![]() How so? In large part due to the warbird’s unique gull-wing (no pun intended vis-à-vis “warbird”) design combined with a bigger propeller to power the mighty Pratt & Whitney R2800 Double Wasp engine…which in turn made possible a max airspeed of 453 mph (729 kph), thus giving the Corsair a speed advantage of over 100 mph (160 kph) over the Japanese adversary, whilst also retaining the superior durability and survivability of the predecessor planes thanks to the armor and self-sealing fuel tanks that the Zero sorely lacked. But ‘twas the Corsair – along with the Wildcat’s own in-house successor, the F6F Hellcat – that finally enabled American air superiority over the so-called “Zeke.” This latter date didn’t happen a moment too soon, as by this point, the Grumman F4F Wildcat had been doggedly holding the line on behalf of the USN/USMC against the vaunted Japanese Mitsubishi A6M Zero-sen fighter plane in the Pacific Theatre of Operations during WWII. Navy and Marine Corps on 28 December 1942. ![]() ![]() Designed and initially manufactured by Chance Vought (now the Vought Aircraft Division of Triumph Aerostructures), she made her maiden flight on and entered into operational service with the U.S. for engaging in combat against enemy warplanes. Unlike her Vietnam War-era “sequel” (so to speak), the original Corsair was built from the get-go to be a true fighter plane, i.e. Navy Corsair warbird her due? And besides, the WWII Corsair was the centerpiece warplane in Baa Baa Black Sheep AKA Black Sheep Squadron – starring Robert Conrad (R.I.P.), a young pre-Night Course John Larroquette, a pre- MacGyver Dana Elcar, and Dirk Blocker (son of Bonanza’s Dan Blocker) – which is the 1970s TV series that made me fall in love with military aviation history in the first place! So then, without further ado… Orr: In response to the multiple 19FortyFive articles I’ve written about the best fighter planes of WWII, several of my readers have admonished me to the effect of “But what about the Corsair!?!” Hey, fair enough after all, I’ve already written about the A-7 Corsair II, so why not give the original U.S. Vought F4U Corsair, a history, as told by military expert Christian D. ![]()
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