Something about the F4U Corsair
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How Stall Strips Work
If you've ever preflighted an airplane, you probably noticed small wedge-shaped strips on the front of the wing. They're called stall strips, and they're a pretty important part of a wing's design.
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I understand,thank you for your answerHow Stall Strips Work
If you've ever preflighted an airplane, you probably noticed small wedge-shaped strips on the front of the wing. They're called stall strips, and they're a pretty important part of a wing's design.
SaparotRob
Unter Gemeine Geschwader Murmeltier XIII
Well that's a new one for me. Thanks for the info, mjfur. And thank you, noob2331for the question in the first place.
The stall strip was on the right wing only, to allow the right wing to stall at approximately the same airspeed as the critical left wing which stalled at a higher speed due to engine torque and p-factor.
Before the stall strip was added a lot of F4s were lost on take off or on bolters (go arounds) due to left wing stalling before the right wing.
Before the stall strip was added a lot of F4s were lost on take off or on bolters (go arounds) due to left wing stalling before the right wing.
Also it was a modification introduced by the RN to make them more suitable for carrier operations. The USN had decided they were too dangerous for carrier operations so they were only used on shore bases, mostly by USMC squadrons. It was only after the RN had sorted out some of the low speed handling problems, ground handling and visibility issues that the USN started using them on their carriers.
The oft-repeated story that won't die. The "spoiler" (as it was then known) was added by the US Navy before the first Corsair was delivered to the Brits. The Corsair was fully qualified for carrier operations when it was ordered moved to land based operations; the order came only to standardize a single fighter on new carriers, and there were more F6F squadrons ready for combat.
The only change that came because of the Brits (and it was a good change!) came to Landing Signal Officer training for ALL aircraft, not just the Corsair. In the US Navy, if the approaching aircraft had one wing too low, the LSO lowered the that wing's paddle to show the pilot what was wrong. The Brits did the opposite: with one wing too low, the "LSO" raised the paddle to show the pilot which action to take. The US Navy realized that the Brit method made sense and began changing their LSO and pilot training.
So many books have combined bits and pieces of the story to credit the Royal Navy with the Corsair's eventual carrier success that we may never be able to set the record straight!
Cheers,
Dana
pararaftanr2
Airman
- 82
- Nov 20, 2013
That's the popular myth anyway.
GreenKnight121
Senior Airman
- 418
- Mar 16, 2014
Carrier qualification trials on the training carrier USS Wolverine and escort carriers USS Core and USS Charger in 1942 found that, despite visibility issues and control sensitivity, the Corsair was "...an excellent carrier type and very easy to land aboard. It is no different than any other airplane."
Two Navy units, VF-12 (October 1942) and later VF-17 (April 1943) were equipped with the F4U.
By April 1943, VF-12 had successfully completed deck landing qualification.
VF-17 went aboard USS Bunker Hill in late 1943, and the Chief of Naval Operations wanted to equip four air groups with Corsairs by the end of 1943.
The Commander, Air Forces, Pacific had a different opinion, stating that "In order to simplify spares problems and also to insure flexibility in carrier operations present practice in the Pacific is to assign all Corsairs to Marines and to equip FightRons [fighter squadrons] on medium and light carriers with Hellcats."
VF-12 soon abandoned its aircraft to the Marines. VF-17 kept its Corsairs, but was removed from its carrier, USS Bunker Hill, due to the above-cited policy.
The RN's first Corsairs were delivered in May 1943 to the British Admiralty Delegation (JT102) at Floyd Bennet Field, New York, USA.
In August 1943, the first Royal Navy operational Corsair squadron, 1835 Squadron at Quonset Point, USA received its first batch of 95 Vought F4U-1s, which were given the designation "Corsair [Mark] I".
So the USN had fully carrier-qual'ed the F4U before the RN ever got their first evaluational F4U!
The only reason the USN reversed course and moved all the Corsairs to land operations was logistics.
Two Navy units, VF-12 (October 1942) and later VF-17 (April 1943) were equipped with the F4U.
By April 1943, VF-12 had successfully completed deck landing qualification.
VF-17 went aboard USS Bunker Hill in late 1943, and the Chief of Naval Operations wanted to equip four air groups with Corsairs by the end of 1943.
The Commander, Air Forces, Pacific had a different opinion, stating that "In order to simplify spares problems and also to insure flexibility in carrier operations present practice in the Pacific is to assign all Corsairs to Marines and to equip FightRons [fighter squadrons] on medium and light carriers with Hellcats."
VF-12 soon abandoned its aircraft to the Marines. VF-17 kept its Corsairs, but was removed from its carrier, USS Bunker Hill, due to the above-cited policy.
The RN's first Corsairs were delivered in May 1943 to the British Admiralty Delegation (JT102) at Floyd Bennet Field, New York, USA.
In August 1943, the first Royal Navy operational Corsair squadron, 1835 Squadron at Quonset Point, USA received its first batch of 95 Vought F4U-1s, which were given the designation "Corsair [Mark] I".
So the USN had fully carrier-qual'ed the F4U before the RN ever got their first evaluational F4U!
The only reason the USN reversed course and moved all the Corsairs to land operations was logistics.
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