F4U Corsair – Why so many pilots died | The dark history of the legendary fighter jet
Video from the channel Zeugen der Zeit about Vought F4U Corsair, linked on its Above Ten Thousand entry. Duration: 12:34. Language: German. Video type: Documentary.
What it's about
A German-language documentary about how dangerous the F4U Corsair was to its own pilots: why many died in training accidents, carrier landings and routine operations, not just in combat.
Historical context
The first test flights took place in 1940, to meet the US Navy's requirement of exceeding 650 km/h. The design used the Pratt & Whitney R-2800 engine, with more than 2,000 hp, and an inverted gull wing to make room for its large propeller. It reached altitudes of over 11,000 m and carried six 12.7 mm machine guns. The long nose blocked the pilot's view on landing, engine torque could spin it into a stall at low speed, and it tended to bounce on touching the deck. Because of this, the Navy handed it first to the Marines, who flew it from land bases; on carriers, pilots had to fly a curved approach. From 1943 it was used on a larger scale in the Pacific, and pilots such as Gregory "Pappy" Boyington, commander of squadron VMF-214 "Black Sheep," made it famous, until his capture in 1944.
Key facts
The documentary cites estimates that nearly 30% of Corsair losses in the war were due to causes other than the enemy, and states that in some periods training casualties exceeded combat ones. Improvised runways of gravel or coral sand, the weather and two or three sorties a day increased the risk. Later versions such as the F4U-4, with reinforced landing gear, cockpit canopies with better visibility and specific training programs, reduced the losses. The aircraft returned to carriers and served in the Korean War.