- Yes
- No
Hello and welcome to my fourth and Final suggestion for the Vought F4U Corsair in FAA Service, this time I will focus on the most common Corsair in FAA service, the Goodyear built Corsairs dubbed the FG-1, there are two main sub variants of the Mk.IV, that being the earlier FG-1A and the later FG-1D variants.
History
Spoiler
The Corsair is an incredibly famous aircraft, and as may have read from my other suggestions in this series was no stranger to problems, the early variants weren’t even allowed to fly from carriers! yet it still played an influential role in WW2, reaching the same levels of fame as aircraft like the P-51 Mustang and the Supermarine Spitfire, however now I would like to present a variant that seemingly had very few issues, the Goodyear built Corsairs.
The Goodyear built Corsairs were quite simple, they were F4U-1A and F4U-1D aircraft built under licence by Goodyear Aircraft Company unlike their Brewster counterparts, the F3As, these aircraft were held in high regard, with their performance matching and sometimes even exceeding the Corsairs built by Vought themselves, this Made them an ideal candidate for supplying to the Royal Navy under lend lease. In total 4,007 FG-1A and FG-1D Aircraft were built, with 857 (400 FG-1A, and 457 FG-1D) units being delivered to the UK and a farther 60 FG-1Ds being delivered to the RNZAF.
Together with the Corsair Mk.II these two variants made up a large chunk of the Fleet air arms forces, especially in the Pacific. The Corsair Mk.IVs main role was to air cover during significant operations, such as the attack on the German battleship Tirpitz in Kafjord, Norway. Something to note however is that unlike previous Corsair variants, in FAA service the Corsair was painted in the standard US gloss blue finish unlike the Temperate Sea Scheme camouflage used by other FAA aircraft.
Once the war ended, like the previous Corsair variants, they were to be returned to the US under the lend lease stipulations, however as the US had no need for the Corsairs following the end of the war, many Corsairs were pushed overboard off the coast of Australia where they remain to this day.
Images
Spoiler
A Corsair Mk.IV having just landed on HMS Colossus
A Corsair Mk.IV on the ramp of an unknown airfield
Several Corsair Mk.IVs flying over Cape Town, South Africa
A Restored Corsair Mk.IV In the British pacific markings
Corsair Mk.IV KD431 On display in the FAA Museum, Yeovilton
Specs/Armament
Spoiler
General Characteristics
- Crew: 1
- Engine: Water Cooled Pratt & Whitney Double Wasp R-2800-8 (2000 hp)
- Length: 33 ft 4 in (10.46m)
- Height: 16 ft 1 in (4.90m)
- Span: 41 ft (12.50m)
- Empty Weight: 8,892 lb (4,074 kg)
- Gross Weight: 12, 256 lb (5,815 kg)
- Internal Fuel: 237 US gal
Performance
- Max Speed: 390 mph (628 kph) at 17800 ft (5425m)
- Rate of Climb: 2,890 feet per minute
- Service Ceiling: 38,000 feet (11582m)
- Range: 1,015 miles (1,633 km)
Armament
Fuel tanks
- 2 x 62 US Gal. wing tanks
- 1 x 175 US Gal. drop tank
Guns
- 6 x 12.7mm Machine guns (2350 Rounds in total)
Bombs
- Up to 1000 lbs bomb underneath the fuselage
Rockets
- 8 x HVAR under the wings
Place in game
Spoiler
I feel this would have a strong place in the British tree given it was the most used Corsair After the Mk.II, I would propose that an early variant of this, based off of the F4U-1A could be added to the tree as an analogue to the Corsair Mk.II currently in the tree as a premium, I would also say that If Gaijin does not want to add the Mk.II (late) variant due to it being too similar to the Mk.II already in game, that this could take its place at 3.0.
Sources
