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| Click Here For Full Artist Print Indexes | Aviation History Archive |
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Corsair Aces of World War Two. The speed with which the Corsair was rushed into service as a land-based fighter obliged the pilots to learn on the job. The aircraft soon proved to be superior to the Japanese Zero and played a major part in the destruction of Japans elite air forces in the South Pacific. Later, in an effort to counter the Kamikaze threat, the Corsair was once again hurriedly pressed into service; this time in its originally intended role as a shipboard fighter. This versatile aircraft saw service with the US Navy and Marines, the British Fleet Air Arm and the RNZAF. Most of the 4FU pilots who recount their experiences within these pages considered it to be the best all-round fighter in the Pacific theatre. |
Boyington Takes a Break by Stan Stokes. No text for this item |
Beach Head Strike Force by Robert Taylor. F4U Corsairs search and destroy enemy positions during landings in the Marshall Islands, 1944. |
Semper Fi Skies by John D Shaw. Captain Archie Glenn Donahue of VMF-112s Wolfpack, becomes an ace in a day in the skies near Guadalcanal in May 1943. He would repeat this remarkable feat 2 years later, after shooting down five enemy planes while on service aboard the USS Bunker Hill, establishing himself as one of the finest aces in US marine aviation history. |
Black Sheep Sweep by Troy White. Lt John Bolt and Maj Henry Miller of VMF-214 begin their attack on a formation of Japanese Zekes over St George's Channel on December 23rd 1943. In the ensuing air battle Lt. Bolt shot down two Zekes and Maj. Miller accounted for one. This Fighter sweep was flown in conjunction with a bomber strike on the Japanese forces at Rabaul and netted the Black Sheep Squadron a total of 11 Zekes and 2 Tonys. The two Zekes claimed by Lt. Bolt that day raised his total to five confirmed victories. His final score for WWII was six. Bolt went on to fly in the Korean War where he added six MiGs to his tally making him the only Marine Jet Ace and the Navy's only Two-War Ace. |
Corsair on Final by Stan Stokes. SOLD OUT |
Golden Gate Corsair by Stan Stokes. The Chance-Vought F4U Corsair was arguably the finest naval aviation fighter of its era. Work on this design dates to 1938 and was headed-up by Voughts Chief Engineer, Rex Biesel. The initial prototype was powered by an 1800-HP Pratt & Whitney double Wasp radial engine. This was the third Vought aircraft to carry the Corsair name. The graceful and highly recognizable gull-wing design of the F4U permitted the aircraft to utilize a 13-foot, three-blade, Hamilton Standard propeller, while not having to lengthen the landing gear. Because of the rigors of carrier landings, this was a very important design consideration. Folding wings were also required for carrier operations. The F4U was thirty feet long, had a wingspan of 41 feet and an empty weight of approximately 7,500 pounds. Another interesting feature was the way the F4Us gear rotated 90 degrees, so it would lay flush within the wing when in the up position. In 1939 the Navy approved the design, and production commenced. The Corsair utilized a new spot welding process on its all aluminum fuselage, giving the aircraft very low drag. To reduce weight, fabric-covered outer wing sections and control surfaces were fitted. In May of 1940 the F4U made its maiden flight. Although a number of small bugs were discovered during early flight tests, the Corsair had exceptional performance characteristics. In October of 1940 the prototype F4U was clocked at 405-MPH in a speed test. The initial production Corsairs received an upgraded 2,000-HP radial giving the bird a top speed of about 425-MPH. The production models also differed from the prototype in having six, wing-mounted, 0.5 caliber machine guns. Another change was a shift of the cockpit about three feet further back in the fuselage. This latter change unfortunately made naval aviators wary of carrier landings with the F4U, due to its limited forward visibility during landings. Other concerns were expressed regarding a severe port wing drop at landing speeds and a tendency of the aircraft to bounce off a carrier deck. As a result, the F4U was initially limited to land-based USMC squadrons. Vought addressed several of these problems, and the Royal Navy deserves credit for perfecting an appropriate landing strategy for the F4U. They found that if the carrier pilot landed the F4U while making a sweeping left turn with the port wing down, that sufficient visibility was available to make a safe landing. With a kill ratio of 11 -to- 1 in WW 11 combat, the F4U proved superior in the air to almost every opposing aircraft it encountered. More than 12,000 F4Us were built and fortunately a few dozen remain in flyable condition to this date. |
Gull Winged Warrior by Stan Stokes. The F4U Corsair once again in the subject of Stans talents. This time during the Korean War. This Gull-Winged Warrior in on final to the Philippine Sea. |
Corsair of the Intrepid by Stan Stokes. An F4U Corsair approaches the USS Intrepid during WWII in Stans dramatic depiction. |
Corsair The Chance-Vought F4U Corsair was arguably the finest naval aviation fighter of its era. Work on this design dates to 1938 and was headed-up by Voughts Chief Engineer, Rex Biesel. The initial prototype was powered by an 1800-HP Pratt & Whitney double Wasp radial engine. This was the third Vought aircraft to carry the Corsair name. The graceful and highly recognizable gull-wing design of the F4U permitted the aircraft to utilize a 13-foot, three-blade, Hamilton Standard propeller, while not having to lengthen the landing gear. Because of the rigors of carrier landings, this was a very important design consideration. Folding wings were also required for carrier operations. The F4U was thirty feet long, had a wingspan of 41 feet and an empty weight of approximately 7,500 pounds. Another interesting feature was the way the F4Us gear rotated 90 degrees, so it would lay flush within the wing when in the up position. In 1939 the Navy approved the design, and production commenced. The Corsair utilized a new spot welding process on its all aluminum fuselage, giving the aircraft very low drag. To reduce weight, fabric-covered outer wing sections and control surfaces were fitted. In May of 1940 the F4U made its maiden flight. Although a number of small bugs were discovered during early flight tests, the Corsair had exceptional performance characteristics. In October of 1940 the prototype F4U was clocked at 405-MPH in a speed test. The initial production Corsairs received an upgraded 2,000-HP radial giving the bird a top speed of about 425-MPH. The production models also differed from the prototype in having six, wing-mounted, 0.5 caliber machine guns. Another change was a shift of the cockpit about three feet further back in the fuselage. This latter change unfortunately made naval aviators wary of carrier landings with the F4U, due to its limited forward visibility during landings. Other concerns were expressed regarding a severe port wing drop at landing speeds and a tendency of the aircraft to bounce off a carrier deck. As a result, the F4U was initially limited to land-based USMC squadrons. Vought addressed several of these problems, and the Royal Navy deserves credit for perfecting an appropriate landing strategy for the F4U. They found that if the carrier pilot landed the F4U while making a sweeping left turn with the port wing down, that sufficient visibility was available to make a safe landing. With a kill ratio of 11 -to- 1 in WW 11 combat, the F4U proved superior in the air to almost every opposing aircraft it encountered. More than 12,000 F4Us were built and fortunately a few dozen remain in flyable condition to this date. |
| Top Aces for : Corsair | |
| A list of all Aces from our database who are known to have flown this aircraft. | |
| Name | Victories |
| James Swett | 15.50 |
| Archie Donahue | 14.00 |
| Roger Hedrick | 12.00 |
| John Blackburn | 13.00 |
| Stanley Vejtasa | 11.00 |
| Jefferson DeBlanc | 9.00 |
| Daniel Cunningham | 7.00 |
| Dean Caswell | 7.00 |
| Robert Porter | 7.00 |
| Robert Baker | 7.00 |
| Robert McClurg | 7.00 |
| John Bolt | 6.00 |
| Arthur Conant | 6.00 |
| Ronald Hay | 13.00 |
| D Sheppard | 5.00 |
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