[4][5] Early problems with carrier landings and logistics led to it being eclipsed as the dominant carrier-based fighter by the Grumman F6F Hellcat, powered by the same Double Wasp engine first flown on the Corsair's initial prototype in 1940.

While employing this new technology, the Corsair was also the last American-produced fighter aircraft to feature fabric as the skinning for the top and bottom of each outer wing, aft of the main spar and armament bays, and for the ailerons, elevators, and rudder.

In part because of its advances in technology and a top speed greater than existing Navy aircraft, numerous technical problems had to be solved before the Corsair entered service.

[25] In addition, if the throttle were suddenly advanced (for example, during an aborted landing) the left wing could stall and drop so quickly that the fighter could flip over with the rapid increase in power.

The undercarriage bounce took more time to solve, but eventually a "bleed valve" incorporated in the legs allowed the hydraulic pressure to be released gradually as the aircraft landed.

The framed "birdcage" style canopy provided inadequate visibility for deck taxiing, and the long "hose nose" and nose-up attitude of the Corsair made it difficult to see straight ahead.

The first recorded combat engagement was on 14 February 1943, when Corsairs of VMF-124 under Major Gise assisted P-40s and P-38s in escorting a formation of Consolidated B-24 Liberators on a raid against a Japanese aerodrome at Kahili.

Corsairs were flown by the "Black Sheep" Squadron (VMF-214, led by Marine Major Gregory "Pappy" Boyington) in an area of the Solomon Islands called "The Slot".

[45] Other noted Corsair pilots of the period included VMF-124's Kenneth Walsh, James E. Swett, Archie Donahue, and Bill "Casey" Case; VMF-215's Robert M. Hanson and Donald Aldrich; and VF-17's Tommy Blackburn, Roger Hedrick, and Ira Kepford.

In November 1943, while operating as a shore-based unit in the Solomon Islands, VF-17 reinstalled the tail hooks so its F4Us could land and refuel while providing top cover over the task force participating in the carrier raid on Rabaul.

[59] While this gave the Corsair the lowest loss rate of any fighter of the Pacific War, this was due in part to operational circumstances; it primarily faced air-to-air combat in the Solomon Islands and Rabaul campaigns (as well as at Leyte and for kamikaze interception), but as operations shifted north and its mission shifted to ground attack the aircraft saw less exposure to enemy aircraft, while other fighter types were exposed to more air combat.

[59] Corsair losses in World War II were as follows: In the early days of World War II, Royal Navy fighter requirements had been based on cumbersome two-seat designs, such as the fighter/dive-bomber Blackburn Skua (and its turreted derivative the Blackburn Roc) and the fighter/reconnaissance Fairey Fulmar, since it was expected that they would encounter only long-range bombers or flying boats and that navigation over featureless seas required the assistance of a radio operator/navigator.

In Royal Navy service, because of the limited hangar deck height in several classes of British carrier, many Corsairs had their outer wings "clipped" by 8 in (200 mm) to clear the deckhead.

Among these were a bulged canopy (similar to the Malcolm Hood), raising the pilot's seat 7 in (180 mm),[64] and wiring shut the cowl flaps across the top of the engine compartment, diverting oil and hydraulic fluid spray around the sides of the fuselage.

Royal Canadian Navy Volunteer Reserve pilot, Lieutenant Robert Hampton Gray, of 1841 Squadron was hit by flak but pressed home his attack on the Japanese destroyer escort Amakusa, sinking it with a 1,000 lb (450 kg) bomb but crashing into the sea.

[77] At the end of World War II, under the terms of the Lend-Lease agreement, the aircraft had to be paid for or to be returned to the U.S. As the UK did not have the means to pay for them, the Royal Navy Corsairs were pushed overboard into the sea in Moreton Bay off Brisbane, Australia.

[78][better source needed] Equipped with obsolescent Curtiss P-40s, Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) squadrons in the South Pacific performed impressively, in particular in the air-to-air role.

[87] On 18 July 1944, a British Corsair (serial JT404) of 1841 Naval Air Squadron, was involved in anti-submarine patrol from HMS Formidable as it returned to Scapa Flow after the Operation Mascot attack on the German battleship Tirpitz.

[96] Lieutenant Thomas J. Hudner, Jr., flying an F4U-4 of VF-32 off USS Leyte, was awarded the Medal of Honor for crash landing his Corsair in an attempt to rescue his squadron mate, Ensign Jesse L. Brown, whose aircraft had been forced down by antiaircraft fire near Changjin.

The next day, the carrier USS Saipan delivered 25 war-weary ground attack ex-USMC AU-1 Corsairs[101] (flown by VMA-212 at the end of the Korean War) to Tourane Air Base.

During three months operating over Vietnam (including in support of the Battle of Dien Bien Phu), the Corsairs flew 959 combat sorties totaling 1,335 flight hours.

[103] As soon as they disembarked from the carriers that took part in Operation Musketeer, at the end of 1956, all three Corsair Flotillas moved to Telergma and Oran airfields in Algeria from where they provided CAS and helicopter escort.

French paratroopers, escorted by Corsairs of the 12F and 17F Flotillas, were dropped to reinforce the base and the Aéronavale launched air strikes on Tunisian troops and vehicles between 19–21 July, carrying out more than 150 sorties.

Bob Love (a Korean war ace), Chuck Lyford, Ben Hall, and Lynn Garrison are believed to have flown combat missions, but it has never been confirmed.

For these reasons, most Corsairs initially went to Marine Corps squadrons which operated off land-based runways, with some early Goodyear-built examples (designated FG-1A) being built with fixed wings[N 7].

[107] This performance advantage, combined with the ability to take severe punishment, meant a pilot could place an enemy aircraft in the killing zone of the F4U's six .50 (12.7 mm) M2 Browning machine guns and keep him there long enough to inflict major damage.

These Corsairs introduced a 6 in (150 mm)-long stall strip just outboard of the gun ports on the right wing leading edge and improved undercarriage oleo struts which eliminated bouncing on landing, making these the first truly "carrier capable" F4Us.

These modifications caused extra drag, but the additional fuel carried by the two drop tanks would still allow the aircraft to fly relatively long missions despite heavy, un-aerodynamic loads.

The aircraft required an air scoop under the nose and the unarmored wing fuel tanks of 62 US gal (230 L) capacities were removed for better maneuverability at the expense of maximum range.

[128] AU-1: U.S. Marines attack variant with extra armor to protect the pilot and fuel tank, and the oil coolers relocated inboard to reduce vulnerability to ground fire.