Tamiya 61061 1/48 Vought F4U-1D Corsair

Tamiya 61061 1/48 Vought F4U-1D Corsair

Product Type: Plastic Kitset

Brand: Tamiya

Scale: 1/48

Requires assembly. Glue and paint sold separately.

DESCRIPTION
The revolutionary design of the F4U Corsair was created in 1938 in response to the request of the US Navy to design a fast fighter stationed on the decks of aircraft carriers. The challenge was taken by Chance Vought, with the goal of squeezing the most powerful of the available engines (ie the Pratt-Whitney Double Wasp engine) into the smallest possible airframe. The key was to place the clunky landing gear in the inverted, crooked wings that became the hallmark of the aircraft. The flight of the prototype took place on May 29, 1940, and the US Navy received its first serial Corsair on July 31, 1942. However, tests carried out by the US Navy on aircraft carriers revealed some flaws in the design, which meant that the first production series of the aircraft went to squadrons of the Marine Corps and operated from land bases. The first unit the F-4 received was the VMF-124 at Guadalcanal. It quickly turned out that the new machine definitely surpasses all enemy machines and, in several respects, also the F-6 Hellcat. At the same time, however, it was very difficult to pilot and required great attention during landing. Interestingly, only up to 20% of Corsair missions took off from the decks of aircraft carriers, remaining mainly a machine of the Marine Corps throughout almost the entire war. After the end of World War II, the F-4 Corsair remained in the line and took part in the Korean War (1950-1953). Technical data (version F4U-4): Maximum speed: 731 km / h, rate of climb: 19.7 m / s, maximum ceiling 12649 m, maximum range: 1115 km, armament: fixed - 6 M2 machine guns 12.7mm calibers and 4 20mm Browning cannons, suspended - up to 1800 kg of bombs.