The Corsair is among the most formidable US fighters of WWII, and maintained a kill ratio of 11:1 according to the US Navy. It went on to serve in Korea, holding its own in the early years of the jet age. The Corsair was first conceived in as a high-speed, high-altitude fighter for the Navy in 1938 when Chance Vought’s design team drew up plans for a fighter with a 1,800 hp engine and a huge 13-foot propeller – the F4U’s famous inverted gull wing was introduced to allow prop clearance. Handling problems delayed the aircraft’s deployment aboard carriers, but Marine Corps pilots quickly took to the powerful, rugged fighter and produced the first Corsair air ace by the summer of 1943. A total of 12,571 Corsairs were built between 1940 and 1952, most by Vought, but hundreds by Goodyear and Brewster as those companies’ assembly lines had to be pressed into service to meet demand for the remarkable aircraft. Surveys the history of the Corsair from its first prototype to the restored war-birds that continue to fly the air show circuit to the present day. Illustrated with 169 photographs (53 in color) plus color profiles and detailed line drawings; 64 pages.
