F4U-4B Review

The F4U-4B is an American naval fighter. It has an amazing engine that provides a great top speed and good climb rate. This and its airframe make it excellent at using energy against its opponents. On top of that, it possesses an incredible amount of firepower. However, its compression makes maneuvering at high speeds difficult. It is a very powerful plane that anyone could pick up.

Engine

The engine of the F4U-4B is what makes it such a competitive aircraft. It allows you to quickly gain energy and run away from unwinnable fights. It works best at low altitudes, but is not bad at higher altitudes.

The climb rate of the plane is really good. It can’t compete with planes like the Bf-109K-4, but it’s more than enough. The F4U is also very fast, with a top speed of about 650km/h at sea level, which will allow it to outrun most of the enemies it faces. This comes in handy when fighting multiple enemies alone, but it’s an advantage that should be used to run away from any unwinnable engagement.

The engine also has two major drawbacks. The engine overheats quite quickly. Using MEC (Manual Engine Control) is possible, but there are three superchargers. Forgetting to switch them on at different altitudes will result in a loss of engine power. Not only that, but it only has 12 minutes of WEP. After that, the engine can only run at 100% efficiency. This can be a problem in long battles or 1vMultiple scenarios.

Airframe

The F4U-4B’s airframe has some great strengths and weaknesses. It’s important to know them as they come into play very often.

At low speeds it retains energy very well and turns just fine — you won’t be turning planes like the Bf-109. However, the Corsair has an ace up its sleeve — flaps. They provide an insane boost to turn rate and stall control. Using them in dogfights will result in a much better turn rate, but also a much greater loss of speed. They are also amazing in stallshots. If an opponent hits this Corsair, it’s not always game over — the plane is decently tanky and can fly relatively well with some damage.

The airframe’s biggest weakness is high-speed compression — it makes it difficult to maneuver and aim at high speeds. However, it maintains energy as well as it does at lower speeds.

Armament

The F4U-4B is equipped with four AN/M3 20mm cannons. They do insane damage and will one-shot most enemies. They have almost 250 rounds each, so ammunition is not an issue most of the time. Their ballistics are excellent, especially at long range. All in all, the F4U-4B has one of the best primary weapon sets compared to most other props. The best belt is stealth, but air targets are also more than sufficient while having tracer rounds. The rudder is a bit wobbly, but not nearly enough to be a problem. The biggest problem with aiming comes from the high-speed compression.

The Corsair can carry multiple bombs (up to 500 kg) and some HVAR rockets. It also has access to custom loadouts. It’s a good choice for CAS in GRB, but it’s not a good base bomber in ARB because it has no airspawn.

Strategy, tactics & tips

The F4U-4B’s advantages make it a powerful energy fighter that can do very well in capable hands. However, even when flown by an average pilot, it’s strengths can help achieve great results.

General strategy

When fighting enemies, the 4B can often use its energy advantage. The pilot should know how to energy trap enemies. If they are higher than the enemy, they can go to their side instead of engaging in a frontal attack. To engage, the enemy will have to climb sharply, losing all of their speed in the process. Once they stall, the Corsair pilot can drop down and shoot them down while they’re slow and vulnerable. If the enemy chooses not to engage, they will give the Corsair pilot their six.

Dogfighting

Dogfighting is not a big strength of this plane, but it’s not terrible at it either. The 4B’s powerful engine and amazing flaps make it a pretty good low-speed dogfighter, but by the time low speeds are reached, the Corsair pilot can lose a lot of position. Starting the dogfight a little slower than the enemy is a good way to open up in most cases, as most enemies don’t know how to use the extra energy they have.

Defense Flying

When in a pickle, the F4U-4B can utilize its speed to disengage. Even if it’s caught, its good roll rate can allow the pilot to reverse some enemies, and the flaps will help with hitting a stall shot if one occurs after the reversal (which is relatively common). Due to its great engine and energy retention, it can keep dodging shots for a long time before it runs out of speed. Its powerful guns will make it easy to punish enemy mistakes.

Early Game

The early game of this plane should be played like any other plane. The best way to start a match is to climb to high altitudes. The climb rate isn’t good enough to give you an energy advantage over everyone on the enemy team, so watch out for people higher than you. Make sure you take out any fighters who have also climbed to high altitudes early on — this will help your team win the match. Boom-and-zooming is a great idea despite the 4B’s compression — its great energy retention will allow the Corsair pilot to boom-and-zoom for a long time.

Late Game & 1vMultiple Scenarios

The F4U-4B is a beast in 1vMultiple scenarios due to its energy-related advantages. It’s guns are also a big advantage when carrying — the high ammo count is more than enough for multiple kills, and the damage and ballistics will help punish enemy mistakes reliably. It’s extremely important to know Energy combat tactics in these matches — most kills in them will come from stalltraps.

My opinion & recommendation: