Wow the Corsair is Aging!

[Cacia]

Yesterday, Sea Nmf, Wildcard & K and I dove the Corsair in moderately stiff current, rolling seas, and strong wind.

We did a reverse profile due to logistics and so the 117 ft dive to the bomber was our second dive. The Garden Eels hung ten in the current like question marks and the plane was teeming with fish. I had not seen the new anchor buoy, but it is nice not to have the chain on the propellar. She looks older...all of a sudden, just like me.

Is it just me...or are there suddenly less turtles? I did not see any at ko-ko crater.

 

[do it easy]

Nice shot! I can't keep up with your editing. But the pictures are great- especailly your B&W ones- they seem to fit your subject matter.

 

[kidspot]

That is a great B/W of the corsair - I may use it for my desktop if you don't mind

One day I'd love to dive there...

Aloha, Tim

 

[Cacia]

ahh...how sweet of you. sure Tim. Come on over anytime.

hey! who gave ken keys to the big house?

 

[www.scubamazing.com]

You used to have this shot of the Corsair as your Avatar didn't you?

It looks great. I wish I had your camera abilities.

 

[DA Aquamaster]

Yesterday, Sea Nmf, Wildcard & K and I dove the Corsair in moderately stiff current, rolling seas, and strong wind.

We did a reverse profile due to logistics and so the 117 ft dive to the bomber was our second dive.

The Vought F4U Corsair was a fighter not a bomber. Although like most fighters of the period and since, it also served in a fighter-bomber role.

This one is an F4U-1A or possibly an F4U-1D (or the Goodyear built FG-1 or FG-1D variants). All of the above had 2250 horse power R-2800-8W engines and 3 bladed Hamilton Standard propellers. The F4U-1D and FG-1D came from their respective factories with underwing hardpoints to allow carriage of external ordinance although earlier F4U-1, F4U-1A's and FG-1's were often field modified.

The F4U was not as pleasant to land aboard a carrier and had soem inital carrier qualification problems. Consequently it was used primarly by land based Navy and US Marine squadrons until mid 1944 when it's superior speed was desired in the fleet to provide more effective defense against Kamikaze aircraft.

In air to air combat it had an exceptional kill ratio of 11 to 1 and was also an excellent ground attack aircraft. It possesed excellent speed and an extremely good rate of roll (which was very important in terms of rolling into and out of the brief not usually more than 90 degree turns used during dogfights of that period). At speeds above 250-300 mph it could out maneuver the Japanese A6M Zero and it was arguably the best all round fighter produced in WWII. It was however overshadowed in the Pacific by the Grumman F6F which was produced in largers number and was more widely used aboard aircraft carriers, and by the North American P-51 Mustang in the much more publicized European theater.

In the end though, the F4U remained in production from 1940 until 1952 when the last F4U-7 rolled off the assembly line, long after the F6F and P-51 had ceased production. The F4U's 12 year production record was unheard of at a time when fighters were usually obsolete by the time they entered service.

 

[DennisW]

What DA said. And the pics are great. Old? Who's getting old. Not you, not me.

 

[chepar]

Great shot of the Corsair. Was that taken on Sunday?

 

[airsix]

Really nice picture, Catherine.

DA, you left out the answer to the most asked question "Why were the wings shaped like that?" Answer: The inverted gull-wing was to get enough ground clearance because the prop was so huge.

-Ben M.

 

[Walter]

The Vought F4U Corsair was a fighter not a bomber.

When I read it, I assumed she dived a bomber after the Corsair.