Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    Vought F4 Corsair: Carrier and Land-Based Fighter
    Vought F4 Corsair: Carrier and Land-Based Fighter
    Vought F4 Corsair: Carrier and Land-Based Fighter
    Ebook100 pages

    Vought F4 Corsair: Carrier and Land-Based Fighter

    By Dave Windle and Martin W. Bowman

    4.5/5

    ()

    Read preview

    About this ebook

    The Vought F4U was the best carrier based fighter of WW2. 12,571 aircraft were built and downed 2,140 enemy aircraft for the loss of only 189 Corsairs. It was developed early in 1938 for the US Navy. The designer, Tex Beisel, worked on the principle of the largest engine in the smallest airframe. Britain received 2012 of the type. This book contains the world famous color profiles created by Dave Windle of the type in different operational modes, configurations and color schemes. Martin Bowman has written detailed descriptions and photographs to create the perfect enthusiasts reference.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherOpen Road Integrated Media
    Release dateDec 13, 2011
    ISBN9781783461264
    Vought F4 Corsair: Carrier and Land-Based Fighter
    Author

    Dave Windle

    Dave Windle has gained the reputation of being Britain’s most skilful creator of aircraft profiles. He draws upon his service with the RAF to maintain complete accuracy. Lives near Aberdeen. Martin Bowman is one of Britain’s foremost aviation historians and has written many books and articles. He lives in Norwich.

    Read more from Dave Windle

    Related to Vought F4 Corsair

    Related ebooks

    Crafts & Hobbies For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      Land Down Under

      Aug 4, 2020

      Land Down Under
      1 min read

    • Article

      The Last Spitfire

      Jan 24, 2023

      The Last Spitfire
      3 min read

    • Article

      The Perfect Trap

      Jan 7, 2020

      The Perfect Trap
      10 min read

    • Article

      The F-5 An American Tiger

      Oct 20, 2020

      The F-5 An American Tiger
      7 min read

    • Article

      Macchi 202 Vs. P-38l

      Jun 16, 2020

      Macchi 202 Vs. P-38l
      10 min read

    • Article

      Malta’s Spitfire Ace

      Dec 27, 2019

      Malta’s Spitfire Ace
      15 min read

    • Article

      Savoia-marchetti Sm.79

      Jul 11, 2019

      Savoia-marchetti Sm.79
      3 min read

    • Article

      Rare Bear

      Aug 10, 2021

      Rare Bear
      12 min read

    • Article

      United Kingdom

      Apr 18, 2019

      United Kingdom
      6 min read

    • Article

      Thunder In The Cinema

      Jul 2, 2019

      Thunder In The Cinema
      10 min read

    • Article

      Soon To Be Discontinued

      Jan 25, 2022

      Soon To Be Discontinued
      11 min read

    • Article

      Flying The “George”

      Jun 16, 2020

      Flying The “George”
      4 min read

    • Article

      Luftwaffe’s Fighter General

      Sep 4, 2018

      Luftwaffe’s Fighter General
      11 min read

    • Article

      Hardware Albatros D.III

      Dec 24, 2019

      Hardware Albatros D.III
      1 min read

    • Article

      Making Battle Of Britain

      Jul 2, 2019

      Making Battle Of Britain
      10 min read

    • Article

      The Flying Tigers

      Feb 26, 2020

      The Flying Tigers
      13 min read

    • Article

      Flying The Hellcat

      Apr 5, 2022

      Flying The Hellcat
      3 min read

    • Article

      Operator’s Handbook MiG-15

      Apr 16, 2020

      Operator’s Handbook MiG-15
      3 min read

    • Article

      Grave Matters

      Jan 24, 2023

      Grave Matters
      2 min read

    • Article

      F-100d Super Sabre (hun)

      Apr 2, 2019

      F-100d Super Sabre (hun)
      1 min read

    • Article

      American Tiger Operators

      Oct 20, 2020

      American Tiger Operators
      1 min read

    • Article

      FLYING THE Bf 109

      Feb 18, 2020

      FLYING THE Bf 109
      10 min read

    • Article

      MiG-17/19 Aces of the Vietnam War

      Oct 1, 2019

      By István Toperczer, Osprey Publishing, 2016 From the time they sent their first contingent to the Soviet Union for training in 1956, the North Vietnamese understood what their newly forming Vietnamese People’s Air Force was likely to face. Their air

      2 min read

    Related categories

    Reviews for Vought F4 Corsair

    4.5/5

    3 ratings0 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

      Book preview

      Vought F4 Corsair - Dave Windle

      First published in Great Britain in 2011 by

      PEN & SWORD AVIATION

      An imprint of

      Pen & Sword Books Ltd

      47 Church Street

      Barnsley

      South Yorkshire

      S70 2AS

      Copyright © Dave Windle & Martin W. Bowman, 2011

      ISBN 978 1 84884 408 7

      Digital Edition ISBN: 978 1 78346 126 4

      The right of Dave Windle & Martin W. Bowman to be identified as Authors of this work has been asserted by them in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

      A CIP catalogue record for this book is

      available from the British Library

      All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission from the Publisher in writing.

      Printed and bound in Thailand

      By Kyodo Nation Printing Services, Thailand

      Pen & Sword Books Ltd incorporates the Imprints of

      Pen & Sword Aviation, Pen & Sword Family History, Pen & Sword Maritime,

      Pen & Sword Military, Wharncliffe Local History, Pen & Sword Select,

      Pen & Sword Military Classics, Leo Cooper, Remember When,

      Seaforth Publishing and Frontline Publishing

      For a complete list of Pen & Sword titles please contact

      PEN & SWORD BOOKS LIMITED

      47 Church Street, Barnsley, South Yorkshire, S70 2AS, England

      E-mail: enquiries@pen-and-sword.co.uk

      Website: www.pen-and-sword.co.uk

      VOUGHT CORSAIR

      In 1938 the US Navy had decided that the time was long overdue to bring carrier-based aviation up to the same performance level as land-based aircraft. At Vought the F4U-1 project team headed by Rex B. Beisel had to design the smallest possible fuselage around the mighty 1,800-hp experimental Pratt & Whitney XR-2800-2 Double Wasp air-cooled radial engine, the most powerful power plant available. Everything possible was done to limit drag, while a gull-wing design gave the massive engine’s 13 feet 4-inch diameter three-bladed propeller sufficient ground clearance on both take-off and landing. A .30-calibre and a .50-calibre machine gun were mounted above the engine, firing through the upper propeller arc and a .50-calibre machine gun outward of each wing-fold mechanism. The stub wings included open vents in their leading edges to allow cooling air for engine oil and air for supercharger intercooler equipment. The carburettor air, supercharger intercooler and oil cooler air inlet ducts situated at the leading edge of the wings removed the need for a drag-inducing scoop for each. In flight, this layout created a curious high-pitched whistling sound as air was sucked into the ducts. Later, the Japanese would call the Corsair the ‘Whistling Death’ after the blood curdling scream emitted during high-speed dives on their positions. To American troops in the Pacific Islands campaign, the ‘Bent Winged Bird’ was often their saviour and the Marines would dub the Corsair the ‘Sweetheart of Okinawa’. Everything about the new fighter was massive. It weighed 9,357 lb empty and measured 31 feet 11 inches with a 41 feet 11 inches wing spread – the largest American fighter yet built.

      The prototype XF-4U-1 showing to good advantage the air intakes for the oil cooler and the intercooler for the two-stage, two-speed supercharger in the wing roots. Note the early-style squirrel-cage or ‘birdcage’ cockpit hood and the gun fairing in the engine cowling. (Vought)

      Brewster F3A-1 (F4U-1) in flight. Just 735 F3A-1s were built between April 1943 and July 1944. (Brewster)

      F4U-1A Corsair with a 1,000lb bomb on the centerline. (Vought)

      The Bureau of Aeronautics awarded Vought a contract for a single XF4U-1 prototype on 11 June 1938. The yellow and silver XF4U-1 first flew at the Bridgeport Municipal Airport, Stratford, Connecticut, on 29 May 1940 with Lyman A. Bullard Jr at the controls. All went well during his first four test flights, but on the fifth, while performing a series of low-altitude cabin pressurization and high-speed cruise tests, low on fuel, the XF4U-1 crashed on the Norwich Golf Course far to the north-east of the airfield at Stratford. One wing had been sheared off, the empennage was torn from the fuselage and the propeller was smashed, but the main fuselage, engine and undercarriage were relatively unharmed, and within two months the XF4U-1 was airworthy once again.

      Lyman Bullard demonstrated the XF4U-1 for USN officials on 1 October 1940. He flew from Stratford to Hartford, Connecticut, at a speed of 405 mph, making the Corsair the first single-engine single-seat US Navy fighter to fly at over 400 mph. On 30 June Vought received an initial contract for 584 F4U-1 production aircraft for the US Navy, with initial deliveries to begin in February 1942. As contracts increased, the VGB programme consisting of Vought, Goodyear and Brewster was formed to mass produce the F4U-1. Goodyear Aircraft, a division of the Goodyear Tyre and Rubber Company, joined the

      Enjoying the preview?
      Page 1 of 1