Vought F4U-1 Corsair - (Early Production) Birdcage Corsair

[Nostalgistic 312]

Welcome! This time, I am introducing the Vought F4U-1 Corsair, the lesser-known initial production Corsair variant with a birdcage canopy.

Overview

Aircraft: Vought F4U-1 Corsair (Early Production)

 

Role: Naval Fighter

 

Snapshot:

Background

Spoiler

The F4U-1 was the first production version of the Corsair after the successful XF4U-1. The first production F4U-1, BuNo 02153, made its first flight on June 24-25, 1942. The F4U-1 was the only variant with a birdcage canopy. There were differences between the F4U-1 and the XF4U-1. The F4U-1 featured the R-2800-8W engine that provides 2,000 horsepower on take-off instead of the XR-2800-4. The wing structure was overhauled to save weight and improve the roll rate. The tail landing gear and arresting hook were redesigned. The firepower was increased to six .50 cal heavy machine guns instead of four .50 cal HMGs and two .30 cal LMGs. The armor was added around the cockpit; the bulletproof glass was added under the windscreen. The self-sealing fuel tanks were installed. They were to improve survivability.

 

The US Navy received its first production F4U-1 Corsair on 31 July 1942. Almost all F4U-1s were delivered in the two-tone paint scheme of non-specular Blue-Gray on the upper and vertical surfaces and non-specular Light Gray on the bottom surfaces. Few of these aircraft at the end of the production run were delivered in the tri-color paint scheme of Sea Blue, Intermediate Blue, and white, all non-specular. Due to the high demands by the US Navy and Marine Corps, the two other manufacturers were brought into the Corsair program to produce the F4U-1s to assist the parent company Chance Vought. F3A-1s were manufactured by Brewster Aeronautical, and FG-1s were manufactured by Goodyear Aircraft. There was no difference between F4U-1, F3A-1, and FG-1 since they were identical under different manufacturers.

 

The US Navy found that the birdcage canopy enabled visibility issues for deck taxing and landing. Nevertheless, VF-12 and VF-17 were the first US Navy squadrons to acquire the Corsairs for the carrier qualification trials, and these Corsairs were declared ready for combat at the end of 1942. These Corsairs were reassigned to the Marine Corps squadron in the Solomon Islands because the US Navy had difficulties supplying the spare parts for its Corsairs. The F4U-1 Corsairs saw the first recorded combat engagement on 14 February 1943 in the VMF-124  squadron under  Major Gise. Despite these Marine pilots acquiring their first experience of using F4U-1s, they quickly learned to fly the Corsairs and utilize its superiority over the Japanese fighters. The first Corsair ace in May 1943 was Second Lieutenant Kenneth A. Walsh, with 21 kills total during the war. Throughout the war, it didn’t take the US Navy to acquire its Corsairs again for combat purposes until in April 1944, with new F4U-1A Corsairs, one of these replaced the birdcage canopy by Malcolm hood canopy.

Specifications

General Characteristics

• Crew: 1 (Pilot)
• Length: 33 feet
• Height: 12 feet
• Span: 41 feet
• Powerplant: Pratt & Whitney Double Wasp R-2800-8W
• Gross Weight: 12,820 lb (5,815 kilograms)

 

Performance

• Maximum Speed: 425 mph at Sea Level
• Speed: 386 mph at 20,000 feet
• Service Ceiling: 36,900 feet

Armament

Guns

• 6 x .50 cal Heavy Machine Guns (2,350 Rounds)

Images

Spoiler

Conclusion

The purpose of this suggestion is to, of course, expand WW2 aircraft content. The F4U-1 (Early Production) would make a welcoming addition to the F4U Corsair family in War Thunder.

 

In my opinion, the F4U-1 (Early Production) could be the first Corsair in the tech tree line within a folder with F4U-1A.

Sources

Primary

• Pilot's Handbook for Navy Model F4U-1, F4U-1C, F4U-1D, F3A-1, FG-1, FG-1D Airplanes. Issued 15 October 1945. Revised 1 June 1946 and 1 December 1952.

Secondary

• https://www.jdsf4u.be/f4u-1-vought-corsair
• https://warbirdsnews.com/warbird-articles/the-first-production-vought-sikorsky-f4u-1-corsair.html
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vought_F4U_Corsair

 

Thank you for your time reading my suggestion!

Edited April 30, 2022 by Nostalgistic

[kurururocks 210]

Open for discussion 

[Milocat 4,857]

Neat find, would love to get this version.  

[AuroraBoreaIis 47]

Really like the look of this one, very menacing. 

 

Would like to see it in the game, if added it would probably be a BP or event reward though (which is also fine by me). 

[B4B3Hunter1324 66]

+1

 

Given Gaijin's priorities I doubt we will see the F4U-1 (or many low tier props in general) in game any time soon. A real shame since I quite like those early Corsairs and their combat over New Guinea and Rabaul was quite intense.

 

That said given the F4U-1A currently sits at 2.7 I wonder how low the OG Corsair BR would be, specially if its an early model without the 8W engine. 

Edited November 10, 2022 by B4B3Hunter1324

[Z3r0_ 4,128]

On 10/11/2022 at 04:57, B4B3Hunter1324 said:

+1

 

Given Gaijin's priorities I doubt we will see the F4U-1 (or many low tier props in general) in game any time soon. A real shame since I quite like those early Corsairs and their combat over New Guinea and Rabaul was quite intense.

 

That said given the F4U-1A currently sits at 2.7 I wonder how low the OG Corsair BR would be, specially if its an early model without the 8W engine. 

The in-game F4U-1As are undertiered.  I don't care how dumb the average Corsair jockey is according to Gaijin's stats, they shouldn't be at 2.7.  This variant of the Corsair though?  You might be able to make a historical argument for it being at 2.7-3.0.

[B4B3Hunter1324 66]

On 19/11/2022 at 00:33, Z3r0_ said:

The in-game F4U-1As are undertiered.  I don't care how dumb the average Corsair jockey is according to Gaijin's stats, they shouldn't be at 2.7.  This variant of the Corsair though?  You might be able to make a historical argument for it being at 2.7-3.0.

I'm well aware of course, at the same time though, there's quite a few other undertiered planes (Bf-109F-1, FW-190A-1, Yak-1B, P-39N0) that can kind of keep it check unless you sideclimb hard and had a lot of patience, which few players have.

 

In a perfect world the F4U-1 would be within A6M3/BF-109F-4 range, but that rarely happens in-game. Unless you are a try-hard flying the -1c, a rare instance of a properly overtiered US plane.

Edited November 20, 2022 by B4B3Hunter1324

[RWGWAG@live 7]

I’d say no.  We already have three -1 variants.

 

I am onboard with an early birdcage Corsair, but I would suggest the F4U-2 night fighter.