Vought F4U Corsair Volume I

by Tomasz Szlagor & Leszek A. Wieliczko

Kagero Publishing

Reviewed by Brad Fallen

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Kagero’s long-running Monograph series now stands at 55 titles and rising.  Number 52 in the series is the first of what promises to be several volumes on the F4U Corsair.  This is an interesting subject choice by Kagero for several reasons.  First, as one of the most successful combat aircraft of the 1940s and early 1950s the F4U is a popular subject for aviation writers, with its development, wartime use and airframe details already covered in dozens of books.  Secondly, Kagero has addressed the F4U twice previously in this series, in volumes 9 and 26 (published in 2004 and 2006 respectively).  What can editor Leszek A. Wieliczko and translator Tomasz Szlagor achieve in this volume that hasn’t already been said?

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Examining the book, it’s clear that blanket coverage of the F4U has not been attempted.  For example, there are no technical drawings or walkaround photos.  The focus is on three areas:  airframe development and United States operational use and camouflage and markings.  (Fleet Air Arm use of the Corsair is not covered, and Royal New Zealand Air Force operations with the type only fleetingly.)  Chapters have been broken down as follows.

•  Origin and development – begins with a detailed discussion of F4U evolution through the concept, design and prototype stages of development, before moving on to the production and defining characteristics of the following Corsair variants:

• F4U-1

• F4U-1A

• F4U-1D

• F4U-1C

• F3A-1

• FG-1/FG-1A/FG-1D

• F4U-2

• XF4U-3/FG-3

• Other versions, such as field modified photoreconnaissance aircraft and Goodyear’s proposed night fighter version of the FG-1D.

• Camouflage and markings – US Navy, 1942-1945 – a five-page chapter that walks readers through the changes to US Navy aircraft camouflage and markings during this period.  Although brief, this section contains plenty of detail about paint types and when different finishes were phased in and out, so should be of considerable use to modellers.

• Frontline service.  Taking up 60 of the book’s 104 pages, this chapter is broken into two sections:

• Campaign in the Solomons (February – December 1943); and

• Aerial Offensive against Rabaul (December 1943 – March 1944).

Combined, the sections detail the F4U’s role in a series of operations that arguably broke the back of Japanese air power in the South West Pacific.  The information is presented chronologically, describing F4U use, victories and losses on a daily basis.  For example, the authors note on pp.34-36 that “on 13th April [1943] Maj. Wade Britt, the CO of VMF-213, was killed in a fatal crash….The following days VMF-213 flew routine missions, often escorting photo-recon aircraft to New Georgia….”  These descriptions are punctuated by quotations from pilots and unit diaries that provide added detail and colour. 

All three chapters conclude with select bibliographies and lists of endnotes intended to provide further clarification of points made in the text.  The bibliographies cite mainly well-known secondary sources on the F4U so there is a degree of information recycling going on, but they are nonetheless welcome for anyone interested in pursuing further research. 

This book has been written entirely in English, unlike Kagero’s earlier two Corsair Monographs that had dual English/Polish text.  The text is generally easy to read, although there is some awkward language that I suspect stems from having been written in Polish and then translated into English.  I also found some typographic errors, including a number of pages out of order in the frontline service chapter and a reference on page 34 to the Australian city of “Sidney” (rather than Sydney).

The text is accompanied by a large number of black and white period photographs showing the Corsair under development and on operations.  I have seen a number of these photos in other publications, but there are also many that are new to me.  Modellers looking for clues about colour schemes and weathering will find many of them very helpful.  Photo quality is good throughout.

The narrative chapters are followed by five short appendices, which provide usefully collated information on the following subjects:

• Operational characteristics and performance – F4U-1D/FG-1D

• Production of F4U-1/F3A-1/FG-1 Corsair

• Deliveries of F4U-1/F3A-1/FG-1 Corsair (split into producers and years)

• R-2800-8/-8W power output

• Specification – F4U-1/F3A-1/FG-1 Corsair

The book concludes with full-page colour profiles of the following machines:

• F4U-1 Corsair, 17-F-6 (BuNo unknown) of VF-17, USS Charger, February 1943.

• F4U-1A Corsair, 5 (BuNo 17656), flown by Lt(jg) Thomas Killefer of VF-17, Bougainville, February 1945 (overhead and undersurface views are also provided of this F4U).

• F4U-1 Corsair, 17-F-26 (BuNo 02438), flown by Ens. Jack M. Chasnoff of VF-17, USS Bunker Hill, July 1943.

• F4U-1A Corsair, 883 (BuNo 17883), flown by Maj. Gregory Boyington and Lt. Robert W. McClurg, Barakoma of VMF-214, Vella Lavella, December 1943.

• F4U-1A Corsair, 86/‘Lucybelle’ (BuNo probably 17886) carrying victory markings of Maj. Gregory Boyington, Commander of VMF-214, Espritu Santo, New Hebrides, November 1943.

• F4U-1 Corsair, 82/‘George’ (BuNo unknown), flown by 2/Lt. Henry S. Huidekoper of VMF-213, Munda, New Georgia, September 1943.

• F4U-1 Corsair, 18/‘Bubbles’ (BuNo unknown), flown by Lt. Howard J. Finn of VMF-124, Munda, New Georgia, summer 1943.

• F4U-1 Corsair, 7/‘My Bonnie’ (BuNo unknown) of VMF-124, Munda, New Georgia, August 1943.

• F4U-1 Corsair, 7/‘Daphne ‘C’ (BuNo 02350) flown by Capt. James N. Cupp of VMF-213, Guadalcanal, July 1943.

This book doesn’t try to be a catch-all study of the Corsair.  By focusing on development and early/mid-war operations, the editor has produced a volume that can be recommended as a useful companion to more technical studies such as Kinzey’s Detail and Scale books and the Morrissey/Hegedus SAM Datafile.  The typographic errors are a minor annoyance, but made up for by the interesting subject matter and high quality photos and profiles.  I’m looking forward to Volume 2, which will presumably chronicle Corsair development and operations in the final year of World War 2 and beyond.

Thanks to Casemate UK for the sample.

Review Copyright © 2014 by Brad Fallen
This Page Created on 18 July, 2014
Last updated 18 July, 2014

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