The F4 Corsair is considered to be one of the most successful carrier-based fighter aircraft to be developed during the Second World War, although, when it first came into service, the technical experts of the U.S Navy considered this large cantilever wing aircraft to be unsuitable for use on aircraft carriers. The Corsair obtained many outstanding aerial victories. In the Pacific Ocean theatre alone, the F4U shot down over 2,000 Japanese aircraft, with a loss of only 189 Corsairs, resulting in a kill / loss ratio which has never been equaled throughout history. This aircraft was produced for ten years, until December 1952, a fact which established the Corsair as the American aircraft to remain in production for the longest period of time after the Second World War. The F4 was also used extensively by the French Naval Aviation during the war in Indochina and the Suez campaign of 1956. |
