The Secret F4U Corsair Upgrade That Left Japanese Pilots Outclassed Over Rabaul...
Video from the channel WW2 Air Stories about Vought F4U Corsair, linked on its Above Ten Thousand entry. Duration: 46:39. Language: English. Video type: Documentary.
What it's about
A narrated documentary about how the Vought F4U Corsair went from being rejected for carrier operations to becoming one of the most respected fighters of the Second World War. It follows the US Navy squadron VF-17, Tommy Blackburn's "Jolly Rogers", and the small modifications that, together with Vought engineers, fixed the aircraft's flaws: redesigned landing-gear oleos, a raised seat and cockpit with a less framed canopy, sealed upper cowl flaps so oil wouldn't streak the windscreen, a roughly 6-inch stall strip on the right wing's leading edge, and water-methanol injection.
Historical context
Rex Beisel's team designed the aircraft around the Pratt & Whitney Double Wasp engine and a propeller of more than 13 feet, which forced the use of the inverted gull wing. On 1 October 1940 the prototype exceeded 400 miles per hour. During trials aboard the carrier Sangamon on 25 September 1942, poor visibility, gear bouncing and a sharp left-wing stall at low speed earned it the nickname "Ensign Eliminator"; the Navy assigned the Hellcat to its carriers and the Corsair to the Marines in the Solomons. VF-17 operated it from the Charger and the Bunker Hill, but was put ashore and fought from Ondonga and Piva Yoke, on Bougainville, against Rabaul.
Highlights
On 11 November 1943, 23 Corsairs from VF-17 landed aboard the Bunker Hill during the fleet's defense, and the squadron was credited with 18.5 kills without losing a single aircraft in combat. On 29 January 1944 Ira Kepford shot down four aircraft over Tobera and escaped thanks to water injection. In 76 days of combat the squadron was credited with more than 150 aircraft; Blackburn scored 11 victories and Kepford 16, making him the Navy's top-scoring ace. The Navy approved the Corsair for carrier operations in April 1944; more than 12,500 examples were built by 1953.