- Yes
- No
Hello! and welcome to my suggestion for the Vought F4U in FAA Service, known as the Corsair, This will be a four part Series in which I suggest all 4 Variants of the Corsair used by the FAA that are not yet in game, I feel they could come to game to give some diversity to the rather lackluster lower tiers of the UK tech tree.
Please note that this has already been suggested for the US tech tree by @Nostalgistic I have linked his excellent suggestion below and I suggest you read it for more info on the Corsairs Development
History
Spoiler
In the early stages of WW2, the Royal Navy’s Fleet Air Arm (FAA) had a fairly wide array of aircraft, ranging from the Obsolete Biplanes like the Sea Gladiator or Swordfish to the Equally obsolete Monoplanes like the Blackburn Skua, This was a problem, as the Royal Navy had no carrier based aircraft that was equivalent to the more advanced german Fighters they were facing in campaigns like Norway, such as the Messerschmitt BF-109 that even most earlier variants could outperform the FAAs best fighters.
This lead to a rapid adoption of Higher performance single seat fighters adapted for naval use, these included the Hawker Sea Hurricanes and Supermarine Spitfires, however these were not ideal, they were converted land based fighters and thus had not been designed with the Range and durability needed for Harsh Carrier based operations, This lead to them adopting a variety of foreign designs, such as the Grumman Martlet (RAF designation for the F4F Wildcat) , the later F6F Hellcat and most importantly to this suggestion, the Vought F4U Corsair.
The Royal Navy received their First Corsairs in 1943, being delivered 95 F4U-1 variants dubbed the Corsair Mk.I by the Fleet Air Arm with the first squadron forming on the 1st of June 1943 at NAS Quonset Point, No.1830 Naval Air Sqn was be formed, being issued 10 Corsairs, and was the first user of the Corsair in FAA service, However By august they were reissued the upgraded Corsair Mk.II variant that replaced the poor visibility ‘Birdcage’ canopy with a Bulged Canopy and shortened the wings to allow for their use on the Smaller British Carriers.
In my research I have been unable to confirm if this variant ever saw service on British Carriers, to my knowledge they were never refitted with the Shorter wings necessary to allow them to, although I have read some websites claiming they were refitted, any extra info on that would be greatly appreciated
Images
Spoiler
The Fifth Corsair 1 (JT104) delivered to the fleet air arm in flight during 1943
An FAA Pilot preparing his Corsair Mk.I shortly before takeoff
A side on shot of the Corsair Mk.I, clearly showing the early Birdcage canopy and the rounded, non clipped wingtips
A Rare colour Photo of a couple of Corsair Mk.Is at NAS Quonset Point
Specifications
Spoiler
General Characteristics
- Crew: 1
- Engine: 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 (2,350 rounds in total)
Bombs
- Up to 1000 lbs bomb under the Fuselage
Place in game
Spoiler
I feel this could come to game as an early tech tree Alternative to the Corsair Mk.II in the British tree, right now the British tree lacks in Diversity of true naval fighters between the Sea Hurricanes at 2.0 and 3.0 respectively and the first Seafire at 5.0, I feel this could be the start of a new group of naval additions to give some more diversity to the Naval line of the UK, that currently lacks tons of the vehicles used by britain in WW2
in terms of BR I would expect it to be around the same BR as the F4U-1A as in Arcade and realistic battles there would be very little noticeable differences due to the main difference being the canopy, In Simulator battles in might be slightly lower due to it having considerably worse cockpit visibility and making it harder to use in dogfights.
Sources
