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The Chance Vought F4U Corsair was a carrier-capable fighter aircraft that saw service primarily in
World War II and the Korean War. Goodyear-built Corsairs were designated FG and Brewster-built
aircraft F3A. The Corsair served in smaller air forces until the 1960s, following the longest
production run of any piston-engined fighter in U.S. history (1942–1952).Some Japanese pilots
regarded it as the most formidable American fighter of World War II. The U.S. Navy counted an 11:1
kill ratio with the F4U Corsair.
Corsairs served with the U.S. Navy, U.S. Marines, Fleet Air Arm and the Royal New Zealand Air
Force, as well the French Navy Aeronavale and other services postwar. It quickly became the most
capable carrier-based fighter-bomber of World War II. Demand for the aircraft soon overwhelmed
Vought's manufacturing capability, resulting in production by Goodyear (as the FG-1) and Brewster
(as the F3A-1). From the first prototype delivery to the U.S. Navy in 1940, to final delivery in 1953 to
the French, 12,571 F4U Corsairs were manufactured by Vought, in 16 separate models.
United States Navy and Marine Corps
The performance of the Corsair was impressive. The F4U-1 was considerably faster than the F6F
Hellcat and only 13 mph (21 km/h) slower than the P-47 Thunderbolt, both of the two other fighters
also being powered by the R-2800. But while the P-47 achieved its highest speed at 30,020 feet
(9,150 m) with the help of an intercooled turbosupercharger, the F4U-1 reached its maximum
speed at 19,900 ft (6,100 m), and used a mechanically supercharged engine.
Carrier qualification trials on the escort carrier USS Sangamon, on September 25, 1942, caused
the U.S. Navy to release the type to the United States Marine Corps. Early Navy pilots spoke
disparagingly of the F4U as the "hog", "hosenose" or "bent wing widow-maker". After all, the U.S.
Navy still had the Grumman F6F Hellcat, which did not have the performance of the F4U but was a
far better deck landing aircraft. The Marines needed a better fighter than the F4F Wildcat. For them
it was not as important the F4U could be recovered aboard a carrier, as they usually flew from land
bases. Growing pains aside, Marine Corps squadrons readily took to the radical new fighter.
Despite the decision to issue the F4U to Marine Corps units, two Navy units, VF-12 (October 1942)
and later VF-17 (April 1943) were equipped with the F4U. By April 1943, VF-12 had successfully
completed deck landing qualification. However, VF-12 soon abandoned its aircraft to the Marines.
VF-17 kept its Corsairs, but was removed from its carrier, USS Bunker Hill, due to perceived
difficulties in supplying parts at sea. In November 1943, while operating as a shore-based unit in
the Solomon Islands, VF-17 reinstalled the tail hooks so its F4Us could land and refuel while
providing top cover over the task force participating in the carrier raid on Rabaul. The squadron's
pilots successfully landed, refueled and took off from their former home, Bunker Hill and the USS
Essex on 11 November 1943.
The U.S. Navy did not get into combat with the type until September 1943 and the Royal Navy's FAA
would qualify the type for carrier operations first. The U.S. Navy finally accepted the F4U for
shipboard operations in April 1944, after the longer oleo strut was fitted, which finally eliminated
the tendency to bounce. The first Corsair unit to be based effectively on a carrier was the pioneer
USMC squadron, VMF-124, which joined Essex. They were accompanied by VMF-213. The
increasing need for fighters as a protection against kamikaze attacks resulted in more Corsair
units being moved to carriers.
From February 1943 onward, the F4U operated from Guadalcanal and ultimately other bases in
the Solomon Islands. A dozen USMC F4U-1s of VMF-124, commanded by Major William E. Gise,
arrived at Henderson Field (code name "Cactus") on 12 February. The first recorded combat
engagement was on 14 February 1943, when Corsairs of VMF-124 under Major Gise assisted P-
40s and P-38s in escorting a formation of B-24 Liberators on a raid against a Japanese
aerodrome at Kahili. Japanese fighters contested the raid and the Americans got the worst of it,
with four P-38s, two P-40s, two Corsairs and two Liberators lost. No more than four Japanese
Zeros were destroyed. A Corsair was responsible for one of the kills, although this was due to a
midair collision. The fiasco was referred to as the "Saint Valentine's Day Massacre". 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, Second
Lieutenant Kenneth A. Walsh, who would rack up a total of 21 kills during the war.
"I learned quickly that altitude was paramount. Whoever had altitude dictated the terms of the
battle, and there was nothing a Zero pilot could do to change that we had him. The F4U could out-
perform a Zero in every aspect except slow speed manoeuvrability and slow speed rate of climb.
Therefore you avoided getting slow when combating a Zero. it took time but eventually we
developed tactics and deployed them very effectively ... There were times, however, that I tangled
with a Zero at slow speed one on one. In these instances I considered myself fortunate to survive a
battle. Of my 21 victories, 17 were against Zeros and I lost five aircraft in combat. I was shot down
three times and I crashed one that ploughed into the line back at base and wiped out another F4U."
VMF-113 was activated on 1 January 1943 at Marine Corps Air Station El Toro as part of Marine
Base Defense Air Group 41. They were shortly given their full complement of 24 F4U Corsairs. On
26 March 1944, while escorting 4 B-25 bombers on a raid over Ponape, they recorded their first
enemy kills when they downed eight Japanese aircraft. In April of that year, VMF-113 was tasked
with providing air support for the landings at Ujelang. Since the assault was unopposed the
squadron quickly returned to striking Japanese targets in the Marshall Islands for the remainder of
1944.
Corsairs were flown by the famous "Black Sheep" Squadron (VMF-214, led by Marine Major
Gregory "Pappy" Boyington) in an area of the Solomon Islands called "The Slot". Boyington was
credited with 22 kills in F4Us (of 28 total, including six in an AVG P-40). Other noted Corsair pilots
of the period included VMF-124's Kenneth Walsh, James E. Swett, and Archie Donohue, VMF-215's
Robert M. Hanson and Don Aldrich, and VF-17's Tommy Blackburn, Roger Hedrick, and Ira
Kepford. Nightfighter versions equipped Navy and Marine units afloat and ashore.
At war's end, Corsairs were ashore on Okinawa, combating the kamikaze, and also were flying
from fleet and escort carriers. VMF-312, VMF-323, VMF-224, and a handful of others met with
success in the Battle of Okinawa.
Corsairs also served well as fighter bombers in the Central Pacific and the Philippines. By spring
1944, Marine pilots were beginning to exploit the type's considerable capabilities in the close-
support role during amphibious landings. Charles Lindbergh flew Corsairs with the Marines as a
civilian technical advisor for United Aircraft Corporation in order to determine how best to increase
the Corsair's payload and range in the attack role and to help evaluate future viability of single-
versus twin-engine fighter design for Vought. Lindbergh managed to get the F4U into the air with
4,000 pounds (1,800 kg) of bombs, with a 2,000 pounds (910 kg) bomb on the centerline and a
1,000 pounds (450 kg) bomb under each wing. In the course of such experiments, he performed
strikes on Japanese positions during the battle for the Marshall Islands.
By the beginning of 1945, the Corsair was a full-blown "mudfighter", performing strikes with high-
explosive bombs, napalm tanks, and HVARs. She proved surprisingly versatile, able to operate
everything from Bat glide bombs (without sacrificing a load of 2.75 in/70 mm rockets) to 11.75 in
(300 mm) Tiny Tim rockets. The aircraft was a prominent participant in the fighting for the Palaus,
Iwo Jima and Okinawa.
Statistics compiled at the end of the war indicate that the F4U and FG flew 64,051 operational
sorties for the U.S. Marines and U.S. Navy through the conflict (44% of total fighter sorties), with
only 9,581 sorties (15%) flown from carrier decks. F4U and FG pilots claimed 2,140 air combat
victories against 189 losses to enemy aircraft, for an overall kill ratio of over 11:1.[52] The aircraft
performed well against the best Japanese opponents with a 12:1 kill ratio against Mitsubishi A6M
and 6:1 against the Nakajima Ki-84, Kawanishi N1K-J and Mitsubishi J2M combined during the
last year of the war. The Corsair bore the brunt of fighter-bomber missions, delivering 15,621 tons
(14,171 tonnes) of bombs during the war (70% of total bombs dropped by fighters during the war).
Corsair losses in World War II were as follows:
* By combat: 189
* By enemy anti-aircraft artillery: 349
* Accidents during combat missions: 230
* Accidents during non-combat flights: 692
* Destroyed aboard ships or on the ground: 164
One particularly interesting kill was scored by a Marine Lieutenant R. R. Klingman of VMF-312
Checkerboards, over Okinawa. Klingman was in pursuit of a Kawasaki Ki-45 Toryu ("Nick") twin
engine fighter at extremely high altitude when his guns jammed due to the gun lubrication
thickening from the extreme cold. He simply flew up and chopped off the Ki-45's tail with the big
propeller of the Corsair. Despite missing five inches (127 mm) off the end of his propeller blades,
he managed to land safely after this ramming attack. He was awarded the Navy Cross.
The Japanese Navy captured two Chance Vought Corsairs from an unknown Allied unit for
evaluations fairly late in the war; one of examples originally marked YoD-150 was remarked with
Yokosuka Ku air testing signs ED-150, but they never flew
course of their official duties. As a work of the U.S. federal government, the media is in the public
domain.
The Chance Vought F4U Corsair was a carrier-capable fighter aircraft that saw service primarily in
World War II and the Korean War. Goodyear-built Corsairs were designated FG and Brewster-built
aircraft F3A. The Corsair served in smaller air forces until the 1960s, following the longest
production run of any piston-engined fighter in U.S. history (1942–1952).Some Japanese pilots
regarded it as the most formidable American fighter of World War II. The U.S. Navy counted an 11:1
kill ratio with the F4U Corsair.
Corsairs served with the U.S. Navy, U.S. Marines, Fleet Air Arm and the Royal New Zealand Air
Force, as well the French Navy Aeronavale and other services postwar. It quickly became the most
capable carrier-based fighter-bomber of World War II. Demand for the aircraft soon overwhelmed
Vought's manufacturing capability, resulting in production by Goodyear (as the FG-1) and Brewster
(as the F3A-1). From the first prototype delivery to the U.S. Navy in 1940, to final delivery in 1953 to
the French, 12,571 F4U Corsairs were manufactured by Vought, in 16 separate models.
United States Navy and Marine Corps
The performance of the Corsair was impressive. The F4U-1 was considerably faster than the F6F
Hellcat and only 13 mph (21 km/h) slower than the P-47 Thunderbolt, both of the two other fighters
also being powered by the R-2800. But while the P-47 achieved its highest speed at 30,020 feet
(9,150 m) with the help of an intercooled turbosupercharger, the F4U-1 reached its maximum
speed at 19,900 ft (6,100 m), and used a mechanically supercharged engine.
Carrier qualification trials on the escort carrier USS Sangamon, on September 25, 1942, caused
the U.S. Navy to release the type to the United States Marine Corps. Early Navy pilots spoke
disparagingly of the F4U as the "hog", "hosenose" or "bent wing widow-maker". After all, the U.S.
Navy still had the Grumman F6F Hellcat, which did not have the performance of the F4U but was a
far better deck landing aircraft. The Marines needed a better fighter than the F4F Wildcat. For them
it was not as important the F4U could be recovered aboard a carrier, as they usually flew from land
bases. Growing pains aside, Marine Corps squadrons readily took to the radical new fighter.
Despite the decision to issue the F4U to Marine Corps units, two Navy units, VF-12 (October 1942)
and later VF-17 (April 1943) were equipped with the F4U. By April 1943, VF-12 had successfully
completed deck landing qualification. However, VF-12 soon abandoned its aircraft to the Marines.
VF-17 kept its Corsairs, but was removed from its carrier, USS Bunker Hill, due to perceived
difficulties in supplying parts at sea. In November 1943, while operating as a shore-based unit in
the Solomon Islands, VF-17 reinstalled the tail hooks so its F4Us could land and refuel while
providing top cover over the task force participating in the carrier raid on Rabaul. The squadron's
pilots successfully landed, refueled and took off from their former home, Bunker Hill and the USS
Essex on 11 November 1943.
The U.S. Navy did not get into combat with the type until September 1943 and the Royal Navy's FAA
would qualify the type for carrier operations first. The U.S. Navy finally accepted the F4U for
shipboard operations in April 1944, after the longer oleo strut was fitted, which finally eliminated
the tendency to bounce. The first Corsair unit to be based effectively on a carrier was the pioneer
USMC squadron, VMF-124, which joined Essex. They were accompanied by VMF-213. The
increasing need for fighters as a protection against kamikaze attacks resulted in more Corsair
units being moved to carriers.
From February 1943 onward, the F4U operated from Guadalcanal and ultimately other bases in
the Solomon Islands. A dozen USMC F4U-1s of VMF-124, commanded by Major William E. Gise,
arrived at Henderson Field (code name "Cactus") on 12 February. The first recorded combat
engagement was on 14 February 1943, when Corsairs of VMF-124 under Major Gise assisted P-
40s and P-38s in escorting a formation of B-24 Liberators on a raid against a Japanese
aerodrome at Kahili. Japanese fighters contested the raid and the Americans got the worst of it,
with four P-38s, two P-40s, two Corsairs and two Liberators lost. No more than four Japanese
Zeros were destroyed. A Corsair was responsible for one of the kills, although this was due to a
midair collision. The fiasco was referred to as the "Saint Valentine's Day Massacre". 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, Second
Lieutenant Kenneth A. Walsh, who would rack up a total of 21 kills during the war.
"I learned quickly that altitude was paramount. Whoever had altitude dictated the terms of the
battle, and there was nothing a Zero pilot could do to change that we had him. The F4U could out-
perform a Zero in every aspect except slow speed manoeuvrability and slow speed rate of climb.
Therefore you avoided getting slow when combating a Zero. it took time but eventually we
developed tactics and deployed them very effectively ... There were times, however, that I tangled
with a Zero at slow speed one on one. In these instances I considered myself fortunate to survive a
battle. Of my 21 victories, 17 were against Zeros and I lost five aircraft in combat. I was shot down
three times and I crashed one that ploughed into the line back at base and wiped out another F4U."
VMF-113 was activated on 1 January 1943 at Marine Corps Air Station El Toro as part of Marine
Base Defense Air Group 41. They were shortly given their full complement of 24 F4U Corsairs. On
26 March 1944, while escorting 4 B-25 bombers on a raid over Ponape, they recorded their first
enemy kills when they downed eight Japanese aircraft. In April of that year, VMF-113 was tasked
with providing air support for the landings at Ujelang. Since the assault was unopposed the
squadron quickly returned to striking Japanese targets in the Marshall Islands for the remainder of
1944.
Corsairs were flown by the famous "Black Sheep" Squadron (VMF-214, led by Marine Major
Gregory "Pappy" Boyington) in an area of the Solomon Islands called "The Slot". Boyington was
credited with 22 kills in F4Us (of 28 total, including six in an AVG P-40). Other noted Corsair pilots
of the period included VMF-124's Kenneth Walsh, James E. Swett, and Archie Donohue, VMF-215's
Robert M. Hanson and Don Aldrich, and VF-17's Tommy Blackburn, Roger Hedrick, and Ira
Kepford. Nightfighter versions equipped Navy and Marine units afloat and ashore.
At war's end, Corsairs were ashore on Okinawa, combating the kamikaze, and also were flying
from fleet and escort carriers. VMF-312, VMF-323, VMF-224, and a handful of others met with
success in the Battle of Okinawa.
Corsairs also served well as fighter bombers in the Central Pacific and the Philippines. By spring
1944, Marine pilots were beginning to exploit the type's considerable capabilities in the close-
support role during amphibious landings. Charles Lindbergh flew Corsairs with the Marines as a
civilian technical advisor for United Aircraft Corporation in order to determine how best to increase
the Corsair's payload and range in the attack role and to help evaluate future viability of single-
versus twin-engine fighter design for Vought. Lindbergh managed to get the F4U into the air with
4,000 pounds (1,800 kg) of bombs, with a 2,000 pounds (910 kg) bomb on the centerline and a
1,000 pounds (450 kg) bomb under each wing. In the course of such experiments, he performed
strikes on Japanese positions during the battle for the Marshall Islands.
By the beginning of 1945, the Corsair was a full-blown "mudfighter", performing strikes with high-
explosive bombs, napalm tanks, and HVARs. She proved surprisingly versatile, able to operate
everything from Bat glide bombs (without sacrificing a load of 2.75 in/70 mm rockets) to 11.75 in
(300 mm) Tiny Tim rockets. The aircraft was a prominent participant in the fighting for the Palaus,
Iwo Jima and Okinawa.
Statistics compiled at the end of the war indicate that the F4U and FG flew 64,051 operational
sorties for the U.S. Marines and U.S. Navy through the conflict (44% of total fighter sorties), with
only 9,581 sorties (15%) flown from carrier decks. F4U and FG pilots claimed 2,140 air combat
victories against 189 losses to enemy aircraft, for an overall kill ratio of over 11:1.[52] The aircraft
performed well against the best Japanese opponents with a 12:1 kill ratio against Mitsubishi A6M
and 6:1 against the Nakajima Ki-84, Kawanishi N1K-J and Mitsubishi J2M combined during the
last year of the war. The Corsair bore the brunt of fighter-bomber missions, delivering 15,621 tons
(14,171 tonnes) of bombs during the war (70% of total bombs dropped by fighters during the war).
Corsair losses in World War II were as follows:
* By combat: 189
* By enemy anti-aircraft artillery: 349
* Accidents during combat missions: 230
* Accidents during non-combat flights: 692
* Destroyed aboard ships or on the ground: 164
One particularly interesting kill was scored by a Marine Lieutenant R. R. Klingman of VMF-312
Checkerboards, over Okinawa. Klingman was in pursuit of a Kawasaki Ki-45 Toryu ("Nick") twin
engine fighter at extremely high altitude when his guns jammed due to the gun lubrication
thickening from the extreme cold. He simply flew up and chopped off the Ki-45's tail with the big
propeller of the Corsair. Despite missing five inches (127 mm) off the end of his propeller blades,
he managed to land safely after this ramming attack. He was awarded the Navy Cross.
The Japanese Navy captured two Chance Vought Corsairs from an unknown Allied unit for
evaluations fairly late in the war; one of examples originally marked YoD-150 was remarked with
Yokosuka Ku air testing signs ED-150, but they never flew
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