Vought F4U Corsair
In the early months of the Korean War, World War Two
vintage fighter-bombers had to shoulder much of the ground attack responsibility. Vought's F4U-4B
originally saw combat service in 1945. Five years later, many Corsairs and their pilots found themselves
flying from carriers off the Korean coast to help stem the North Korean and later, Chinese invasions. Unlike the
well protected Douglas Skyraider, the F4U-4 was not armored against groundfire, and losses were consistently
high. Later, many of the old Corsairs were fitted with additional armor plate, that despite reducing performance, was gladly received by the pilots. In this photo, an F4U-4B
traps aboard the USS Philippine Sea after depositing a load of ordnance
on enemy positions.
Loaded with underwing ordnance, F4U-4B fighter-bombers
of VF-113 and VF-114 warm-up their engines prior to launching on another dangerous ground attack
mission.
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