There are few who would argue against the Vought F4U Corsair being one of the premiere carrier fighters of World War Two. The distinctive gull wings were required to permit clearance for the propeller attached to the powerful 2,000hp Pratt & Whitney R-2800-8 radial piston engine which moved the Corsair through the air at a maximum speed of 417mph. Development of the Corsair began at Chance-Vought in June 1938 when the company signed a contract with the U.S. Navy to produce a single-engine fighter based on their specifications. By May 29, 1940, the XF4U-1 prototype had taken its first maiden flight. Impressed with the results, the U.S. Navy issued a purchase order on April 2, 1941 and the first unit to receive the new fighter was VF-12 in October 1942. The first unit to take the Corsair into action was VMF-124 of the U.S. Marine Corps where it provided air support for the battles in Bougainville starting in February 1943. For armament, the Corsair was equipped with six 12.7mm machine-guns, three in each wing. For ground support missions, it could carry 4,000lbs. of bombs and/or eight 5” air-to-ground rockets. In aerial combat, the Corsair was well able to deal with the best of Japanese fighters, such as the Mitsubishi A6M Reisen (better known as the “Zero”). The only time the Reisen could best the Corsair was in low speed dog fighting and so Corsair pilots sought to not engage in such battle since doing so played to the Reisen's strengths. All told, the Corsair racked up an impressive 11 to 1 kill ratio against Japanese aircraft during World War Two. The U.S. was not the only user of the Corsair as both the British Royal Navy Fleet Arm Arm operated some 2,012 Corsairs of various makes, the Royal Netherlands Navy flew 35 Corsairs, and the Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) equipped thirteen squadrons with the Corsair.
The photograph shows a line-up of F4U-1 Corsairs on the island of Espiritu Santo which is part of the nation of Vanuatu which is 1,090 miles east of northern Australia. During World War Two, the island was used by the U.S. Army Air Force and the U.S. Navy as a supply and support base, harbor, and airfield. The Corsairs shown here were shipped from the U.S. on May 14, 1944 aboard the freighter USS Steamer Bay. The ship arrived at Espiritu Santo on June 2, 1944 where RNZAF Base Depot Workshop Unit 60 began the assembly of the aircraft. After assembly, the aircraft were test flown before being dispersed to units. Visible in the photograph is a F4U-1 with the code “50” on the cowling and underneath it is the inscription “Struggle Buggy”. This particular Corsair had the U.S. Navy serial 49960 and the RZNAF code NZ5350 and was initially issued to No.31 Squadron RZNAF on September 3, 1944 though why this was so is unclear given the unit was primarily a torpedo bomber squadron equipped with Grumman TBF Avengers and sometime in August 1944, the unit was deactivated. By December 1944, “Struggle Buggy” was allocated to No.14 Squadron RZNAF for a brief period before it was directed to No.21 Squadron RZNAF on December 18, 1944. At this time, the unit was commanded by Squadron Leader L.R. Bush who led the unit through the Guadalcanal and Bougainville campaigns. In March 1945, the squadron received a new commander, Squadron Leader W.J. MacLeod who remained with the unit until its disbandment in September 1945. Following the war, this Corsair was returned to New Zealand and on March 2, 1948, it was sold to one J. Larson who lived in Palmerston North, New Zealand. It is unknown if this Corsair remains today.
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