Chance-Vought F4U Corsair / Goodyear FG Corsair
Technical Information

Background
The Corsair was one of the most outstanding fighters of World War II in the Pacific. It was a excellent land based fighter which became the main fighter of the U.S. Marine Corps with bent gull wings as a distinct feature.

The Corsair was almost flown by units U.S. Navy (USN) including VF-17 "Jolly Rogers" and U.S. Marine Corps (USMC) including VMF-214 "Black Sheep" and in the South Pacific. Demand for the Corsairs was such that they were also produced by Brewster and Goodyear. The Corsair was the first U.S. fighter to exceed 400 mph and had much better performance than its predecessor the F4F Wildcat.

Carrier Controversy
Contrary to popular belief, it was not the F4U's long nose, that deemed it unsuitable for carrier operations, rather stiff main gear struts and a short tail gear, which caused the tail hook to bounce over carriers arresting cables. For this reason, early Corsairs went to the USMC. Later in the war it was proven that the Corsairs could operate safely off of carriers, with slight modifications.

Production
Built by Vought-Sikorsky Aircraft Division of United Aircraft Corporation located in Stratford, Connecticut. During 1943, renamed Chance Vought Aircraft Division of United Aircraft Corporation. Later, production was expanded with both Brewster and Goodyear building the Corsair.

Vought F4U Corsair
The first production aircraft, F4U Corsair bureau number 02153 was first flown June 25, 1942. The first two were accepted by the U.S. Navy (USN) during July 1942.

Brewster Corsair
Built by Brewster Aeronautical Corporation in Long Island City, NY.

Goodyear FG Corsair
The FG Corsair was the Vought-Sikorsky Model V-166B F4U-1D licence built by Goodyear Aircraft Corporation in Akron, Ohio. The first two FG Corsairs were delivered during April 1943 with a total of 377 FG-1 Corsairs produced during 1943. During 1944, 2,108 were produced. During 1945 a total of 1,453 were delivered by the end of the war. Many early FG Corsairs had non-folding wings, as they were to operated from airfields instead of aircraft carriers. FG Corsairs delivered to the British and Commonwealth were designated the Corsair Mark IV or Corsair IV (not to be confused with F4U-4 Corsair sometimes called the Corsair IV).

F4U-2(N) Corsair
Radar equipped version of the Corsair used by the U.S. Navy in the Pacific.

F4U-1C Corsair
The F4U-1C was a batch of three hundred Corsairs with 4 x 20mm cannons installed for use as a fighter-bomber.

F4U-4 Corsair
Built by Vought Aircraft Division of United Aircraft in Stratford, Connecticut. The F4U-4 Corsair was also known as the "dash four" or "Corsair IV" variant with a larger R-2800-18W engine with a four bladed propeller and redesigned cowling. This model had better flight performance including a greater range, high ceiling and rate of climb.

Corsair
In Commonwealth service, known as "Corsair" and used by the Royal Navy (RN) and Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF).

References
Corsair IV Chance Vought Aircraft Division of United Aircraft (1945)
Corsair pages 7-8, 202-203 monthly acceptance of Corsairs
Thanks to Dick Atkins / Chief Historian Vought Aircraft Heritage Foundation for assistance with this profile

Technical Details (F4U-4)
Crew  One (pilot)
Engine  Pratt & Whitney R-2800-18W 18 cylinder radial engine, 2,380 hp (1,770 kW) driving 4 bladed propeller
Wingspan  41' / 12.5m
Length  33' 8" / 10.26m
Height  14' 9" / 4.5m
Maximum Speed  446 mph / 717 kmh
Range  1,005 miles / 1,617 km
Armament  6 x .50 caliber Browning M2 machine guns with 375-400 rounds per gun
External  8 x 5" rockets or up to 4,000 pounds of bombs