The F4U Corsair
Video from the channel Yataka about Vought F4U Corsair, linked on its Above Ten Thousand entry. Duration: 6:01. Language: French. Video type: Documentary.
What it's about
Short educational video in French summarizing the origin, technical characteristics and combat history of the Vought F4U Corsair.
Historical context
In 1938 the US Navy launched a competition to replace the Grumman F4F Wildcat. Chief engineer Rex Beisel submitted his design on April 8 of that year, and the Navy ordered a prototype. The name Corsair came from a Vought biplane from the 1920s. Early carrier trials showed bouncing on landing and premature stalling of one wing at low speed, causing accidents. This led to a ban on carrier use, and the aircraft was handed over to the Marine Corps until revised oleo struts and a small device on the right wing, which equalized the stall of both wings, solved the problem. The first production order, for 584 aircraft, was signed on June 30, 1941.
Key facts
It was powered by the Pratt & Whitney R-2800 Double Wasp, an 18-cylinder twin-row radial producing 1,850 hp at takeoff, driving a Hamilton Standard propeller just over 4 m in diameter. The inverted gull wing allowed a short, sturdy landing gear that was fully enclosed when retracted, and the outer wing panels folded to save deck space. It could carry six Browning M2 machine guns or four 20 mm cannon, plus bombs or rockets. Between April 7 and 30, 1945, over Okinawa, 305 Navy Corsairs and nearly 200 Marine Corsairs scored 124 victories. It is credited with 2,140 victories against 189 aircraft lost in air-to-air combat. In Korea it was used mainly for close air support.