I was reading "U.S. Navy Fighters of WWII" by Barrett Tillman and Robert L. Lawson and found this interesting.
They quote a Grumman test pilot named Corwin "Corky" Meyer with the following comment on the conventional wisdom on the F4U and F6F speed specifications.
" The bent-wing had a different pitot system then we did, and it gave different readings. But I can tell you that flying side by side, the F6 not only had as good a Vmax as the Corsair, it accelerated as well,too."
Then the book says that Grumman found that the F4U's only advantage was 15 to 20 knots faster in "main blower stage" below 5,000 ft.
Otherwise, performance was nearly identical.
So... what do you think?
They quote a Grumman test pilot named Corwin "Corky" Meyer with the following comment on the conventional wisdom on the F4U and F6F speed specifications.
" The bent-wing had a different pitot system then we did, and it gave different readings. But I can tell you that flying side by side, the F6 not only had as good a Vmax as the Corsair, it accelerated as well,too."
Then the book says that Grumman found that the F4U's only advantage was 15 to 20 knots faster in "main blower stage" below 5,000 ft.
Otherwise, performance was nearly identical.
So... what do you think?