Confronto Final: Combate Aéreo F4U Corsair vs Mitsubishi Zero - Documentario - Discovery Channel

Video from the channel Máquinas & Nerds - Documentários about Vought F4U Corsair, linked on its Above Ten Thousand entry. Duration: 45:02. Language: English. Video type: Documentary.

An episode of the series "Showdown Air Combat," hosted by Major Paul "Max" Moga, an F-22 Raptor pilot with Air Combat Command, who uses restored aircraft to re-create the 3 January 1944 combat over Rabaul between Major Gregory "Pappy" Boyington's F4U Corsair and a group of Mitsubishi Zero fighters. The program alternates between the in-flight re-creation, a technical comparison of the two aircraft in the cockpit and on the ground, and the pilot's biography.

In early 1944, US forces were advancing through the Solomon Islands toward Rabaul, at the northern tip of New Britain. It was the main Japanese base in the area and was defended mostly by Zero fighters. Boyington had scored six kills in China with the American Volunteer Group (the Flying Tigers). He commanded VMF-214, a Marine Corps squadron formed with replacement pilots that took the name Black Sheep. His pilots called him "Gramps"; the nickname "Pappy" came from a tavern song and was spread by the press. With 25 victories, he was one short of the record of 26 set by Eddie Rickenbacker in World War I. On 3 January he went after the Zeros with his wingman, apart from the rest of the section. He claimed two kills and was shot down. His wingman was killed, and he, wounded, was picked up by a Japanese submarine and spent the rest of the war as a prisoner. Since there were no witnesses, the record was broken by Richard Bong on 12 April 1944. After the war he received the Medal of Honor from President Truman. His tally was raised to 28 kills, above Joe Foss, a figure that remains disputed. He died of cancer in 1988.

The Corsair prototype flew in May 1940 and was the first American single-engine fighter to exceed 400 mph in level flight. The F4U-1A carried an 18-cylinder, 2,000 hp Pratt & Whitney R-2800 Double Wasp, with a propeller about 13 feet in diameter. It reached about 417 mph and a ceiling of nearly 37,000 feet, and its inverted gull wing allowed for short landing gear. It weighed about 9,000 lb empty, against the Zero's 4,000. The Zero's late versions, such as the A6M5 Model 52, reached about 350 mph and had no armor or self-sealing tanks. The Corsair carried six .50-caliber machine guns; the Zero, two 7.7mm machine guns and two 20mm cannons. Because it was so hard to land on a carrier, it was nicknamed the "Ensign Eliminator," which is why it was first assigned to land-based Marine Corps units. The Japanese called it the "Whistling Death." According to the program, it ended the war with an 11-to-1 kill ratio against Japanese aircraft.