2LaneCruzer
Super Member
I can't verify this, but I read that North American designed and built the B-25 without a prototype...they went from blueprint directly to production.
Bunches of things you didn't know about the Corsair
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I can't verify this, but I read that North American designed and built the B-25 without a prototype...they went from blueprint directly to production.
Diggin It
Super Star Member
That's the limit to my exposure ... Pappy Boyington as portrayed by Robert Conrad.
radios1
Elite Member
this one may be better, though. North American P-51 Mustang | The National WWII Museum | New Orleans
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MossRoad
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k0ua
Epic Contributor
Wow.. the turning fight maybe to the Hellcat, the speed climb and overall speed to the Corsair, Equal gunnery. Tell you what; put the best pilot in either plane and he will be the winner. That is the true answer.
dfkrug
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Interesting video, James. My FIL (RIP 2013) was a Corsair pilot in WW2, tho he did not see combat. He was a South Pacific transport pilot/navigator on Marine R4Ds first, then came back to the US to be trained to fly the F4U in Florida. That was in '45. The war ended, so he did not have to go back for the planned invasion of Japan.
2LaneCruzer
Super Member
Anyone read the book "Yeager"? The life story of Chuck Yeager. It's a great book, and he says that the pilot makes the difference. It's been a long time since I read it, but as I recall, he was chosen to test some enemy planes either captured or surrendered by defectors. He could get the drop on the other guy, no matter which plane he was flying.
RSKY
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If I remember my WWII aviation history correct the Hellcat was designed primarily for one purpose.. That was to wipe the Japanese Zero fighter out of the air. And it had to do this with very inexperienced pilots. And it succeeded. The Corsair was more of a general purpose fighter.
RSKY
RSKY
Diggin It
Super Star Member
What still kills me is that they identified a need (zero out the Zeroes), designed it, built in quantity, shipped them, trained crews and got them in combat all in a matter of a few months in some cases.
Today, they bicker about it in DC for years, sometimes decades, and all too often STILL don't get it right.
Today, they bicker about it in DC for years, sometimes decades, and all too often STILL don't get it right.
mapper
Veteran Member
In the early 80's my brother in law recovered a corsair that had ditched in lake Washington near Sand Point naval air station. It was restored and is on display in the Boeing Museum of Flight. After 30 years or so submerged in the lake the aluminum cylinder heads had corroded away so when the plane was raised all of the spark plugs were hanging out of the cowling. At two per cylinder there were a lot of them!
