Summary The F4U Corsair was difficult to fly on aircraft carriers due to visibility issues and engine torque. The USMC adopted the F4U Corsair after the Navy's carriers were not ready, leading to successful operations. The British Royal Navy modified the F4U Corsair for carrier use and deployed it in important Pacific operations before the war's end.
Initially designed to be an aircraft carrier-based fighter bomber, the Chance-Vought F4U Corsair is, in the minds of most Americans, the hero of the Pacific Theater during World War Two. The United States Navy (USN) received its first F4U Corsair on July 31, 1942, seven months after the United States entered the war following the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service on December 7, 1941. Despite the need to get the plane into service as fast as possible, the plane's birdcage canopy and long nose made it difficult to see straight ahead.
Because of this, taxiing on the flight deck of an aircraft carrier was almost impossible. The torque produced by the aircraft's massive 18-cylinder Pratt & Whitney R-2800 Double Wasp radial engine made it difficult for all but the most experienced pilots. The Corsair was difficult to fly Some pilots called the Chance-Vought F4U Corsair the "Ensign Eliminator" or "bent-wing widow maker.
" Incidentally, the only other aircraft with a bent wing to serve in WWII was the Junkers Ju 87 "Stuka" dive bomber. During carrier trials and training aboard the USS Wolverine, USS.