F4U-1C

This page is about the American naval fighter F4U-1C. For other versions, see F4U (Family).

F4U-1C

F6F-5N

F4U-4B

360://https://wiki.warthunder.com/images/e/ef/Cockpit_f4u-1c.jpg

F4U-1C

F6F-5N

F4U-4B

USA

IV Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
5.0	4.7	4.7

Class:

Fighter

Naval aircraft

Research:46 000

Purchase:155 000

Show in game

Description

The F4U-1C Corsair was among one of the rarest variants of the F4U Corsair, with only ~200 made, and was the first Corsair to be armed with cannons. The 1C was essentially an F4U-1D with 4 x 20 mm Hispano guns and gave the aircraft a more potent armament against ground targets and aircraft. As good as the guns seemed on paper, in practice it was very different. American pilots found the guns unreliable and excessive against the lightly armoured Japanese aircraft. Many pilots preferred the M2 Browning machine guns due to their large ammo pool and reliability. Although the new guns made the F4U-1C more deadly, they came at the price of hampering performance with added weight.

The F4U-1C, which has been in War Thunder since the start of the Open Beta Test, is like many of the other Corsairs in-game when it comes to performance. It's incredibly fast and allows the Corsair to excel at Boom and Zoom tactics. With the addition of Hispano cannons, the F4U-1C will easily destroy enemy aircraft with a slight burst and is incredibly effective against ground targets. However, much like in real life, the Hispanos are prone to jamming when stock. Nonetheless, it is the lowest battle rating Corsair with cannons and sets it apart from every Corsair near its battle rating.

General info

Flight performance

Arrestor gear

Accelerates braking by grabbing the brake cable on the deck of the aircraft carrier

Max speed

at 7 000 m667 km/h

Turn time22 s

Max altitude11 247 m

EnginePratt & Whitney R-2800-8W

TypeRadial

Cooling systemAir

Take-off weight7 t

Characteristics	Max speed (km/h at 7,000 m)		Max altitude (metres)	Turn time (seconds)		Rate of climb (metres/second)		Take-off run (metres)
	AB	RB		AB	RB	AB	RB
Stock	639	618	11247	23.1	24.0	12.9	12.9	250
Upgraded	697	667		20.9	22.0	20.7	16.4

Details

Features
Combat flaps	Take-off flaps	Landing flaps	Air brakes	Arrestor gear
✓	✓	✓	X	✓

Limits
Wings (km/h)	Gear (km/h)	Flaps (km/h)			Max Static G
		Combat	Take-off	Landing	+	-
885	730	388	330	252	~11	~4

Optimal velocities (km/h)
Ailerons	Rudder	Elevators	Radiator
< 450	< 450	< 500	> 450

Survivability and armour

Crew1 person

Speed of destruction

Structural885 km/h

Gear730 km/h

• 3 mm steel - above the front fuel tank
• 8 mm steel - behind pilot's body
• 12.7 mm steel - behind pilot's head
• 38 mm bulletproof glass - armoured windscreen

Modifications and economy

Repair costBasic → Reference

AB2 053 → 2 578

RB4 670 → 5 865

SB6 523 → 8 192

Total cost of modifications40 800

78 500

Talisman cost1 400

Crew training45 000

Experts155 000

Aces820

Research Aces440 000

Reward for battleAB / RB / SB

80 / 200 / 410 %

160 / 160 / 160 %

Modifications

Flight performance	Survivability	Weaponry
Fuselage repair Research: 4 100 Cost: 7 900 240 Radiator Research: 4 100 Cost: 7 900 240 Compressor Research: 2 300 Cost: 4 400 135 Wings repair Research: 5 100 Cost: 9 800 300 Engine Research: 5 100 Cost: 9 800 300 Engine injection Research: 4 400 Cost: 8 500 260	Airframe Research: 2 300 Cost: 4 400 135 Cover Research: 4 400 Cost: 8 500 260	anm2_belt_pack Research: 2 300 Cost: 4 400 135 FRC mk.2 Research: 2 300 Cost: 4 400 135 anm2_new_gun Research: 4 400 Cost: 8 500 260

A major advantage of all US cannons are the default belts. They have the highest ratio of high-explosive shells of any tracer belts, only the stealth one is better in that regard.

This makes the ammunition upgrade unnecessary and allows for focused research on the performance upgrades.

As acceleration is one of this aircraft's flaws, initially researching "Compressor" and "Engine" will increase the ability of this aircraft to fly well.

Armaments

Offensive armament

Weapon 14 x 20 mm AN/M2 cannon

Ammunition924 rounds

Fire rate600 shots/min

The F4U-1C is armed with:

• 4 x 20 mm AN/M2 cannons, wing-mounted (231 rpg = 924 total)

Suspended armament

List of setups (1)

Setup 18 x HVAR rockets

The F4U-1C can be outfitted with the following ordnance:

• Without load
• 8 x HVAR rockets

Usage in battles

Loved by its pilots, hated by its enemies, the F4U-1C is an easy to use U.S. Navy fighter, with robust all-round specifications. The Corsair optimally performs with stealth ammunition loaded for best damage output, allowing an experienced pilot to take out several targets before returning to base and reloading. It is best to selectively aim for the most critical parts of an enemy plane if you want to maximise kill efficiency while you're in the sky. A few 20 mm shells to an enemy engine or cockpit will destroy their plane with a little luck. While this may seem easier said than done, diving onto your opponent is almost a guaranteed kill, and if you are unlucky, you still have an incredibly impressive dive speed under your belt to keep you from being a target. While flying this plane, like any U.S. fighter, you'll be in the most danger when you are 'floored' (at a low altitude), since your only escape is diving.

When facing mainly Japanese planes in Realistic Battles and Simulator Battles, do not turn with A6M5s and the like, but to use Boom and Zoom tactics.

The quadruple AN/M2 armament of the Corsair can prove surprisingly effective against all manner of enemy vehicles. Ground target belts will make short work of light armour, but even heavier tanks like the Panther can be dealt with if the pilot attacks the roof from a steep enough angle, though it may take several passes. Diving from one to two thousand metres, as close as possible to the vertical, and hosing down the enemy will reliably cause engine fires and potentially knock out some or all of the turret crew. Using the Corsair's energy retention to regain altitude allows the pilot to repeat this process many times. With enough practice, the F4U-1C's bottomless ammo reserve will allow you to disable or outright destroy several enemies on the ground while maintaining enough energy to take on any aircraft to come your way.

The F4U-1C is an excellent plane in all game modes, however, be aware of the very restrictive cockpit, which makes it extremely difficult to spot targets in Simulator Battles, especially those behind you.

Manual Engine Control

MEC elements
Mixer	Pitch	Radiator			Supercharger	Turbocharger
		Oil	Water	Type
Not controllable	Controllable Auto control available	Controllable Not auto controlled	Controllable Not auto controlled	Separate	Controllable 3 gears	Not controllable

Pros and cons

Pros:

• Great firepower
• Great ammo reserves, >200 rpg
• Great energy retention
• Fast
• High dive speed
• Good turn time
• Reasonable rate of climb
• Can use the gear as makeshift airbrakes

Cons:

• Rather slow/sluggish acceleration
• No rear visibility in the cockpit
• Wings can rip at high-speed turns
• The recoil from the cannons will yank the nose down quite a bit
• Cannons are highly inaccurate to the point of uselessness unless upgraded

History

The F4U-1C was based on the F4U-1D. The F4U-1D Corsair was designed in order to meet the Navy's requirement for capable carrier-based fighter-bombers. To meet this need, the -1D incorporate a Pratt and Whitney R-2800-8W water injection engine, increasing the engine power and the plane's speed from that of the F4U-1A. This gave it the increased performance necessary to carry a larger armament. Two pylons were added to the center wing section, that could hold 154 gallon fuel tanks, bombs up to 1,000 lbs, or napalm bombs. Because of the ability to carry more fuel externally, the 63 gallon fuel tanks in the wing tips were removed. Later in production, the ability to carry four 5 in rockets under each wing was added. In addition, the propeller diameter was reduced from 13 ft 4 in to 13 ft 1 in.

The F4U-1C was basically the same as the F4U-1D, except in primary armament. The -1D had a primary armament of six .50 in machine guns, as was standard for most Corsair variants. The F4U-1C replaced the .50 in machine guns with four 20 mm cannons. When rocket tabs were added to the F4U-1D, they were also added to the F4U-1C. This allowed it to carry eight 5 in rockets, along with the bombs and/or fuel tanks. All of the F4U-1Cs were fitted with the smaller propeller, with a diameter of 13 ft 1 in, whereas the -1D did not change the propeller size until after production had already started.

Archive of the in-game description

The Chance Vought F4U Le Corsaire. The F4U-1C "Corsair" was a single-seater, single-engine carrier-based fighter. The unusual W-shaped wings of the F4U required propeller of a diameter of about four metres. Those were the biggest propellers ever used in a single-engine fighter. Therefore, a conventional wing would have required a significant extension of the landing gear, reducing their strength. So the Chance Vought designers decided to use a new wing design and keep the landing gear at a normal length. Wind tunnel tests proved the new wing design's effectiveness. To reduce weight and improve aerodynamics, the plane's design used spot welding. In 1943, the F4U-1C variant was developed. It differed mainly from the F4U-1A in its armament: instead of six machine guns, the plane had four 20 mm cannons. Because of its low rate of fire, the new Corsair was used primarily to attack ground targets and for nighttime interceptions and took practically no part in aerial fighter combat. The F4U-1C was produced on a relatively small scale. Only 200 were made.

Media

Skins

• Skins and camouflages for the F4U-1C from live.warthunder.com.

Images

• 

  Reworked model of the F4U-1C

See also

• F4U Family
  • F4U-1A
  • F4U-1D

External links

• Official data sheet - more details about the performance

References

Bibliography

• "F4U-1C Vought Corsair", F4U Corsair - The Bent Wing Bird plane site, Retrieved on 28 March 2020.
• "Types of Plane F4U - Variants", F4U Corsair- The Bent Wing Bird plane site, Retrieved on 28 March 2020.