The Vought F4U Corsair is an American fighter aircraft which saw service primarily in World War II and the Korean War. 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 carrierbased aircraft, 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 carrierbased fighterbombers 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. Early problems with carrier landings and logistics led to it being eclipsed as the dominant carrierbased fighter by the Grumman F6F Hellcat, powered by the same Double Wasp engine first flown on the Corsair's initial prototype in 1940. Instead, the Corsair's early deployment was to landbased squadrons of the U.S. Marine Corps and U.S. Navy.

The Corsair served almost exclusively as a fighterbomber throughout the Korean War and during the French colonial wars in Indochina and Algeria. In addition to its use by the U.S. and British, the Corsair was also used by the Royal New Zealand Air Force, French Naval Aviation, 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 manufactured in 16 separate models. Its 1942–1953 production run was the longest of any U.S. pistonengined fighter.

In February 1938 the U.S. Navy Bureau of Aeronautics published two requests for proposal for twinengined and singleengined fighters. For the singleengined fighter the Navy requested the maximum obtainable speed, and a stalling speed not higher than 70 miles per hour (110 km/h). A range of 1,000 miles (1,600 km) was specified. The fighter had to carry four guns, or three with increased ammunition. Provision had to be made for antiaircraft bombs to be carried in the wing. These small bombs would, according to thinking in the 1930s, be dropped on enemy aircraft formations.

On 1 October 1940, the XF4U1 became the first singleengine U.S. fighter to fly faster than 400 mph (640 km/h) by flying at an average ground speed of 405 mph (652 km/h) from Stratford to Hartford. The USAAC's twin engine Lockheed P38 Lightning had flown over 400 mph in January–February 1939. The XF4U1 also had an excellent rate of climb although testing revealed some requirements would have to be rewritten. In fullpower dive tests, speeds of up to 550 mph (890 km/h) 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 twoturn spin proved impossible without resorting to an antispin 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 .30 in (7.62 mm) synchronized engine cowlingmount machine guns, and two .50 in (12.7 mm) machine guns (one in each outer wing panel) was insufficient. The U.S. Navy'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.

General characteristics

Crew: One
Length: 33 ft 8 in (10.26 m)
Wingspan: 41 ft 0 in (12.50 m)
Height: 14 ft 9 in (4.50 m)
Wing area: 314 sq ft (29.17 m2)
Empty weight: 9,205 lb (4,238 kg)
Gross weight: 14,670 lb (6,654 kg)
Max takeoff weight: 14,533 lb (6,592 kg)
Powerplant: 1 × Pratt & Whitney R280018W radial engine, 2,380 hp (1,770 kW)
Propellers: 4bladed
Performance

Maximum speed: 446 mph (717 km/h, 385 kn)
Cruise speed: 215 mph (346 km/h, 187 kn)
Stall speed: 89 mph (143 km/h, 77 kn)
Range: 1,005 mi (1,617 km, 873 nmi)
Combat range: 328 mi (528 km, 285 nmi)
Service ceiling: 41,500 ft (12,600 m)
Rate of climb: 4,360 ft/min (22.1 m/s)
Armament
Guns:
6 × 0.50 in (12.7 mm) M2 Browning machine guns, 400 rounds per gun or
4 × 0.79 in (20 mm) AN/M3 cannon, 231 rounds per gun
Rockets: 8 × 5 in (12.7 cm) high velocity aircraft rockets and/or
Bombs: 4,000 pounds (1,800 kg)

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