Navy F4U Corsair fighter-bombers returning from a 1951 combat mission over Korea circle the aircraft carrier USS Boxer as they wait for the planes of the next strike group to clear the ship’s decks. Illustrated with 229 photographs, plus color profiles and detailed line drawings Softbound approx. The Corsair remained a mainstay around the world well after World War II. This exhaustive volume surveys the history of the Corsair from its first prototype to the restored warbirds that have continued to delight air show audiences down to the present day. Walsh, by the summer of 1943.Ī total of 12,571 Corsairs were built between 19, most of them by Vought, but hundreds by Goodyear and Brewster as those companies' assembly lines had to be pressed into service to meet soaring demand for the remarkable aircraft. Handling problems delayed the aircraft's deployment aboard carriers, but Marine Corps pilots quickly took to the powerful, rugged fighter and VMF-124, the first Marine squadron to fly the Corsair in combat, also produced the first Corsair air ace, Kenneth A. The XF4U-1 made its first flight in May 1940. The Corsair's famous inverted gull wing design was introduced to allow prop clearance. The low-wing monoplane was known for its inverted gull appearance with great length of fuselage ahead of its cockpit. The Corsair was first conceived as a high-speed, high-altitude fighter for the Navy in 1938 when Chance Vought's design team drew up plans for a fighter with a 1,800 hp engine and a huge 13-foot propeller.

The F4U maintained a kill ratio of 11:1 according to the United States Navy and went on to serve American forces in Korea, holding its own in the early years of the jet age. Bringing to mind the exploits of 'Pappy' Boyington and his Blacksheep Squadron and Tommy Blackburn with the Jolly Rogers, the Corsair is among the most formidable US fighters of World War II. Updated and expanded with 53 exciting new photographs in 16 all new, additional pages. Remote Control Airplanes and Helicopters.

War f4u corsair plans