Ambaryerno
Airman
- 66
- Jul 21, 2020
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Excellent question. Why would an untrue story spring to life for no reason at all? I suspect that there is some information missing here.So why does the myth persist it took the British to tame the Hog and teach the Yanks how to fly them off the flattops?
It wouldn't be the first time that something patently untrue got repeated until it became accepted as if it were fact.Excellent question. Why would an untrue story spring to life for no reason at all? I suspect that there is some information missing here.
It wouldn't be the first time that something patently untrue got repeated until it became accepted as if it were fact.
We have actual documentation and records of these things.I think you'd need evidence to disprove it, if it is a myth; the FAA Museum guide explained as much to me, and they have done some very in-depth research on KD431. Anecdotal "We did xxx" without primary-source evidence is just rumour.
I don't think that "It took the British to 'fix' the Corsair to make it safe to operate from carriers" is a fair statement of the "myth." That sentence is too broad and non-specific, and I do not see anything in the Wikipedia article about the Corsair that approximates that wording. When I Googled the topic, what I found was a number of articles that described the problems with the Corsair that had to be solved, and they pretty much agreed with each other. None claimed that "the British fixed it."It's a story that's been floating around for ages. It's SO prominent that it turns up in Wikipedia, many documentaries and books on aviation history, and IIRC even in the Smithsonian:
It took the British to "fix" the Corsair to make it safe to operate from the carriers.
The problem is, the "fixes" that made the Corsair suitable for carrier operations...weren't necessary. And were also introduced months (if not longer) before the Royal Navy even received their first shipments!
So why does the myth persist it took the British to tame the Hog and teach the Yanks how to fly them off the flattops?
As I understood things the "curved approach" for a F4U Corsair was special. The plane came in at almost deck/landing height and the interaction betwen the "batman" and pilot was what made it different, it was a team skill that had to be learned. 80 odd years after the event I dont particularly care about the flag waving stuff about who did what first, I am just impressed that they did.The earliest reference I can find is in the thread Visibility over the nose: inline v. radial engine. August 25, 2010. Post #13.
From "F4U VOUGHT CORSAIR" by Barrett Tillman, p22&25.
- VF-12 and VF-17 both complete carrier qualifications without incident in April, 1943.
Could the FAA's superior flight deck handling abilities be attributed to using lesser amounts of blue paint?As I understood things the "curved approach" for a F4U Corsair was special. The plane came in at almost deck/landing height and the interaction betwen the "batman" and pilot was what made it different, it was a team skill that had to be learned. 80 odd years after the event I dont particularly care about the flag waving stuff about who did what first, I am just impressed that they did.