Issue 12 - F4U Corsair: Contents
By: Web Editor
The mighty Corsair has to be one of the most instantly recognisable of Second World War fighter aircraft. Big, powerful, its gull wing design, high cockpit and large radial engine gave it a very distinctive look. The first prototype was delivered in 1940, and series production began in 1942. This was not to end until 1953 with 12,571 being built, the longest production run of any American fighter. The fighters saw active service during the Second World War, the Korean War, the First Indochina War, Algerian War, the Suez Crisis and finally in 1969 in the Football War between El Salvador and Honduras, certainly one of the longest combat records of any military aircraft. Although it achieved a kill ratio of 11 to 1 in US Marine Corps service, this very successful aircraft was initially rejected for service with the US Navy, its early development being dogged by setbacks. This issue of Aviation Classics tells the whole story of this remarkable machine, its designers and pilots.
The F4U Corsair - Issue 12
8 Design of a legend
18 Learning to fly the Corsair
32 The lost squadron
40 A tale of two Corsairs
50 Dark blue Corsairs
64 Sitting duck
68 A flight to remember
74 Carrier crash!
78 Night missions over North Korea
92 Inside the Corsair
102 The last of the line
111 Corsairs abroad
118 The last Corsair conflict
122 Racing Corsairs
124 Survivors
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Current Issue: Lockheed P-38 Lightning
On January 27, 1939, Lockheed test pilot Ben Kelsey took the prototype XP-38 Lightning into the air for the first time. The big, twin-engined, twin-boomed fighter was to become one of the most easily identifiable fighters of the Second World War, and was to be the only US fighter aircraft to remain in production throughout the conflict. Its unusual design had a number of advantages. The guns, being grouped close together in the nose, gave the P-38 a tremendous concentration of firepower. The tricycle undercarriage made ground handling simple when compared with the tailwheel designs common to the period. The P-38 was used across the world, undertaking long range fighter escort, fighter-bomber and reconnaissance missions in Europe as well as across the Pacific and Far East.
This issue of Aviation Classics tells the whole story of this ground breaking aircraft, as well as the people behind the development and operational success of this beautiful machine.
PLUS:
• Next issue on sale: 30th March 2012
