Chance Vought F4U Corsair

In honor of Medal of Honor recipient U.S. Navy Capt. Thomas J. Hudner (ret.), Doug Matthews has repainted and outfitted his gorgeous F4U-4B. This aircraft is painted like Capt. Hudner’s aircraft that he flew and crash landed in an attempt to save Ensign Jesse L. Brown. Click for additional photos.

The Vought Corsair's most unique feature was the "bent" wing, the result of a marriage between the most powerful engine ever installed in a piston-engined fighter and one of the biggest propellers in the world.

First used in World War 2 on 13 February 1943 by the US Marine Corps, the Chance-Vought F4U/AU Corsair was a single-seat, single-engine, carrier-based fighter-bomber.

In the Korean War (1950-1953) the F4U-4 was the most widely used propeller-driven naval aircraft, equipping eighteen USN fighter squadrons, nine USN reserve fighter squadrons, and five USMC fighter/attack squadrons.

Flying from aircraft carriers or forward air bases (the F4U was the only US Marine Corps fighter ever to operate from North Korean airfields), the Corsair usually carried a much heavier bomb-load than US Air Force aircraft.

It was extensively used for ground attack and interdiction missions. These were very dangerous, and 328 Corsairs, 312 F4Us and 16 AUs, were lost due to enemy action, almost all of them to ground fire.

An actual photograph of Classic Fighter's Corsair taken in 1953

General characteristics (Chance-Vought F4U4 Corsair)

Crew: one pilot
Length: 33 ft 8 in (10.30 m)
Wingspan: 41 ft 0 in (12.50 m)
Height: 16 ft 1 in (4.90 m)
Wing area: 350 ft² (32.5 m²)
Empty weight: 9,205 lb (4,175 kg)
Loaded weight: 14,000 lb (6,350 kg)
Max takeoff weight: 14,670 lb (6,654 kg)
Powerplant: 1× Pratt & Whitney R-2800-18W Double Wasp 18-cylinder radial, 2,450 hp (1,827 kW) with WEP

Performance