Bent Wing Beauty: How the F4U Corsair got its Distinctive Look
Bent Wing Beauty: How the F4U Corsair got its Distinctive Look
Bent Wing Beauty: How the F4U Corsair got its Distinctive Look
Despite the ability to create a more streamlined and aerodynamic design with inline engines, the U.S. Navy stayed with the radial engine design, asking
The inverted gull wing design took advantage of maximum strength because of the angle the wing attached to the fuselage, and it minimized drag. Improved visibility below the aircraft was another benefit of the design. Ditching at sea would also be easier and safer. A new spot welding technique developed by Vought in conjunction with the Navy would give the aircraft a very smooth skin and reduced drag as well.
Open vents in the stub wing leading edge would draw in air for cooling engine oil and air for supercharger cooling equipment. These would be modified on production aircraft, and it would soon be discovered by anyone on the ground in the sights of this aircraft would hear a whistling sound as air rushed through the radiators, with the Japanese naming the aircraft ‘whistling death.’