WWII The Vought F4U Corsair Plane

 

Originally designed as a carrier-based fighter, the Corsair's difficult handling 

and landing characteristics caused the Navy to rely on the Grumman Hellcat 

instead. The Marine Corps benefited from this policy change, and its land-based 

units eagerly adopted the "Bent-wing Bird." The famous Jolly Rogers, the Navy's 

VF-17, also flew the Corsair during its tour in the Solomons. Late in the war, as 

the handling problems were resolved, both Marine and Navy pilots operated F4U's 

from carrier decks.

But its speed, firepower, maneuverability, and ruggedness cause many to rate it 

with the Mustang as the best fighter plane of World War Two.

The Corsair appeared to be a superb fighting machine, but it was overengineered 

and thus hard to maintain. At the start of a typical day's ops, only about half 

of our full complement was safe to fly. By "secure," half of those could be 

expected to be "down."