Originally posted by F4UDOA
Arlo,
Many people don't realize that only the first 800 F4U's built were real F4U-1's. After Aug, 1943 they were all manufactured and retrofitted with new tail hooks, oleo struts, cowl flaps sealed to prevent oil on windshield, spoiler strip to reduce stall, elevators reenforced for high speed dives, boost tabs on ailerons etc.
Read my sig on the bottom. Tommy Blackburn VF-17 Jolly Rogers thought that it was logistics not performance that kept the hog off carrier decks for so long.
I have the book you're quoting from, DOA.
"Toward the end of the shakedown, Cdr Bags Bagdonovich and I were summoned to Captain Ballentine's sea cabin. Grave-faced, Bally showed us a dispatch from ComAirLant which offered to replace our troubleprone Hogs with new Grumman F6F Hellcat fighters. The question was whether we three felt comfortable deploying to the Pacific foward area in a fighter that many thought had not been suitably designed for carrier work. The dispatch indicated that we needed to make an immediate decision so the new Hellcats could be ready and waiting for Fighting-17 as soon as we returned to Norfolk.
The query was not unexpected. Vought had been heaving around to get numerous needed changes into the production line. These included, among many others, raising the cockpit, providing a semi-bubble canopy, perfecting zero-bounce oleo struts - shock absorbers - finding ways to get the tail higher in the three point attitude, perfecting and installing our homegrown right-wing leading-edge spoiler, perfecting non-spray cowl flap actuators, and on and on. Russ Clark, the boss of the Vought civilian crew onboard the ship, had kept messages flying to the factory with problem identifications and recommended solutions. The company clearly saw what was at stake, so promised, scout's honor, to have not less than a dozen F4U-1As waiting fur us dockside at Norfolk upon our return on August 10. The balance of the thirty-six fighters allowed the squadron would be in our hands, they swore, by August 20.
Bags, who had not troubled himself to keep abreast of our difficulties, begged the question. I had spent a great deal of time on the bridge observing flight ops and thus had had many opportunities to talk to the captain. I knew him pretty well and he knew me. Above all, I knew that he kept himself well informed and was decisive to boot. He clearly expected the same from his subordinates, so Bags's waffling didn't sit too well. At length, Bally got fed up and turned to me. "Well, Tommy?"
I had done my homework. "We both know that Captain Eddie [Clexton, the Airlant material officer] is no dummy, that he has a real handle on the validity of Vought's replacement schedule. He concurs with you and me that the Hogs we have aboard are by no stretch of the imagination carrier ready. So he's telling Admiral Bellinger, "We can go either way. If Ballentine figures the better performance of the Corsair justifies the risks and operational nightmares, I recommend we go along. He knows he'll have to live with them."
Bally was all ears. He merely nodded into my break, so I went on. "What you're asking me is, do I believe these fixes for the Corsair are going to give us a combat-ready airplane. Right?"
"Skipper, I'm so convinced, and so are my pilots, that I recommend in the strongest terms that we go forward with the Corsairs. Fighting-17 could make the switch to the F6Fs without even breathing hard. But we believe that that would be a cop-out and a serious mistake. The F4U is the better combat airplane."
Bally smiled. "I expected that answer, but not put in such positive terms."
"Captain, we'll be doing a lot of operating during the trip from Norfolk to San Diego. In addition to the crack-ups we've had, we've averaged one blown tire in every three landings. I'll bet you ten bucks that we'll not only have zero crashes, but we wont even blow ten main mounts on the jaunt to San Diego - provided, of course, we're not demoted to the Hellcat."
You've got a bet, Tommy. I'll tell ComAirLant that the
Bunker Hill strongly recommends deployment with the F4U."
The Jolly Rogers[/b] Tom Blackburn pg. 89-91
