[1985.086.

001] Aircraft - 'F4U-4 Aircraft, Bureau Number 97349' F4U-4 Aircraft, Bureau Number 97349
Accession Number Accession Date Date Created Object Desciption 1985.086.001 03/09/1985 1946 Among the last batch of production F4U-4 Corsairs delivered to the Navy by Vought, the museum's F4U-4 was accepted by the Navy on 26 February 1946, and during its career served in the training command with Advanced Training Unit (ATU) 1 at Naval Air Station (NAS) Corpus Christi, Texas, and Fleet Air Service Squadrons (FASRON) 691 and 117. Subsequent service included stints with Marine Fighter Squadrons (VMF) 251, 235, 332, and 232, followed by a period of time in the Naval Air Reserve flying from NAS Atlanta and NAS Olathe, Kansas. The aircraft was stricken from the Navy inventory in July 1956, having logged 2,261 hours of flight time. Acquired from McDonnell Enterprises of Mojave, California, in 1985, the aircraft is displayed in the markings of the famed "Checkerboards" of VMF-312. Notes An aircraft whose mere mention evokes memories of squadrons like the Black Sheep and Jolly Rogers and pilots names Boyington, Blackburn, Kepford, and Hanson, the F4U Corsair was developed by Vought beginning in 1938. Built around the Pratt & Whitney R-2800 engine, one of the most powerful of the day, in an effort to gain optimal performance for the fighter, the aircraft featured inverted gull wings in order to accommodate it's oversized 13 ft. propeller. The aircraft's poor visibility during landing approaches, adverse stall characteristics at slow approach speeds, and tendency to bounce on a hard landing initially prevented its service aboard carriers, leaving it to land-based squadrons to introduce the aircraft to combat in February 1943. By war's end, pilots flying from both airfields and flight decks, including those in the cockpits of radar equipped night fighter versions of the Corsair, had shot down 2,140 Japanese aircraft, achieving a kill ratio of 11:1. Still in service with both the Navy and Marine Corps during the Korean War, the aircraft again proved itself a capable platform in supporting ground troops and attacking targets as part of the interdiction campaign, though one pilot managed to down a MiG-15 jet in air-to-air combat. All told, three manufacturers delivered 13 production versions of the aircraft during the period 1942-1952, the longest production of any World War II fighter. Specifications for F4U-4 Manufacturer: Vought-Sikorsky Division, United Aircraft Corporation Dimensions: Length: 33 ft., 8 in.; Height: 14 ft., 9 in.; Wingspan: 41 ft. Weights: Empty: 9,205 lb.; Gross: 14,670 ft. Power Plant: One 2,100 HP Pratt & Whitney R-2800-18W engine Performance: Maximum Speed: 446 M.P.H. at 26,200 ft.; Service Ceiling: 41,500 ft.; Range: 1,005 miles Armament: Six fixed forward-firing .50-in. guns and provision for two 1,000-lb. bombs Crew: Pilot

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F4U-4 on Display jpeg 2007 Nose-on view of the museum's F4U-4 Corsair on display.

[ Image Only ] Title: Format: Date: Description: Close-up of F4U-4 on Display jpeg 2007 Close-up view of the forward fuselage of the museum's F4U-4 Corsair on display.