Vought F4U Corsair

by Arthur Eggers

Title

Vought F4U Corsair

Artist

Arthur Eggers

Medium

Digital Art - Color Print

Description

The U.S. Navy received its first production F4U-1 on 31 July 1942. The Corsair served in the U.S. Navy, U.S. Marines, Fleet Air Arm and the Royal New Zealand Air Force, as well as the French Navy Aronavale and other, smaller, air forces until the 1960s. It quickly became the most capable carrier-based fighter-bomber of World War II. The first recorded combat engagement was on 14 February 1943, when Corsairs of VMF-124 assisted in escorting a formation of Consolidated B-24 Liberators on a raid against a Japanese aerodrome at Kahili. Although the Corsair's combat debut was not impressive, the Marines quickly learned how to make better use of the aircraft and started demonstrating its superiority over Japanese fighters. By May, the Corsair units were getting the upper hand, and VMF-124 had produced the first Corsair ace. By the beginning of 1945, the Corsair was a full-blown "mudfighter", performing strikes with high-explosive bombs, napalm tanks, and HVARs. The Corsair was able to outperform the primary Japanese fighter, the A6M Zero. While the Zero could outturn the F4U at low speed, the Corsair was faster and could outclimb and outdive the A6M. This performance advantage, combined with the ability to take severe punishment, meant a pilot could place an enemy aircraft in the killing zone of the F4U's six .50 (12.7 mm) M2 Browning machine guns and keep him there long enough to inflict major damage. As well as being an outstanding fighter, the Corsair proved to be an excellent fighter-bomber, serving almost exclusively in the latter role throughout the Korean War. During the Korean War, the Corsair was used mostly in the close-support role.The AU-1 Corsair was developed from the F4U-5 and was a ground-attack version which normally operated at low altitudes. The versions of the Corsair used in Korea from 1950 to 1953 were the AU-1, F4U-4B, -4C, -4P and -5N and 5-NL. F4U-5N and -5NL Corsair night fighters were used to attack enemy supply lines, including truck convoys and trains, as well as interdicting night attack aircraft. The F4Us often operated with the help of C-47 'flare ships' which dropped hundreds of 1,000,000 candlepower magnesium flares to illuminate the targets. For many operations, detachments of U.S. Navy F4U-5Ns were posted to shore bases. Navy and Marine Corsairs were credited with a total of 12 enemy aircraft kills.

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December 22nd, 2012

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