The Myth of the British "Fixing" The Corsair

[Frog]

I believe that Borduria also had a Heinkel He112B, too.

It was seen in several episodes.

That was in the pre war version of King Ottokar's Sceptre album.
In the post 1947 revision, it was replaced by a Me 109.
By the way, in the same album, Tintin boards a SM-72 to fly from Frankfurt to Prague.

 

[GrauGeist]

That was in the pre war version of King Ottokar's Sceptre album.
In the post 1947 revision, it was replaced by a Me 109.
By the way, in the same album, Tintin boards a SM-72 to fly from Frankfurt to Prague.

Didn't the Syldavian Air Force have the P.11c fighter?

 

[pb43]

Cou

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!

As a bit of a timeline:

• Late-1930s: The US Navy adopted a curved landing approach for all carrier aircraft.
• The first flight of the XF4U-1 came in May, 1940.
• By November, reports of the War in the Europe revealed that the XF4U-1's initial armament was insufficient, so the aircraft was redesigned to increase the armament to six .50cal in the wings. The resulting reduction in the size of the aircraft's wing fuel tanks required the extension of the fuselage to accommodate a new fuel tank, leading to the aircraft's distinct long nose.
• Formal acceptance trials began in early 1941.
• The first production F4U-1 made its maiden flight in June, 1942.
• The first production F4Us were delivered to the Navy in July.
• Carrier trials aboard USS Wolverine in October, 1942, led the Navy to issue a report declaring that the Corsair was well-suited to carrier operations, and no more difficult to handle than any other type.
• Late 1942: Ground crews fabricate and modify the first stall spoilers installed on the leading edge of the starboard wing in an attempt to rectify the Corsair's vicious spin characteristics in a "dirty" configuration (full flaps, landing gear extended) at low speeds (it's dubious whether the strip was more than a placebo).
• The F4U-1 Corsair made its combat debut on February 12, 1943.
• VF-12 and VF-17 both complete carrier qualifications without incident in April, 1943.
• The first of what will eventually be known as the F4U-1A, with the raised cockpit and Malcolm Hood canopy, is delivered in August, 1943.
• In November, 1943, VF-17 successfully operates from USS Bunker Hill.
• The Fleet Air Arm receives their first shipment of Corsairs in the second half of November, 1943.

The main "innovations" the British are always attributed to make the Corsair suitable to carrier operations are the curved landing approach, and the implementation of the raised cockpit and Malcolm Hood.

However, the timeline is pretty clear: Not only had the US navy already adopted a curved landing approach even before the Corsair first flew, (though credit where credit's due, the British did develop it first) but the raised cockpit had also already been implemented on the production lines before the British even received their first shipment of the aircraft, much less could fly, evaluate, and "fix" them.

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?

Could be referencing the fact that the FAA received mostly Brewster-built F3As, which had the reputation of being of poor build quality. (deserved, or not, I do not know)

 

[EwenS]

Cou

Could be referencing the fact that the FAA received mostly Brewster-built F3As, which had the reputation of being of poor build quality. (deserved, or not, I do not know)

More myths.

There was nothing wrong with the quality of Brewster's engineering. The problems lay in its management and their inbility to introduce the latest mods to the production line in a timeous manner. A Brewster built F4U also cost a lot more to produce. Plenty of stuff on this thread IIRC and others about Brewster & the Corsair.

Brewster built 735 F3A Corsairs between June 1943 & July 1944. Only 430 (58%) of those went to Britain as Corsair III and those were produced between Jan & May 1944.

In comparison Britain received 605 Vought built F4U Corsair I & II between May 1943 & June 1944, and 852 Goodyear built FG-1 Corsair IV between July 1944 & June 1945.