F4U-1A

F4U-1A

F6F-5

F4U-1A (USMC)

F4U-1A

F6F-5

F4U-1A (USMC)

USA

II Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
2.7	2.7	3.3

Class:

Fighter

Naval aircraft

Research:11 000

Purchase:22 000

Show in game

This page is about the aircraft F4U-1A. For other uses, see F4U (Family).

Description

The F4U-1A Corsair is a rank II American naval fighter with a battle rating of 2.7 (AB/RB) and 3.3 (SB). This fighter has been in the game since the start of the Open Beta Test prior to Update 1.27.

This is the first plane you will be able to use in the legendary Corsair line, and it will give you a good taste of what's to come. Sporting a very distinctive silhouette due to its inverted gull wings, it's never hard to pick a Corsair out of a crowd. However, the inverted gull wings are a double-edged sword, as it enables the Corsair to turn well at high speeds and have a good roll rate, but makes it turn mediocrely at low speeds. While not as powerful as its later siblings, the Pratt & Whitney R-2800-8W 18-cylinder radial can still propel the Corsair to a respectable 646 kph at around 6,800 meters. The Corsair also has a weak airframe that is very susceptible to incendiary rounds, so make sure to use your roll rate and good high-speed performance in order to survive.

General info

Flight Performance

The Corsair should be used as a medium-to-high altitude Boom & Zoomer, as flying at these altitudes is where the R-2800-8W radial makes the most power. It is very important to keep your speed up, as the Corsair haemorrhages energy at lower speeds.

Characteristics
Stock
Max Speed (km/h at 6,888 m)		Max altitude (meters)	Turn time (seconds)		Rate of climb (meters/second)		Take-off run (meters)
AB	RB		AB	RB	AB	RB
585	564	11247	25.4	25.9	8.8	8.8	251
Upgraded
Max Speed (km/h at 6,888 m)		Max altitude (meters)	Turn time (seconds)		Rate of climb (meters/second)		Take-off run (meters)
AB	RB		AB	RB	AB	RB
646	615	11247	22.6	24.0	20.1	12.3	251

Details

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

Limits
Wing-break speed (km/h)	Gear limit (km/h)	Combat flap (km/h)	Max Static G
			+	-
885	730	440	~12	~4

Optimal velocities
Ailerons (km/h)	Rudder (km/h)	Elevators (km/h)	Radiator (km/h)
< 420	< 450	< 500	> 270

Compressor (RB/SB)
Setting 1
Optimal altitude	100% Engine power	WEP Engine power
610 m	2,000 hp	2,250 hp
Setting 2
Optimal altitude	100% Engine power	WEP Engine power
4,876 m	1,800 hp	2,025 hp
Setting 3
Optimal altitude	100% Engine power	WEP Engine power
6,401 m	1,690 hp	1,901 hp

Survivability and armour

• 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

When fighting an F4U-1 in the air, any smart Corsair pilot will use their high speed and good high altitude performance to Boom & Zoom you, and will use their solid roll rate to avoid shots if they miss their first pass. However, you can force them to overshoot by using various defensive manoeuvres and challenge for a shot on target due to the weak airframe of the Corsair.

Armaments

Offensive armament

The F4U-1A is armed with:

• 6 x 12.7 mm M2 Browning machine gun, wing-mounted (400 + 400 + 375 rpg each wing = 2,350 total)

The F4U-1A is the first aircraft in the US Tech Tree armed with M2 Brownings that possess Armour-Piercing Incendiary rounds. These potent rounds are able to set fire to enemy aircraft as well as causing fatal pilot snipes and engine crits. However, they are not explosive rounds, and rely on luck & good aim on the part of the pilot to cause damage to critical modules and cause enough damage to result in a kill.

Suspended armament

The F4U-1A can be outfitted with the following ordinance:

• 1 x 500 lb AN-M64A1 bomb
• 1 x 1000 lb AN-M65A1 bomb

Usage in battles

When flying an F4U, you should use Boom-n-Zoom tactics. This means that you should climb immediately and then dive on lower flying aircraft, then use your speed and momentum from the dive to climb. The Corsair does turn well but loses energy and speed rapidly, so avoid turn fights or flat manoeuvres.

This plane is a very successful ground attacker when utilizing the ground belt ammunition against light pillboxes, un-armoured targets and some tanks. It is important to remember that this planes biggest asset is its energy retention, don't hang around near the ground or you will become a slow, heavy and easy target.

If, while flying a Corsair, a plane with a decent pilot gets to your tail you probably won't be able to outmanoeuvre it, but this goes both ways. If you encounter an F4U that is at low altitude or wasting its energy turn fighting, work your way behind it for a reasonably easy target to shoot down. These planes also seem to be highly flammable, so watch out for incendiaries or ... load up with API rounds yourself and go hunting.

One of the planes that should concern any Corsair pilot are Bf 109s. They are very dangerous foes to anyone who fights by their rules. You will commonly encounter E-1s, E-3s, E-4s/E--7s and F-1s, but you will occasionally come across the rare F-2 when being up-tiered. The E-series aircraft aren't as demanding to fight as you can outspeed them by a large margin, and in some cases out-dive, but the E-4 variant can still shred you apart easily with their twin MG FF/M cannons, which possess the potent Minengeschoß round. However, the F-variants are very powerful foes. The first in the Friedrich line climbs better, turns better, and is fast enough to keep up with you, while still sporting a single MG FF/M mounted in the nose. The F-2 sports a 15mm MG151 cannon that, while containing less filler in its explosive rounds, can still deal enough damage to kill you. Seek teammate's support if one tries to force an engagement on you. If you absolutely have to, then you can attempt to out-turn the Bf 109, or try to force an overshoot, pulling the throttle back, and using your gears as airbrakes. However, while bleeding speed might induce an overshoot, novice pilots should not attempt this tactic, as this means slowing the plane down to very slow speeds, rendering you an easy target.

You may also see Fw-190s when you are uptiered. These aircraft dive faster than you, accelerate faster in a dive, travel nearly as fast as you do, as well as possessing the ability to make lightning-quick changes of direction due to its superb roll-rate. If you see one of these aircraft, the best tactic is to either try and force a head-on and break as soon as possible, or attempt to lure it towards team-mates. Fighting one of these planes without proper knowledge of its strengths and weaknesses in a fight is utter lunacy, and will result in your death.

Counter-tactics

The F4U-1A, like many other American aircraft, is a sitting duck when travelling at low speeds, while excelling at high speeds, usually above 300km/h. In addition, they are not the most agile of aircraft. In addition, the F4U-1A possesses the R-2800 radial engine, which has superb thrust and power at altitudes beginning at 3000 metres and going up to around 6500 metres. However, it also excels at lower altitudes. In addition, due to possessing 6 M2 Browning .50 caliber machine guns with M8 API ammunition, it excels in head-ons against enemies. One of the things that you should never do against a Corsair is engage in a head-on. This is simply asking to suffer a fiery, explosive deconstruction at the hands of the 6 powerful guns of the Corsair. Unless the odds are stacked completely in your favour due to a complete disparity in armament that is in your favour (e.g. possessing 6 MG 151/20 cannons), this is very risky, and even if they are, entering a head-on will usually result in critical damage to your wings, engine, or even a pilot-snipe. Head-ons should therefore be avoided at all costs.

The primary tactics of someone who aims to counter this aircraft should be tactics that will bleed energy from the F4U-1A, making it slow, low, or a combination of both. This can be accomplished in many ways, but the two main methods are:

1. Turning: In an aircraft that turns better, should you be able to bait the F4U-1A into turning with you, you can gradually eat away at its speed while out-turning it in order to acquire a killshot. However, smart pilots will usually break off the turn and start climbing. Should this happen, you can either try to follow it in the climb (Spitfires and zeroes should be able to do this) or stay low to bait the F4U-1A down again and repeat the process.
2. Energy-Fighting: in planes such as the Bf-109F-1, which are not as nimble as the corsair, turning against the corsair is not a viable option. In planes such as this, one should try to cause a stall by using maneuvers that cause the corsair to lose energy faster than you. One method of doing this by simply being above it, and to the front quarter. Pretend to engage in a head-on pass with it. Corsair pilots will usually engage you in a head-on and attempt to follow through to get the kill. Once you're around 2.5 km/1.5 miles away from the corsair, gradually begin making the dive shallower by aiming above the corsair (if you're using mouse-aim) or by pulling up on the elevator slightly. gradually intensify it, until once you're 1km away from the Corsair, it is aiming upwards at you at a steep angle. Once this happens, break into a chandelle (An immelmann turn done while banking the plane slightly), using the energy you built up in the dive, and dive back down onto the Corsair. The enemy pilot, should he have continued to try to track you through the entire process, should have lost energy and entered a low-energy state. This means that he/she is a sitting duck. Bring your guns to bear, and kill them.

Manual Engine Control

MEC elements
Mixer	Pitch	Radiator			Supercharger	Turbocharger
		Oil	Water	Type
Controllable	Controllable	Not controllable	Controllable	Combined	Controllable	Not controllable

Modules

In the first tier of unlocks, there is nothing of interest in the performance department. Offensive 12.7 mm should be researched first to get rid of the lacking stock ammo.

Starting from tier 2, all performance unlocks become necessary and useful. As a fighter, the Corsair does rarely utilises bombs, which justifies researching them last.

Payloads unlocked by modules are:

• BMBC mk.1: One 500 lb AN-M64A1 bomb
• BLBC mk.1: One 1,000 lb AN-M65A1 bomb

Tier	Flight performance		Survivability	Weaponry
I	Fuselage Repair	Radiator		Offensive 12 mm
II		Compressor	Airframe		BMBC mk.1
III	Wings Repair	Engine		New 12 mm MGs
IV		Engine Injection	Cover		BLBC mk.1

Pros and cons

Pros:

• Great top speed for its rank
• Good high-speed manoeuvrability
• Powerful armament with high ammo count
• Can mount bombs for use against ground targets
• Decently strong; can take a few hits
• Great diving characteristics
• Good speed, acceleration and energy retention
• Gears can withstand 730 kph, useful as a makeshift airbrake
• Relatively lethal armament against planes

Cons:

• Turn time isn't very good; try to avoid turning fights
• View to the rear is somewhat obstructed; be wary of this in SB
• Very vulnerable to incendiary rounds
• Inverted gull wings are easy to knock off
• Big target, easy to hit
• Climb rate is a huge downgrade from the F4F-3 and F4F-4 when stock
• Can be easily taken out by other players from behind

History

The F4U Corsair was designed by Chance Vought as a response to a request by the U.S. Navy Bureau of Aeronautics in February 1938 for twin and single-engined fighters. The single-engined fighters would need to reach the maximum obtainable speed, have a stall speed of no more than 70 mph and a range of 1,000 miles. The fighter also had to carry 4 guns, or 3 with increased ammo capacity and had to be able to carry bombs.

In June of the same year, the U.S navy signed a contract with Vought for a prototype, designated "XF4U-1" and after a mock-up inspection, the prototype was to be powered by an extremely powerful Twin-row, 18 cylinder engine created by Pratt & Whitney designated as the "Double Wasp". Reports from Europe indicated that two .30 cal machine guns and two .50 cal HMG's proved inefficient, and as a result, the U.S. Navy issued a new production proposal requesting heavier armament. Vought responded to this request by added 3 Browning .50 cal AN/M2 machine guns with 400 rounds per gun in each wing.

In-game description

"The single-engine Chance Vought F4U Corsair was designed in 1938 for a U.S. Navy single-seater carrier-based fighter competition. The prototype showed excellent performance characteristics but was in need of substantial improvement. Even after the completion and launch of the F4U-1, a number of problems were discovered which prevented the aircraft from being used as a carrier-based fighter, and the Navy was forced to use the first F4U-1s for Marine Corps ground-based operations.

In the middle of 1943, the F4U-1A variant made its debut. To improve visibility, which was especially important when landing on an aircraft carrier, the cockpit canopy was modified to a convex shape, and the pilot’s chair was raised 17.8 cm. Dive speed problems were solved with a stall strip just outboard of the gun ports on the starboard wing’s leading edge.

The plane’s armament consisted of six 12.7 mm guns, three in each wing.

The F4U-1A was produced not only at the Chance Vought factory, where the aircraft was designed but also at the Brewster and Goodyear factories (with the designations F3A-1A and FG-1A, respectively). The latter model differed in that its wings were not folding.

The Chance Vought factory produced a total of 2126 F4U-1As."

Media

• 

  Reworked model of the F4U-1A.

See also

Links to the articles on the War Thunder Wiki that you think will be useful for the reader, for example:

• reference to the series of the aircraft;
• links to approximate analogues of other nations and research trees.

External links

Paste links to sources and external resources, such as:

• topic on the official game forum;
• encyclopedia page on aircraft;
• other literature.