A Quick Look At How Quickly Corsairs Were Assembled Once Delivered

A Quick Look At How Quickly Corsairs Were Assembled Once Delivered | World War Wings Videos

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This Is How You’d Go About Building Your Own Corsair.

The Chance-Vought Corsair was developed in the late 1930s in response to the United States Navy request for a new fighter plane capable of carrier landings. Flying the Wildcats during that time which were quite capable fighters, the navy wanted a bigger, faster plane capable of dropping bombs if need be. A couple months later, the Navy signed a contract with Vought for a prototype called the XF4-U-1.

These are the key requests from the U.S.N.:

  • Maximum speed with a stall speed no higher than 70 mph
  • A range of about 1000 miles
  • At least four guns, three if it could carry additional weapons
  • Be able to carry bombs under its wings

The proposal by Vought was the first of its kind, designed with the biggest propeller, largest wingspan and most powerful engine. With a couple of hurdles to overcome during test flights over the next three years, the Navy finally awarded Vought an order of 584 F4U-1s, which were then given the name ‘Corsair.’

Although the Corsairs initially failed to meet the specifications of the United States Navy because of numerous carrier landing issues, they were picked up by the Marine Corps where they built a solid reputation as excellent fighters. By the end of World War II,  over 12,000 Corsairs were built.

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