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Subject: Vought F4U Corsair
Date: 19 Jun 2016 17:11:45 -0700
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vought_F4U_Corsair
The Vought F4U Corsair is an American fighter aircraft that saw service
primarily in World War II and the Korean War. Demand for the aircraft soon
overwhelmed Vought's manufacturing capability, resulting in production by
Goodyear and Brewster: Goodyear-built Corsairs were designated FG and
Brewster-built aircraft F3A. 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,[2] in 16 separate models, in the longest production run
Development
In February 1938 the U.S. Navy Bureau of Aeronautics published two requests for
proposal for twin-engined and single-engined fighters. For the single-engined
fighter the Navy requested the maximum obtainable speed, and a stalling speed
not higher than 70 miles per hour (110 km/h). A range of 1,000 miles (1,600 km)
was specified.[12] The fighter had to carry four guns, or three with increased
ammunition. Provision had to be made for anti-aircraft bombs to be carried in
the wing. These small bombs would, according to thinking in the 1930s, be
dropped on enemy aircraft formations.
In June 1938, the U.S. Navy signed a contract with Vought for a prototype
bearing the factory designation V-166B,[13] the XF4U-1, BuNo 1443. The Corsair
design team was headed up by Rex Beisel. After mock-up inspection in February
1939, construction of the XF4U-1 powered by an XR-2800-4 prototype of the Pratt
& Whitney Double Wasp twin-row, 18-cylinder radial engine, rated at 1,805 hp
(1,346 kW) went ahead quickly, as the very first airframe ever designed from the
start to have a Double Wasp engine fitted for flight.[14] When the prototype was
completed it had the biggest and most powerful engine, largest propeller and
probably the largest wing on any naval fighter to date.[15] The first flight of
the XF4U-1 was made on 29 May 1940, with Lyman A. Bullard, Jr. at the controls.
The maiden flight proceeded normally until a hurried landing was made when the
elevator trim tabs failed because of flutter
Engine considerations
The F4U incorporated the largest engine available at the time: the 2,000 hp
(1,500 kW) 18-cylinder Pratt & Whitney R-2800 Double Wasp radial. To extract as
much power as possible, a relatively large Hamilton Standard Hydromatic
three-blade propeller of 13 feet 4 inches (4.06 m) was used.
Landing gear and wings
To accommodate a folding wing the designers considered retracting the main
landing gear rearward but, for the chord of wing that was chosen, it was
difficult to make the landing gear struts long enough to provide ground
clearance for the large propeller. Their solution was an inverted gull wing,
which considerably shortened the required length of the main gear legs.[24] The
anhedral of the wing's center-section also permitted the wing and fuselage to
meet at the optimum angle for minimizing drag, without using wing root
fairings.[24] The bent wing was heavier and more difficult to construct,
offsetting these benefits
Legacy
The Corsair entered service in 1942. Although designed as a carrier fighter,
initial operation from carrier decks proved to be troublesome. Its low-speed
handling was tricky due to the port wing stalling before the starboard wing.
This factor, together with poor visibility over the long nose (leading to one of
its nicknames, "The Hose Nose"), made landing a Corsair on a carrier a difficult
task. For these reasons, most Corsairs initially went to Marine Corps squadrons
who operated off land-based runways, with some early Goodyear-built examples
(designated FG-1A) being built with fixed wings.[40] The USMC aviators welcomed
the Corsair with open arms as its performance was far superior to the
contemporary Brewster Buffalo and Grumman F4F-3 and -4 Wildcat.
Moreover, the Corsair was able to outperform the primary Japanese fighter, the
A6M Zero. While the Zero could outturn the F4U at low speed, the Corsair was
faster and could outclimb and outdive the A6M.[97]
This performance advantage, combined with the ability to take severe punishment,
meant a pilot could place an enemy aircraft in the killing zone of the F4U's six
.50 (12.7 mm) M2 Browning machine guns and keep him there long enough to inflict
major damage. The 2,300 rounds carried by the Corsair gave just under 30 seconds
of fire from each gun, which, fired in three to six-second bursts, made the F4U
a devastating weapon against aircraft, ground targets, and even ships.
General characteristics
Crew: 1 pilot
Length: 33 ft 8 in (10.2 m)
Wingspan: 41 ft 0 in (12.5 m)
WS Folded: 17 ft 0.5 in (5.2 m)
Height: 14 ft 9 in (4.50 m)
Empty weight: 9,205 lb (4,174 kg)
Loaded weight: 12,405 lb (5,626 kg)
Performance
Maximum speed: 446 mph (717 km/h) at 26.200 ft (using emergency power)
Stall speed: 89 mph (143 km/h) clean
Range: 1005 mi (1617 km) on internal fuel
Combat radius: 285 nmi (328 mi, 527 km) with one external 150gal tank
Service ceiling: 41,500ft (12,649 m)
Rate of climb: 4,360ft/min (22.1 m/s) at sea-level (using emergency power)
Armament
Guns:
Bombs: 4,000 pounds (1,800 kg)
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