets.

The -1C was armed with four 20mm cannons, each equipped with 231 rounds. The -1C packed a potent punch, but the cannons fired at a slower rate than the Browning machine gun, making it more difficult to get hits on airborne targets. The cannons were not equipped with heaters, so they tended to freeze at higher altitudes, making the -1C better at ground support than as combat air patrol or interceptor aircraft.

Vought could not possibly keep up with the vast orders for the Corsair. The USN/USMC and the British as well as New Zealand all used the Corsair in large numbers. The task of building the Corsair was shared by Vought, Goodyear, and Brewster. The Vought corsairs bore the designation "F4U-", the Goodyear versions "FG-", and Brewster "F3A-". Only Vought produced the -1C version, but all three manufacturers produced the other variants.