WAR PLANES: THE F4U CORSAIR | Documentary
Video from the channel MásDoccu2 about Vought F4U Corsair, linked on its Above Ten Thousand entry. Duration: 51:56. Language: Spanish. Video type: Documentary.
What it's about
A documentary from the "War Planes" series devoted to the Vought F4U Corsair, the American carrier-based fighter. It traces its origins at Chance Milton Vought's company, its development problems, its engine and armament, and its use in the Second World War and the Korean War, with abundant period footage, including gun-camera film from the aircraft themselves.
Historical context
Vought, born on 26 February 1890, started in aviation in 1910; his VE-7 was the first aircraft to take off from the Langley, on 17 October 1922. The Corsair's direct predecessor was conceived in 1936 and presented in 1938, chosen from six proposals and tested as the XF4U. Its landing gear proved too weak for carrier operations, and the long nose limited visibility on landing, so the British Navy was the first to embark it; by early 1945 it was operating in large numbers from carriers in the Pacific. VMF-124 was the first squadron to fight with it, over Guadalcanal, and Kenneth Walsh was its first ace, on 13 May 1943. In Korea it served again as an attack aircraft alongside the first jets, and the Navy kept it operational until the armistice of 27 July 1953.
Key facts
Folding inverted-gull wings, which gave height to a propeller 4 m in diameter. Double-row, 18-cylinder, 46-litre radial engine built by Pratt & Whitney; Hamilton Standard propeller. Tanks of 885 litres in the fuselage and 1,134 in the wings. Speed of 743 km/h, wingspan of 12.5 m, length of 10 m, empty weight of 4,150 kg and 7,320 kg at full load. It could carry eight rockets, two 450 kg bombs and six 12.7 mm machine guns, or four 20 mm cannon from the F4U-1C onward. It flew 64,051 sorties in the world war and shot down 2,140 aircraft for 189 losses in air combat; of the 12,571 built, 1,694 were lost.