F4U-4 Corsair
The F4U Corsairs that Ensign Ron Eaton and other pilots of Fighter Squadron 74 were flying had been designed in the late 1930s and manufactured in time to become one of the most famous fighters of World War Two.
F4U-4 Corsair
The Corsair acquired many nicknames: “Hose Nose,” “Bent Wing Bird,” “Hog” and “Ensign Eliminator,” the latter due to unforgiving stall and landing characteristics.
When wind conditions were right, the air intakes on the wings produced a distinctive whistling sound. Japanese ground troops called it “Whistling Death.”
The double Wasp radial engine delivered 1,850 hp for take-off, giving it a top speed of 405 mph.
Six Colt-Browning .50-cal. machine guns were mounted in the wings outside the propeller arc, thus eliminating the need for synchronization.
It weighed a maximum of 10,074 pounds and had an effective range of slightly over 1,000 miles.
The F4U-4 (“dash Four” version) was one of the more important variants of the Corsair. It had evolved into a fighter-bomber, although the Navy never officially recognized it as such. It carried six Colt-Browning .50-cal. wing mounted machine guns, plus it could carry two 1,000-lb bombs or eight 5-inch rockets.
The “bent wing” design allowed the massive prop to clear the deck and kept the distance between the deck and the wing short enough to allow a short, stout landing gear assembly.
One of the biggest problems for the pilots was the long nose that stuck out 14 feet in front of the cockpit.
When the Corsair was sitting in take-off position, the nose blocked forward vision up to 12 degrees above the horizon. During carrier landings, once the plane was lined up with the flight deck on final approach, the pilot could not actually see the LSO or Landing Signal Officer (called “Paddles” because he used colorful or lighted hand-held signaling paddles and body language to direct the pilot during the landing).
Carrier pilots jockeyed their planes, whatever the type of aircraft, to have the plane reach stall speed just as the tail hook was snagging the arresting gear. This was a major problem for Corsair pilots.
As the F4U dropped into stall speed, the left wing tended to drop quickly. Hitting the deck at such an attitude could cause the landing gear to collapse. Even on a “normal” approach in a Corsair, the plane landed so heavily that the shock absorbers “bottomed out” as the plane slammed onto the wooden deck. The resulting recoil would often cause the plane to bounce high into the air.
If the tailhook failed to engage an arresting cable—failed to “trap”—the aircraft could plow into the “pack”—the planes spotted forward on the flight deck. The result was a catastrophic loss of planes and a major fire.
The bent wing design allowed the massive prop to clear the deck and kept the distance between the deck and the wing short enough to allow a short, stout landing gear assembly. One of the biggest problems for the pilots was the Corsair's long nose that stuck out 14 feet in front of the cockpit. When the Corsair was sitting in take-off position, the nose blocked forward vision up to 12 degrees above the horizon.
Finally, the British devised a method of landing the Corsair on their aircraft carriers that overcame the visibility problems created by the long nose. Instead of pilots using the downwind-port turn to crosswind-port turn to line up on final approach method, British Corsair pilots learned to turn downwind, then break into a slow, continuous port turn that aligned the heavy fighter with the deck at the very last second before the aircraft touched down for a trap. The pilot was able to keep the LSO in sight right up to the final moments when the plane was crossing the “round down” over the fantail. At that point, the LSO would give the “cut” sign across the throat with a paddle or a “wave off” directing another attempt.