F4U Corsair vs F6F Hellcat | Which was the better fighter?
Video from the channel Australian Military Aviation History about Vought F4U Corsair, linked on its Above Ten Thousand entry. Duration: 10:16. Language: English. Video type: Documentary.
What it's about
A comparison between the Vought F4U Corsair and the Grumman F6F Hellcat, the two American fighters most associated with the Pacific War, based on combat statistics, performance and pilot accounts.
Historical context
The Corsair entered combat in early 1943, against more experienced Japanese pilots. The Hellcat arrived at the end of that year, when Japan was already suffering a shortage of expert pilots, manufacturing problems and a lack of high-octane fuel. Only 15% of Corsair sorties were flown from carriers: its landing difficulties led the Navy to favor the Hellcat and hand the Corsair over to the Marines. It thus became the Pacific's main ground-attack aircraft, dropping 70% of the bombs released by fighters. Both used the Pratt & Whitney R-2800 Double Wasp engine.
Key facts
The Corsair is credited with 2,140 victories and an 11-to-1 ratio; the Hellcat with 5,163 victories and a 19-to-1 ratio, with about 66,000 sorties against 64,000. The F4U-4 climbed at 4,400 feet per minute and reached 446 mph, against the 395 mph of an F6F-5N in tests. The Hellcat had greater range, about 2,400 km against 1,600, and was easier to fly and maintain. Even so, at the 1944 fighter conference Navy and Marine pilots preferred the Corsair, which later returned to combat in Korea on ground-attack missions.