THE ROYAL NAVY operated over 2,000 F4U Corsairs during World War Two. It was flying them from aircraft carriers when the U.S. Navy had declared the aircraft unsuitable for deck operations.
“Of all the aircraft I had seen, it was the most wickedlooking bastard. It looked truly vicious. I saw no reason why a Corsair shouldn't kill me and that day I sat down and typed my last will and testament.” Lt. Norman Hanson, RNVR 1833 NAS later Lt. Cdr. DSC), July 1943
Fighters for the Fleet Air Arm
At the start of WW II in September 1939, the British Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm consisted of 20 Naval Air Squadrons with just 232 aircraft. In the early part of the war, the Royal Navy's fighter aircraft requirements were met by cumbersome two-seat designs, such as the Blackburn Skua and the Fairey Fulmar, on the assumption that the only opposition they would meet would be long-range bombers or flying boats. When actual operations, particularly in the Mediterranean, proved this to be a false assumption, the Royal Navy hurriedly adopted higher performance, single-seat fighter aircraft, such as the Hawker Sea Hurricane and the rather fragile Supermarine Seafire, both modified, hooked versions of RAF land-based fighters. However, neither of these types had sufficient range to operate at any great distance from a carrier task force.
During the early war years, the Royal Navy RN) acquired some batches of American aircraft built for other countries, such as France, Belgium and Greece, which did not reach their intended buyers due to the German advances in Europe. Most notably, the Grumman F4F Wildcat, initially known as the Martlet"” by the RN, entered Fleet Air Arm FAA) service this way, and on December 25, 1940, a Martlet from 840 Naval Air Squadron NAS) was the first U.S. fighter in British service to shoot downa German aircraft.
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der November - December 2022-Ausgabe von Flight Journal.
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Diese Geschichte stammt aus der November - December 2022-Ausgabe von Flight Journal.
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Scourge of the Allied Fighters
IT HAD TO BE THE MOST HELPLESS FEELING in the world: you're at 25,000 feet over Europe knowing that your primary function is to drop bombs-or flying escort for the bombers while being a slow-moving target for some of the world's finest shooters. However, you have John Browning's marvelous .50 caliber invention to give some degree of protection. Unfortunately, you're absolutely helpless against flak. Piloting and gunnery skills play no role in a game where sheer chance makes life and death decisions. For that reason, the Krupp 88 mm Flak 18/36/37 AA cannon could be considered WW II's ultimate stealth fighter. You never saw it coming.
ZERO MYTH, MYSTERY, AND FACT
A test pilot compares the A6M5 Zero to U.S. fighters
Fw 190 STURMBÖCKE
The Luftwaffe's \"Battering Rams\" against the USAAF heavy bombers
American BEAUTY
\"Forgotten Fifteenth\" top-scoring Mustang ace John J. Voll
BANSHEE WAIL!
Flying Skulls over Burma
KILLER CORSAIR
Albert Wells, Death Rattlers Ace
BACKSTREET BRAWLER
A young man, his Hurricane and the Battle of Britain
Still Flying After All These Years
One of the oldest airworthy J-3 Cubs
NOORDUYN NORSEMAN
Canada's rugged, fabric-covered workhorse
A good landing is one you can walk away from
NO, THIS IS NOT A SCENE FROM A MOVIE where the hero staggers away from a \"good landing\" on Mindoro, Philippine Islands, after being shot down by a Japanese Zero.