F4U-1A/D Corsair and its USN Carrier Service

[Nefarious]

I know the USN had some teething problems with the Corsair. When did its re-emergence on the US Carriers start in the Pacific?

Anybody have any exact squadron service dates (aboard Carriers) for the F4U-1A/D?

[Saxman]

Very few F4U-1As saw service from carriers with the USN/MC. VF-17 operated a couple sorties off Bunker Hill, and there were other instances of 1As being loaded aboard for carrier-borne strikes, but for these were generally exceptions and the F4Us mostly returned to land bases, rather than the carriers.

It wasn't until 1945 you started seeing Corsairs regularly deployed aboard carriers, by which time the 1As were largely displaced by the 1D. AFAIK there wasn't much difference in the AIRCRAFT that made the 1D more suitable for carrier service--all those changes were in place with the 1A--but by the time the Americans had their landing procedures refined the 1D had supplanted the 1A.

I think the exception was the F4U-2 nightfighter variant, which saw regular carrier deployment as early as 1943/1944.

[Squire]

I think the first large scale use of USN CV based F4Us would have been the Fall of 1944 in Leyte Gulf .They would have been F4U-1Ds.

[AquaShrimp]

They're lucky they weren't fighting the Germans.  By the end of 1944 and 45, the Corsair wasn't the only 400mph fighter around.  In fact, the Germans gave the Corsair a dismal evaluation report.

[Squire]

Oh, and how does the P-38 or P-47 (two of the most widely used US fighters in the ETO in 1943-44) stack up so much better than a Corsair? or even a P-51B for that matter? It can hold its own if compared to any of them, each a/c of course hase particular strengths, and weaknesses, as they always do.

I will also add the Germans never test flew a Corsair, because they did not ever fight it, so I would wonder what "evaluation" they supposedly gave it (even if they had one) was based on. The only time the Corsair was used in Europe was the Royal Navy/RAF Tirpitz raids in 1944 in Norway, and the air combat was minimal. The Germans knew very little about the type past what the Japanese could tell them, and they were certainly not dismissive about the a/c capabilities.

I could see the F4F-4 Wildcat not being suitable for ETO ops in 1942-3, because it lacked the performance. Thats another story.

[Greebo]

The Germans did capture a British Corsair intact, its unclear if they got round to test flying it though.

http://www.fleetairarmarchive.net/aircraft/FAACapturedAircraftHomepage.html

[Nefarious]

I think the first large scale use of USN CV based F4Us would have been the Fall of 1944 in Leyte Gulf .They would have been F4U-1Ds.

Ive been looking into that and I can't find any info to support that notion, one site I found said that nearly all of the Navy Fighter Squadrons serving in or around Letye starting at October 20th, 1944 were F6F-5s or FM2s/F4Fs.

[Widewing]

They're lucky they weren't fighting the Germans.  By the end of 1944 and 45, the Corsair wasn't the only 400mph fighter around.  In fact, the Germans gave the Corsair a dismal evaluation report.

A 190A-4 was tested by the Navy and compared to the F4U-1 and F6F-3. They came to different conclusions. You can see the entire report on Mike Williams' site here: http://www.wwiiaircraftperformance.org/fw190/ptr-1107.pdf

Here's a portion of their conclusions:


EDIT:

I failed to mention that the F6F-3 (Hellcat Mk.I) and the F6F-5 did see a fair amount of combat covering the invasion of southern France. When the Luftwaffe did show up in limited numbers, they were badly mauled by Navy Hellcats. Oddly enough, Navy FAC pilots were flying P-51Cs from land bases, with the F6Fs flying BARCAP and providing close air support.

This F6F-5 shot down 4 Luftwaffe bombers and transports.


Here we see F6F-5s preparing to take off from the USS Tulagi to pound German strong points.


My regards,

Widewing



My regards,

Widewing

[Denniss]

Wasn't this "A-4" in fact a fighter-bomber conversion (either an early F- or G-series) thus offering less performance ? And by February 1944 the A-4 was a very old variant surpassed by better performing versions.

BTW - the german pilots loved the automatic engine control, way better than fiddling with too many options in other aircraft like the Bf 109.

[Krusty]

No, the A-4 was a standard fighter variant.

[Nefarious]

Hmmmm.... What about the F4U-1A/D carrier service dates? Did they see service during the Letye Invasion or the Battle of Leyte Gulf?

[Squire]

Ok I checked a few books, looks like there were a small number of VMF(N) Corsairs (F4U-2 Night Fighters) that did serve at Leyte (some aboard USS ENTERPRISE) and there were USMC Corsairs that flew from land bases in the Phillipines, as Leyte was invaded, but the bulk of *CV based ops* was not untill late 44/early 1945 for the most part for USN/USMC Corsairs.

[Nefarious]

Thanks for the help Squire <S>

[Widewing]

Hmmmm.... What about the F4U-1A/D carrier service dates? Did they see service during the Letye Invasion or the Battle of Leyte Gulf?

F4Us saw combat in the Philippines, but were land based at Tacloban. These were Marine F4Us, with fixed wings and no tail hooks. They arrived on 3 December, 1944. In October of 1944, the Navy authorized F4U squadrons to begin carrier qualifications. The first of these units to go aboard a carrier were VMF-124 and VMF-213, who were loaded aboard the Essex at Ulithi on 28 December, 1944. The first combat mission was on 3 January, 1945.

My regards,

Widewing

[Nefarious]

Thanks WW.