F4U-1D drop tanks

[Hoggardhigh]

Hello and happy New Year!

Most sources suggest that all F4U-1D Corsairs could carry drop tanks on both of their inner-wing pylons.

However, a forum I read today claims that the first 300 F4U-1D's could only carry a drop tank on one inner pylon, but not both of them.

Anyone know if this is true or not?

Thanks☺

 

[wells]

That makes no sense and I've never read anything like that about the D model. All the plumbing and fuel selector valves would have to be in place. It did maintain the provisions for carrying a center line tank, as previous models did. Sorry, I didn't answer your question. I'd be curious to know as well. It doesn't say anything to that effect in the pilot's manual. I could see if maybe there was a shortage of tanks or something, but that has nothing to do with the capability of the airplane. Maybe you ask for sources on the forum where you read that.

 

[Hoggardhigh]

The same forum also claims that the second batch of F4U-1D's (that would be the BuNo 570xx-579xx range) dispensed with the plumbing for a centerline tank, and also featured a manual instead of electric centerline bomb release system.

Does anyone know if one or both of these claims are true?

 

[Shortround6]

From a Manual I have (a reprint) it says the F4U-1, F3A-1, FG-1 and British aircraft serial numbers JT-100 to JT-554 had the fuselage tank, the tanks in the outer wing panels and a single droppable fuel tank. Some of the early ones did NOT have the centerline drop tank and the fuel tank selector switch has no position for it.

The F4U-1D, F3A-1D, FG-1D and British aircraft JT-555 and up did not have the outer wing tanks and had provisions for three drop tanks. The Center line and the two wing root pylon tanks. However a note on the drawing says that the position for the centerline tank will become the OFF position when the center line drop tank is eliminated. Text states that the normal Navy drop tanks of 154 gallons are used but the Lockheed 170 us gallon tanks can be used if the Navy tanks are not available.

For bomb releases it says that the selection of type of bomb release (manual or electric) will depend on the type of bomb adaptor installed on a particular airplane.

From this I would guess that the later F4U-1Ds did indeed do away with the centerline drop tank.

 

[Hoggardhigh]

From a Manual I have (a reprint) it says the F4U-1, F3A-1, FG-1 and British aircraft serial numbers JT-100 to JT-554 had the fuselage tank, the tanks in the outer wing panels and a single droppable fuel tank. Some of the early ones did NOT have the centerline drop tank and the fuel tank selector switch has no position for it.

The F4U-1D, F3A-1D, FG-1D and British aircraft JT-555 and up did not have the outer wing tanks and had provisions for three drop tanks. The Center line and the two wing root pylon tanks. However a note on the drawing says that the position for the centerline tank will become the OFF position when the center line drop tank is eliminated. Text states that the normal Navy drop tanks of 154 gallons are used but the Lockheed 170 us gallon tanks can be used if the Navy tanks are not available.

For bomb releases it says that the selection of type of bomb release (manual or electric) will depend on the type of bomb adaptor installed on a particular airplane.

From this I would guess that the later F4U-1Ds did indeed do away with the centerline drop tank.

Can you show me the text from that manual?

 

[Hoggardhigh]

Can you show me the text from that manual?

And what do you mean by "the OFF position"?

 

[Shortround6]

From the forums section on manuals. Manual Index - American


Corsair.pdf

see pages 19-20 manual for diagrams pictures.

Thanks to Micdrow and a others for all their work.

 

[Dana Bell]

Hi Hoggardhigh,

Although I don't know which site you're watching, the information from that website is true. It was probably taken from my book on the -1A and -1D Corsairs: Amazon product ASIN 0985714999View: https://www.amazon.com/Aircraft-Pictorial-No-F4U-1-Corsair/dp/0985714999/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1514908269&sr=8-2&keywords=dana+f4u


I spent two years researching the Corsair for that book (and a companion on the Birdcage). The first 300 F4U-1Ds kept the centerline tank provisions until it was certain the new pylons would do the job. Later BuAer realized the need to run fuel lines to both pylons and plumbed the "bomb-only" pylon under the left wing. (The earlier 300 aircraft were to be retrofitted.)

The decision to remove the plumbing from the centerline (a weight-saving measure) also was recognized as a mistake, but nearly all the tanks used for that station had been converted and expended as napalm bombs. When the CL station was reworked in early 1945, the Brewster bomb racks were modified to carry the 150-gallon Lockheed metal tanks.

Cheers,



Dana

 

[Hoggardhigh]

Hi Hoggardhigh,

Although I don't know which site you're watching, the information from that website is true. It was probably taken from my book on the -1A and -1D Corsairs: Amazon product ASIN 0985714999View: https://www.amazon.com/Aircraft-Pictorial-No-F4U-1-Corsair/dp/0985714999/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1514908269&sr=8-2&keywords=dana+f4u


I spent two years researching the Corsair for that book (and a companion on the Birdcage). The first 300 F4U-1Ds kept the centerline tank provisions until it was certain the new pylons would do the job. Later BuAer realized the need to run fuel lines to both pylons and plumbed the "bomb-only" pylon under the left wing. (The earlier 300 aircraft were to be retrofitted.)

The decision to remove the plumbing from the centerline (a weight-saving measure) also was recognized as a mistake, but nearly all the tanks used for that station had been converted and expended as napalm bombs. When the CL station was reworked in early 1945, the Brewster bomb racks were modified to carry the 150-gallon Lockheed metal tanks.

Cheers,



Dana

I wonder if those first few hundred F4U-1Ds retained the 62 gal outer wing tanks (or at least the provisions for them)?

 

[Dana Bell]

Hi Hoggardhigh,

No, the outer wing tanks were deleted on aircraft #2815 (JT555), the first aircraft to carry the twin pylons in production.

Cheers,



Dana

 

[Hoggardhigh]

Hi Hoggardhigh,

No, the outer wing tanks were deleted on aircraft #2815 (JT555), the first aircraft to carry the twin pylons in production.

Cheers,

Dana

 

[Hoggardhigh]

Could the first 300 F4U-1D's still be fitted with the outer wing tanks?

 

[Dana Bell]

No such luck, sir. JT555 was the first of what would eventually be called the F4U-1Ds - it was the first of the 300. It, and all subsequent Vought-built Corsairs, had the plumbing, leak-proof coatings, CO2 purge system and tank, and switches deleted to save weight.

Cheers,



Dana

 

[Shortround6]

The outer wing tanks were "integral" which means they sealed up space in the wing instead of installing a seperate tank into the space.
To "Fit" the outer wing "tank" would require disassembly of the wing structure to the point where you could apply sealant to all seams/joints in the structure around the desired tank area and the reassembling the structure. A lot harder than taking off a few panels and dropping a premade "tank" into the space and refitting the panels used for access.

 

[chuter]

Slightly OT ...

A friend of mine has a Brewster center line tank in original blue/white paint (with legible stenciling) but what's most interesting to me is this tank is composite, not metal.

 

[Ray921]

1) Does anyone know for sure whether there was any iron used in the fabrication of the drop tanks on F4U-1Cs and F4U-1Ds in 1945? I ask this strange question after reading a report saying that, since fuel in the drop tank bypassed the carburetor's fuel filter, rust formed in the drop tanks, especially since they weren't easy to fully drain, which caused the engine to cut out when it made its way into the carburetor, and suggested that the interior of future drop tanks be rust-proofed. The diagnosis of rust in the carburetor was based on careful analyses of Corsairs that were able to be successfully restarted and returned to the carrier before dropping into the Pacific. Obviously the oceanic environment (humidity, temperature, and salt air) and repeated filling and draining of the fuel from carrier planes, played a significant role.

Although one would think that the drop tanks would be made purely of aluminum to save weight, it's conceivable to me (an Army vet from the 1970s with little knowledge of aeronautics or aviation) that a drop tank might not need much strength -- even if re-used as was common on the USS Shangri-La in 1945 -- and so a thin piece of steel might be suitable for holding the fuel without adding too much weight. After all, the Brits even made drop tanks of papier-mache in WWII.

Nevertheless, I'm skeptical and suspect that the drop tanks were entirely aluminum, so any rust formation would necessarily occur in steel-walled fuel storage tanks rather than in the drop tanks. Am I correct that WWII carriers in the Pacific in 1945 would have fuel storage tanks made of steel?

My purpose is to learn the truth and not to criticize the report, which was otherwise thorough.

 

[chuter]

My buddy with the composite Brewster tank also has a centerline Hellcat tank and it is rusted through on the bottom. Definitely a steel tank.

Also, the 110 gal sausage tanks used in the Eighth Air Force that you accurately describe as paper were painted bright silver (metal flake "dope") while the steel version of that same tank was painted light gray. So that would be the quick way of how you tell the difference between those two contructions.

 

[MIflyer]

I posted an item elsewhere that explained how the Lockheed steel drop tanks were fabricated.

However I also read that the both F4F and the F4U used non-metallic drop tanks. And also that the Piper Skycycle used a non-metallic F4U drop tank as the basis for the fuselage.

 

[Ray921]

My buddy with the composite Brewster tank also has a centerline Hellcat tank and it is rusted through on the bottom. Definitely a steel tank.

Also, the 110 gal sausage tanks used in the Eighth Air Force that you accurately describe as paper were painted bright silver (metal flake "dope") while the steel version of that same tank was painted light gray. So that would be the quick way of how you tell the difference between those two contructions.

Thanks for the help. Was the standard drop tank for the Corsair F4U-1D the Lockheed-type drop tank used for Hellcats?

 

[Ray921]

I posted an item elsewhere that explained how the Lockheed steel drop tanks were fabricated.

However I also read that the both F4F and the F4U used non-metallic drop tanks. And also that the Piper Skycycle used a non-metallic F4U drop tank as the basis for the fuselage.

1) Where can I find the article you posted elsewhere explaining how the Lockheed steel drop tanks were made?
2) Do I understand your second statement to mean that some F4Us -- but not carrier-based F4U-1Ds in 1945 -- used non-metallic drop tanks?
3) Would it have been more difficult or expensive to fabricate the droptanks from aluminum rather than steel?