BoeingFan7879
Vought F4U-1D Corsair 50375 "Sun Setter"
On February 1st, 1938, the United States Navy Bureau of Aeronautics sought proposals from American aircraft manufacturers for a new carrier-based fighter aircraft. In April of 1939, the Vought Aircraft Corporation responded with two designs, and one of them, powered by a Pratt & Whitney R-2800 engine, later won the competition in June. Less than a year later, Vought test pilot Lyman A. Bullard, Jr., flew the first Vought XF4U-1 prototype on May 29th, 1940. At that time, the P&W R-2800 was the largest engine ever used on a fighter aircraft. The R-2800 radial air-cooled engine developed 1,850hp and turned into a three-blade Hamilton Standard Hydromatic propeller with solid aluminum blades spanning 13ft 1in.
The aircraft that Bullard piloted also boasted a revolutionary feature never before seen on an aircraft: a gull-shaped wing bent on both sides of the fuselage. This design provided additional ground clearance for the propeller and minimized drag at the wing-to-fuselage joint. Interestingly, for a 400mph (644kph) aircraft, Vought chose to cover the wing with fabric behind the main spar, a practice the company had previously employed with their OS2U Kingfisher floatplane.
When naval air strategists crafted the requirements for the new fighter, the need for higher speed had overridden all other performance goals. With this in mind, the Bureau of Aeronautics selected the most powerful air-cooled engine available, the P&W R-2800. Vought assembled a team, led by chief designer Rex Beisel, to design the best airframe around this powerful engine. The group included project engineer Frank Albright, aerodynamics engineer Paul Baker, and propulsion engineer James Shoemaker. Beisel and his team succeeded in building a high-speed fighter, but when they redesigned the prototype for production, they were forced to make an unfortunate compromise.
The Navy requested heavier armaments for production Corsairs, and thus, Beisel redesigned each outboard folding wing panel to carry three .50 caliber machine guns. These guns displaced fuel tanks installed in each wing's leading edge. An 897-liter (237 gal) fuselage tank was installed between the cockpit and the engine to replace this lost capacity. To maintain the speedy and narrow fuselage profile, Beisel could not stack the cockpit on top of the tank, so he moved it nearly three feet aft. The wing completely blocked the pilot's line of sight during the most critical landing stages.
The early Corsair models also had a vicious stall, powerful torque, and propeller effects at slow speed, a short tail wheel strut, main gear struts that often bounced the airplane on touchdown, and cowl flap actuators that leaked oil onto the windshield. These difficulties, combined with the lack of cockpit visibility, made it next to impossible for the plane to land on the tiny deck of a moving aircraft carrier. Navy pilots soon nicknamed the F4U the “ensign eliminator” for its tendency to kill these relatively inexperienced pilots.
The Navy refused to clear the F-4U for carrier operations until late 1944, more than seven years after the project began. When the Corsair entered service in the Pacific Theater, it became known by the Imperial Japanese Navy as the "Whistling Death." This was because the Corsairs had cooling air drawn through an opening in the leading edges on both wings close to the fuselage. At high speeds, the incoming air made an unmistakable whistling sound.
Despite these challenges, the Navy and Marine pilots did not waver in their acceptance of the Corsairs. They recognized the need for an improved fighter to replace the aging Grumman F4F Wildcats, and by New Year's Eve of 1942, the service owned 178 F4U-1 airplanes. In 1943, the Navy diverted all Corsairs to land-based United States Marine Corps squadrons and filled Navy carrier-based units with the Grumman F6F Hellcats. The Hellcat, while slightly slower than the Corsair, was a joy to fly aboard the carriers. The F6F Hellcats filled in splendidly until improvements to the F4U qualified it for carrier operations. Meanwhile, the Marines on Guadalcanal took their Corsairs into combat and engaged the enemy for the first time on February 14th, 1943, six months before Hellcat pilots on that battle-scared island first encountered enemy aircraft.
The F4U Corsair had a significant and immediate impact on the war in the Pacific. Pilots could utilize the Corsair's speed and firepower to engage the more maneuverable Japanese airplanes only when the advantage favored the Americans. Unprotected by armor or self-sealing fuel tanks, no Japanese fighter or bomber could withstand for more than a few seconds the concentrated volley from the six .50 caliber machine guns carried by a Corsair. Major Gregory 'Pappy' Boyington assumed command of Marine Corsair squadron VMF-214, nicknamed the 'Black Sheep' squadron, on September 7th, 1943. During less than five months of action, Boyington received credit for downing 28 enemy aircraft. Enemy aircraft shot him down on January 3rd, 1944, but he survived the war in a Japanese prisoner of war (POW) camp.
In May and June of 1944, Charles A. Lindbergh flew Corsair missions with Marine pilots at Green Island and Emirau. On September 3rd, 1944, Lindbergh demonstrated the F4U's bomb hauling capacity by flying a Corsair from Marine Air Group 31 carrying three bombs weighing 450 kg (1,000 lbs). He dropped this payload on enemy positions at Wotje Atoll. On September 8th, he dropped the first 900kg (2,000 lbs) bomb during an attack on the atoll. For the finale five days later, the Atlantic flyer delivered a 900kg (2,000 lbs) bomb and two 450kg (1,000 lbs) bombs. Lindbergh went ahead and flew these missions after the commander of MAG-31 informed him that if he were forced down and captured, the Japanese would almost certainly execute him.
As of V-J Day, September 2nd, 1945, the Navy credited Corsair pilots with destroying 2,140 enemy aircraft in aerial combat. The Navy and Marines lost 189 F4Us in action and 1,435 Corsairs in non-combat related accidents. Beginning on February 13th, 1942, Marine and Navy pilots flew 64,051 operational sorties, 54,470 from runways and 9,581 from carrier decks. The British Royal Navy accepted 2,012 Corsairs during the war, while the Royal New Zealand Air Force received 364. The demand was so great that the Goodyear Aircraft Corporation and the Brewster Aeronautical Corporation also began producing the F4Us.
During the Korean War, Corsairs would return to Navy carrier decks and Marine airfields. On September 10th, 1952, Captain Jesse Folmar of Marine Fighter Squadron VMF-312 ("Checkerboards") destroyed a MiG-15 in aerial combat over the west coast of Korea. However, F4U pilots did not have many air-to-air encounters over Korea. Their primary mission was to provide air support for Allied ground units along the battlefront.
After World War II, civilian pilots adapted the speedy bent-wing bird from Vought to fly in competitive air races. They preferred modified versions of the F2G-1 and -2, initially built by Goodyear. Corsairs won the prestigious Thompson Trophy twice. In 1952, Vought manufactured 94 F4U-7s for the French Navy. These aircraft saw action over Indochina (now Vietnam), but this order marked the end of Corsair production. It was in production longer than any other U.S. fighter to see service in World War II. Vought, Goodyear, and Brewster built 12,582 F4Us in as many as 13 production variants.
The United States Navy donated this F4U-1D Corsair to the National Air and Space Museum in September 1960. Vought delivered this Corsair, BuNo 50375, to the U.S. Navy on April 26th, 1944. By October 1944, pilots of VF-10 ("Grim Reapers") were flying it, but in November, the airplane was transferred to VF-89 ("Pied Pipers") at Naval Air Station Atlantic City in New Jersey. It remained there as the squadron moved to NAS Oceana and NAS Norfolk. In February of 1945, the Navy retired the airplane from active service and transferred it to a pool of surplus aircraft stored at Quantico, Virginia. In 1980, NASM volunteers restored the F4U-1D in the colors and markings of a Corsair named "Sun Setter," an F4U-1D assigned to Marine Fighter Squadron VMF-113 ("Whistling Devils") in July of 1944, when that squadron was operating from a field on Engebi in the Marshall Islands during the war.
Vought F4U-1D Corsair 50375 "Sun Setter"
On February 1st, 1938, the United States Navy Bureau of Aeronautics sought proposals from American aircraft manufacturers for a new carrier-based fighter aircraft. In April of 1939, the Vought Aircraft Corporation responded with two designs, and one of them, powered by a Pratt & Whitney R-2800 engine, later won the competition in June. Less than a year later, Vought test pilot Lyman A. Bullard, Jr., flew the first Vought XF4U-1 prototype on May 29th, 1940. At that time, the P&W R-2800 was the largest engine ever used on a fighter aircraft. The R-2800 radial air-cooled engine developed 1,850hp and turned into a three-blade Hamilton Standard Hydromatic propeller with solid aluminum blades spanning 13ft 1in.
The aircraft that Bullard piloted also boasted a revolutionary feature never before seen on an aircraft: a gull-shaped wing bent on both sides of the fuselage. This design provided additional ground clearance for the propeller and minimized drag at the wing-to-fuselage joint. Interestingly, for a 400mph (644kph) aircraft, Vought chose to cover the wing with fabric behind the main spar, a practice the company had previously employed with their OS2U Kingfisher floatplane.
When naval air strategists crafted the requirements for the new fighter, the need for higher speed had overridden all other performance goals. With this in mind, the Bureau of Aeronautics selected the most powerful air-cooled engine available, the P&W R-2800. Vought assembled a team, led by chief designer Rex Beisel, to design the best airframe around this powerful engine. The group included project engineer Frank Albright, aerodynamics engineer Paul Baker, and propulsion engineer James Shoemaker. Beisel and his team succeeded in building a high-speed fighter, but when they redesigned the prototype for production, they were forced to make an unfortunate compromise.
The Navy requested heavier armaments for production Corsairs, and thus, Beisel redesigned each outboard folding wing panel to carry three .50 caliber machine guns. These guns displaced fuel tanks installed in each wing's leading edge. An 897-liter (237 gal) fuselage tank was installed between the cockpit and the engine to replace this lost capacity. To maintain the speedy and narrow fuselage profile, Beisel could not stack the cockpit on top of the tank, so he moved it nearly three feet aft. The wing completely blocked the pilot's line of sight during the most critical landing stages.
The early Corsair models also had a vicious stall, powerful torque, and propeller effects at slow speed, a short tail wheel strut, main gear struts that often bounced the airplane on touchdown, and cowl flap actuators that leaked oil onto the windshield. These difficulties, combined with the lack of cockpit visibility, made it next to impossible for the plane to land on the tiny deck of a moving aircraft carrier. Navy pilots soon nicknamed the F4U the “ensign eliminator” for its tendency to kill these relatively inexperienced pilots.
The Navy refused to clear the F-4U for carrier operations until late 1944, more than seven years after the project began. When the Corsair entered service in the Pacific Theater, it became known by the Imperial Japanese Navy as the "Whistling Death." This was because the Corsairs had cooling air drawn through an opening in the leading edges on both wings close to the fuselage. At high speeds, the incoming air made an unmistakable whistling sound.
Despite these challenges, the Navy and Marine pilots did not waver in their acceptance of the Corsairs. They recognized the need for an improved fighter to replace the aging Grumman F4F Wildcats, and by New Year's Eve of 1942, the service owned 178 F4U-1 airplanes. In 1943, the Navy diverted all Corsairs to land-based United States Marine Corps squadrons and filled Navy carrier-based units with the Grumman F6F Hellcats. The Hellcat, while slightly slower than the Corsair, was a joy to fly aboard the carriers. The F6F Hellcats filled in splendidly until improvements to the F4U qualified it for carrier operations. Meanwhile, the Marines on Guadalcanal took their Corsairs into combat and engaged the enemy for the first time on February 14th, 1943, six months before Hellcat pilots on that battle-scared island first encountered enemy aircraft.
The F4U Corsair had a significant and immediate impact on the war in the Pacific. Pilots could utilize the Corsair's speed and firepower to engage the more maneuverable Japanese airplanes only when the advantage favored the Americans. Unprotected by armor or self-sealing fuel tanks, no Japanese fighter or bomber could withstand for more than a few seconds the concentrated volley from the six .50 caliber machine guns carried by a Corsair. Major Gregory 'Pappy' Boyington assumed command of Marine Corsair squadron VMF-214, nicknamed the 'Black Sheep' squadron, on September 7th, 1943. During less than five months of action, Boyington received credit for downing 28 enemy aircraft. Enemy aircraft shot him down on January 3rd, 1944, but he survived the war in a Japanese prisoner of war (POW) camp.
In May and June of 1944, Charles A. Lindbergh flew Corsair missions with Marine pilots at Green Island and Emirau. On September 3rd, 1944, Lindbergh demonstrated the F4U's bomb hauling capacity by flying a Corsair from Marine Air Group 31 carrying three bombs weighing 450 kg (1,000 lbs). He dropped this payload on enemy positions at Wotje Atoll. On September 8th, he dropped the first 900kg (2,000 lbs) bomb during an attack on the atoll. For the finale five days later, the Atlantic flyer delivered a 900kg (2,000 lbs) bomb and two 450kg (1,000 lbs) bombs. Lindbergh went ahead and flew these missions after the commander of MAG-31 informed him that if he were forced down and captured, the Japanese would almost certainly execute him.
As of V-J Day, September 2nd, 1945, the Navy credited Corsair pilots with destroying 2,140 enemy aircraft in aerial combat. The Navy and Marines lost 189 F4Us in action and 1,435 Corsairs in non-combat related accidents. Beginning on February 13th, 1942, Marine and Navy pilots flew 64,051 operational sorties, 54,470 from runways and 9,581 from carrier decks. The British Royal Navy accepted 2,012 Corsairs during the war, while the Royal New Zealand Air Force received 364. The demand was so great that the Goodyear Aircraft Corporation and the Brewster Aeronautical Corporation also began producing the F4Us.
During the Korean War, Corsairs would return to Navy carrier decks and Marine airfields. On September 10th, 1952, Captain Jesse Folmar of Marine Fighter Squadron VMF-312 ("Checkerboards") destroyed a MiG-15 in aerial combat over the west coast of Korea. However, F4U pilots did not have many air-to-air encounters over Korea. Their primary mission was to provide air support for Allied ground units along the battlefront.
After World War II, civilian pilots adapted the speedy bent-wing bird from Vought to fly in competitive air races. They preferred modified versions of the F2G-1 and -2, initially built by Goodyear. Corsairs won the prestigious Thompson Trophy twice. In 1952, Vought manufactured 94 F4U-7s for the French Navy. These aircraft saw action over Indochina (now Vietnam), but this order marked the end of Corsair production. It was in production longer than any other U.S. fighter to see service in World War II. Vought, Goodyear, and Brewster built 12,582 F4Us in as many as 13 production variants.
The United States Navy donated this F4U-1D Corsair to the National Air and Space Museum in September 1960. Vought delivered this Corsair, BuNo 50375, to the U.S. Navy on April 26th, 1944. By October 1944, pilots of VF-10 ("Grim Reapers") were flying it, but in November, the airplane was transferred to VF-89 ("Pied Pipers") at Naval Air Station Atlantic City in New Jersey. It remained there as the squadron moved to NAS Oceana and NAS Norfolk. In February of 1945, the Navy retired the airplane from active service and transferred it to a pool of surplus aircraft stored at Quantico, Virginia. In 1980, NASM volunteers restored the F4U-1D in the colors and markings of a Corsair named "Sun Setter," an F4U-1D assigned to Marine Fighter Squadron VMF-113 ("Whistling Devils") in July of 1944, when that squadron was operating from a field on Engebi in the Marshall Islands during the war.