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?