Editing Vought F4U Corsair (section)

===World War II===

====U.S. service====
=====Navy testing and release to the U.S. Marine Corps=====

The U.S. Navy received its first production F4U-1 on 31 July 1942, though getting it into service proved difficult. 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 enormous torque of the Double Wasp engine also made it a handful for inexperienced pilots if they were forced to [[Bolter (aeronautics)|bolter]]. Early Navy pilots called the F4U the "hog", "hosenose", or "bent-wing widow maker".<ref name="Proceedings">O'Rourke, G.G, Capt. USN. "Of Hosenoses, Stoofs, and Lefthanded Spads". ''United States Naval Institute Proceedings'', July 1968.</ref>

Carrier qualification trials on the training carrier [[USS Wolverine (IX-64)|USS ''Wolverine'']] and escort carriers [[USS Core|USS ''Core'']] and [[USS Charger (CVE-30)|USS ''Charger'']] in 1942 found that, despite visibility issues and control sensitivity, the Corsair was "...an excellent carrier type and very easy to land aboard. It is no different than any other airplane."<ref>{{cite book |last=Bell|first=Dana|date=2014|title=Aircraft Pictorial #7, F4U-1 Corsair Vol. 1|location=Tucson|publisher=Classic Warships Publishing|page=2|isbn=9780985714970}}</ref> Two Navy units, [[VF-12]] (October 1942) and later [[VF-61|VF-17]] (April 1943) were equipped with the F4U. By April 1943, VF-12 had successfully completed deck landing qualification.<ref>Tillman 1979, p. 13.</ref>

At the time, the U.S. Navy also had the Grumman F6F Hellcat, which did not have the performance of the F4U, but was a better deck landing aircraft. The Corsair was declared "ready for combat" at the end of 1942, though qualified to operate only from land bases until the last of the carrier qualification issues were worked out.<ref>O'Leary 1980, p. 107.</ref> VF-17 went aboard the {{USS|Bunker Hill|CV-17|6}} in late 1943, and the Chief of Naval Operations wanted to equip four air groups with Corsairs by the end of 1943. The Commander, Air Forces, Pacific had a different opinion, stating that "In order to simplify spares problems and also to insure flexibility in carrier operations present practice in the Pacific is to assign all Corsairs to Marines and to equip FightRons [fighter squadrons] on medium and light carriers with Hellcats."<ref>Bell, p.2</ref> VF-12 soon abandoned its aircraft to the Marines. VF-17 kept its Corsairs, but was removed from its carrier, USS ''Bunker Hill'', due to perceived difficulties in supplying parts at sea.<ref>Blackburn 1989, p. 83.</ref>

The Marines needed a better fighter than the F4F Wildcat. For them, it was not as important that the F4U could be recovered aboard a carrier, as they usually flew from land bases. Growing pains aside, Marine Corps squadrons readily took to the radical new fighter.

=====Marine Corps combat=====

[[File:Boyingtons Corsair.jpg|thumb|Vought F4U-1A Corsair, BuNo 17883, of [[Pappy Boyington|Gregory "Pappy" Boyington]], the commander of [[VMA-214#World War II|VMF-214]], [[Vella Lavella]] end of 1943]]

[[Image:Vought F4U-1 Corsairs of VF-17 in flight, 1943.jpg|thumb|Early F4U-1s of VF-17]]

From February 1943 onward, the F4U operated from [[Guadalcanal]] and ultimately other bases in the [[Solomon Islands]]. A dozen USMC F4U-1s of VMF-124, commanded by [[Major (rank)|Major]] William E. Gise, arrived at [[Honiara International Airport|Henderson Field]] (code name "Cactus") on 12 February. 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 Liberator]]s on a raid against a Japanese aerodrome at [[Kahili Airfield|Kahili]]. Japanese fighters contested the raid and the Americans got the worst of it, with four P-38s, two P-40s, two Corsairs, and two Liberators lost. No more than four Japanese Zeros were destroyed. A Corsair was responsible for one of the kills, albeit due to a midair collision. The fiasco was referred to as the "Saint Valentine's Day Massacre".<ref>Styling 1995, pp. 6–9.</ref><ref>Sherrod 1952, pp. 134–135.</ref> Despite the debut, the Marines quickly learned how to make better use of the aircraft and started demonstrating its superiority over Japanese fighters. By May, the Corsair units were getting the upper hand, and VMF-124 had produced the first Corsair ace, [[Second Lieutenant]] [[Kenneth A. Walsh]], who would rack up a total of 21 kills during the war.<ref>Sherrod 1952, p. 431.</ref> He remembered:
{{Blockquote|I learned quickly that altitude was paramount. Whoever had altitude dictated the terms of the battle, and there was nothing a Zero pilot could do to change that — we had him. The F4U could outperform a Zero in every aspect except slow speed manoeuvrability and slow speed rate of climb. Therefore you avoided getting slow when combating a Zero. It took time but eventually we developed tactics and deployed them very effectively... There were times, however, that I tangled with a Zero at slow speed, one on one. In these instances I considered myself fortunate to survive a battle. Of my 21 victories, 17 were against Zeros, and I lost five aircraft in combat. I was shot down three times and I crashed one that ploughed into the line back at base and wiped out another F4U.<ref>Styling 1995, pp. 9–10.</ref>}}

VMF-113 was activated on 1 January 1943 at Marine Corps Air Station El Toro as part of Marine Base Defense Air Group 41. They were soon given their full complement of 24 F4U Corsairs. On 26 March 1944, while escorting four B-25 bombers on a raid over Ponape, they recorded their first enemy kills, downing eight Japanese aircraft. In April of that year, VMF-113 was tasked with providing air support for the landings at [[Ujelang Atoll|Ujelang]]. Since the assault was unopposed, the squadron quickly returned to striking Japanese targets in the [[Marshall Islands]] for the remainder of 1944.

Corsairs were flown by the "Black Sheep" Squadron ([[VMA-214|VMF-214]], led by Marine Major [[Pappy Boyington|Gregory "Pappy" Boyington]]) in an area of the Solomon Islands called "[[New Georgia Sound|The Slot]]". Boyington was credited with 22 kills in F4Us (of 28 total, including six in an [[American Volunteer Group|AVG]] [[Curtiss P-40|P-40]], although his score with the AVG has been disputed).<ref>Styling 1995, pp. 31, 50, 87, 93.</ref> Other noted Corsair pilots of the period included VMF-124's [[Kenneth A. Walsh|Kenneth Walsh]], [[James E. Swett]], [[Archie Donahue]], and Bill "Casey" Case; [[VMF-215]]'s [[Robert M. Hanson]] and [[Donald N. Aldrich|Donald Aldrich]]; and VF-17's [[John T. "Tommy" Blackburn|Tommy Blackburn]], Roger Hedrick, and [[Ira C. Kepford|Ira Kepford]]. Nightfighter versions equipped Navy and Marine units afloat and ashore.

One particularly unusual kill was scored by Marine Lieutenant R. R. Klingman of VMF-312 (the "Checkerboards") over Okinawa. Klingman was in pursuit of a Japanese twin-engine aircraft at high altitude when his guns jammed due to the gun lubrication thickening from the extreme cold. He flew into and chopped off the enemy's tail with the large propeller of the Corsair. Despite smashing {{convert|5|in|mm|spell=in}} off the end of his propeller blades, he managed to land safely after this [[aerial ramming]] attack. He was awarded the [[Navy Cross]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.marines.mil/News/News-Display/Article/584583/story-of-bob-drummer-pilot-legend/|title=Story of Bob; drummer, pilot, legend|website=United States Marine Corps Flagship|language=en-US|access-date=2019-10-11}}</ref>

At war's end, Corsairs were ashore on [[Okinawa Island|Okinawa]], combating the ''kamikaze'', and also were flying from fleet and escort carriers. [[VMFA-312|VMF-312]], [[VMFA-323|VMF-323]], and VMF-224 and some other Marine units met with success in the [[Battle of Okinawa]].<ref>Sherrod 1952, pp. 75–129.</ref>

=====Field modifications for land-based Corsairs=====

Since Corsairs were being operated from shore bases, while still awaiting approval for U.S. carrier operations, 965 FG-1As were built as "land planes" without their hydraulic wing folding mechanisms, hoping to improve performance by reducing aircraft weight, with the added benefit of minimizing complexity.<ref name="D’Angina 2014, p.22">D’Angina 2014, p.22.</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Bell|first=Dana|date=2015|title=Aircraft Pictorial #8, F4U-1 Corsair Vol. 2|location=Tucson|publisher=Classic Warships Publishing|page=3|isbn=978-0-9857149-9-4}}</ref> (These Corsairs’ wings could still be manually folded.<ref name="Dorr 1991, p.66">Dorr 1991, p.66.</ref>)

A second option was to remove the folding mechanism in the field using a kit, which could be done for Vought and Brewster Corsairs as well. On 6&nbsp;December 1943, the Bureau of Aeronautics issued guidance on weight-reduction measures for the F4U-1, FG-1, and F3A. Corsair squadrons operating from land bases were authorized to remove catapult hooks, arresting hooks, and associated equipment, which eliminated 48 pounds of unnecessary weight.<ref name="D’Angina 2014, p.22"/> While there are no data to indicate to what extent these modifications were incorporated, there are numerous photos in evidence of Corsairs, of various manufacturers and models, on islands in the Pacific without tailhooks installed.<ref>Sullivan 2010, p.16-21</ref>
The RNZAF Corsairs were all land based and all had the tailhooks removed.

[[Image:Ww2 157.jpg|upright|thumb|A Corsair fires its rockets at a Japanese stronghold on Okinawa]]

=====Fighter-bomber=====

Corsairs also served well as fighter-bombers in the Central Pacific and the Philippines. By early 1944, Marine pilots were beginning to exploit the type's considerable capabilities in the close-support role in amphibious landings. [[Charles Lindbergh]] flew Corsairs with the Marines as a civilian technical advisor for [[United Aircraft and Transport Corporation|United Aircraft Corporation]] in order to determine how best to increase the Corsair's payload and range in the attack role and to help evaluate future viability of single- versus twin-engine fighter design for Vought.<ref name = "sgyjgp">[http://www.charleslindbergh.com/wwii/ "Charles Lindbergh and the 475th Fighter Group" (from the book ''Lightning Strikes'')]. ''charleslindbergh.com.'' Retrieved: 5 August 2010.</ref> Lindbergh managed to get the F4U into the air with {{convert|4000|lb|kg}} of bombs, with a {{convert|2000|lb|kg}} bomb on the centerline and a {{convert|1000|lb|kg}} bomb under each wing.<ref>Jablonski 1979</ref> In the course of such experiments, he performed strikes on Japanese positions during the battle for the Marshall Islands.<ref name = "sgyjgp"/>

By the beginning of 1945, the Corsair was a full-blown "mudfighter", performing strikes with high-explosive bombs, [[napalm]] tanks, and [[High Velocity Aircraft Rocket|HVAR]]s. It proved versatile, able to operate everything from [[Bat (guided bomb)|Bat]] [[glide bomb]]s to {{convert|11.75|in|mm|abbr=on}} [[Tiny Tim (rocket)|Tiny Tim]] rockets.<ref>Veronico et al., pp. 59, 61.</ref> The aircraft was a prominent participant in the fighting for the [[Battle of Peleliu|Palaus]], [[Battle of Iwo Jima|Iwo Jima]] and Okinawa.

=====Navy service=====

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 [[Bombing of Rabaul (November 1943)|carrier raid on Rabaul]]. The squadron's pilots landed, refueled, and took off from their former home, ''Bunker Hill'' and {{USS|Essex|CV-9|6}} on 11 November 1943.<ref>Bowman 2002, p. 39.</ref>

Twelve USMC F4U-1s arrived at Henderson Field (Guadalcanal) on 12 February 1943. The U.S. Navy did not get into combat with the type until September 1943. The work done by the [[Royal Navy]]'s [[Fleet Air Arm|FAA]] meant those models qualified the type for U.S. carrier operations first. The U.S. Navy finally accepted the F4U for shipboard operations in April 1944, after the longer oleo strut was fitted, which eliminated the tendency to bounce.<ref>Tillman 1979, pp. 15–17.</ref> The first US Corsair unit to be based effectively on a carrier was the pioneer USMC squadron [[VMA-124|VMF-124]], which joined ''Essex'' in December 1944. They were accompanied by [[VMF-213]]. The increasing need for fighter protection against ''[[kamikaze]]'' attacks resulted in more Corsair units being moved to carriers.<ref>Condon 1998, pp. 4–5.</ref>

=====Sortie, kill and loss figures=====

U.S. figures compiled at the end of the war indicate that the F4U and FG flew 64,051 operational sorties for the U.S. Marines and U.S. Navy through the conflict (44% of total fighter sorties), with only 9,581 sorties (15%) flown from carrier decks.<ref name="Barber1">Barber 1946, Table 1.</ref> F4U and FG pilots claimed 2,140 air combat victories against 189 losses to enemy aircraft, for an overall kill ratio of over 11:1.<ref name="Barber2">Barber 1946, Table 2</ref> 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.<ref>[https://warfarehistorynetwork.com/daily/wwii/whistling-death-the-chance-vought-f4u-corsair/ Whistling Death: The Chance-Vought F4U Corsair] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190625034438/https://warfarehistorynetwork.com/daily/wwii/whistling-death-the-chance-vought-f4u-corsair/ |date=25 June 2019 }}. ''Warfare History Network''. 16 December 2018.</ref> Against the best Japanese opponents, the aircraft claimed a 12:1 kill ratio against the [[Mitsubishi A6M Zero]] and 6:1 against the [[Nakajima Ki-84]], [[Kawanishi N1K]]-J, and [[Mitsubishi J2M]] combined during the last year of the war.<ref name="Barber28">Barber 1946, Table 28.</ref> The Corsair bore the brunt of U.S. fighter-bomber missions, delivering {{convert|15,621|ST|MT|abbr=off}} of bombs during the war (70% of total bombs dropped by U.S. fighters during the war).<ref name="Barber2"/>

Corsair losses in World War II were as follows:
* Aerial combat: 189
* Enemy ground and shipboard anti-aircraft fire: 349
* Operational losses during combat missions: 230
* Operational losses during non-combat flights: 692
* Destroyed aboard ships or on the ground: 164<ref name="Barber2"/>

====Royal Navy====

=====Enhancement for carrier suitability=====
[[File:Corsair Mk1 Quonset Point 1943.jpg|thumb|[[Fleet Air Arm|FAA]] Corsair Is at [[Naval Air Station Quonset Point|NAS Quonset Point]], 1943.]]

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.<ref group="N">There were also some [[Gloster Gladiator|Sea Gladiator]] biplane fighters in use</ref> The Royal Navy hurriedly adopted higher-performance single-seat aircraft such as the [[Hawker Hurricane variants#Sea Hurricanes|Hawker Sea Hurricane]] and the less robust [[Supermarine Seafire]] alongside, but neither aircraft had sufficient range to operate at a distance from a carrier task force. The Corsair was welcomed as a more robust and versatile alternative.<ref>Styling 1995, pp. 67–68.</ref>

In November 1943, the Royal Navy received its first batch of 95 Vought F4U-1s, which were given [[British military aircraft designation systems|the designation]] "Corsair [Mark] I". The first squadrons were assembled and trained on the U.S. East Coast and then shipped across the Atlantic. The Royal Navy put the Corsair into carrier operations immediately. They found its landing characteristics dangerous, suffering a number of fatal crashes, but considered the Corsair to be the best option they had.

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 {{convert|8|in|mm|abbr=on}} to clear the deckhead.<ref name="Styling 1995, p.68.">Styling 1995, p. 68.</ref> The change in span brought about the added benefit of improving the [[sink rate]], reducing the F4U's propensity to "float" in the final stages of landing.<ref name="Styling 1995, p.68."/>

The Royal Navy developed a number of modifications to the Corsair that made carrier landings more practical. Among these were a bulged canopy (similar to the [[Malcolm Hood]]), raising the pilot's seat {{convert|7|in|mm|abbr=on}},<ref>{{Cite web|title=Vought F4U Corsair|url=http://www.airvectors.net/avf4u.html#m2|access-date=2023-02-20|first=Greg|last=Goebel|website=www.airvectors.net}}</ref> 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.<ref name="Swinhert"/> The curved approach used with the Seafire was also adopted for landing Corsairs, ensuring the flight deck was kept in sight as long as possible.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/air-space-magazine/spoiler-alert-1-180977803 |title=How the Navy Tamed the Killer Corsair: A little piece of aluminum solved the WW2 fighter's vicious behavior problem. |last=Graff |first=Cory |date=2021-06-01 |website=Smithsonian Magazine |publisher=Smithsonian |access-date=2023-07-15 |quote=But it was the British Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm who came up with the concept that brought Corsairs to sea duty for good. The pilots developed a long, curving landing approach to keep the carrier's deck in sight until the last moments before touchdown.}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://theaviationgeekclub.com/heres-how-the-royal-navy-fixed-the-f4u-shortcomings-for-which-the-us-navy-deemed-the-corsair-unsuitable-for-aircraft-carrier-operations |title=Here's how the Royal Navy fixed the F4U shortcomings for which the US Navy deemed the Corsair unsuitable for aircraft carrier operations |last=Leone |first=Dario |date=2020-08-20 |website=theaviationgeekclub.com |publisher=The Aviation Geek Club |access-date=2023-07-15 |quote=We made the Corsair available to the Royal Navy who had been flying Seafires (another long nosed aircraft) and simply adapted the Seafire landing pattern to the Corsair. Problem solved.}}</ref>

=====Deployment=====

The Royal Navy initially received 95 "birdcage" F4U-1s from Vought which were designated Corsair Mk I in Fleet Air Arm service.<ref name="March 1998, p.237">March 1998, p.237.</ref> Next from Vought came 510 "blown-canopy" F4U-1A/-1Ds, which were designated Corsair Mk II (the final 150 equivalent to the F4U-1D, but not separately designated in British use).<ref name="March 1998, p.237-238">March 1998, p.237-238.</ref> 430 Brewster Corsairs (334 F3A-1 and 96 F3A-1D), more than half of Brewster's total production, were delivered to Britain as the Corsair Mk III.<ref name="March 1998, p.239">March 1998, p.239.</ref> 857 Goodyear Corsairs (400 FG-1/-1A and 457 FG-1D) were delivered and designated Corsair Mk IV.<ref name="March 1998, p. 239">March 1998, p. 239.</ref> The Mk IIs and Mk IVs were the only versions to be used in combat.<ref>Styling 1995, p. 73.</ref>

The Royal Navy cleared the F4U for carrier operations well before the U.S. Navy and showed that the Corsair Mk II could be operated with reasonable success even from [[escort carrier]]s. It was not without problems; one was excessive wear of the arrester wires, due both to the weight of the Corsair and the understandable tendency of the pilots to stay well above the stalling speed. A total of 2,012 Corsairs were supplied to the United Kingdom.<ref name="Swanboroughp404">Swanborough and Bowers 1976, p. 404.</ref>

[[Fleet Air Arm]] (FAA) units were created and equipped in the United States, at [[Quonset Point]] or [[Naval Air Station Brunswick|Brunswick]] and then shipped to war theaters aboard escort carriers. The first FAA Corsair unit was [[1830 Naval Air Squadron|1830 NAS]], created on the first of June 1943, and soon operating from {{HMS|Illustrious|87|6}}. At the end of the war, 18 FAA squadrons were operating the Corsair. British Corsairs served both in Europe and in the Pacific. The first, and also most important, European operations were the series of attacks ([[Operation Tungsten]]) in April, July, and August 1944 on the {{Ship|German battleship|Tirpitz}}, for which Corsairs from {{HMS|Victorious|R38|6}} and {{HMS|Formidable|67|6}} provided fighter cover.<ref>Thetford 1978, p. 73.</ref> It appears the Corsairs did not encounter aerial opposition on these raids.{{citation needed|date=April 2021}}

From April 1944, Corsairs from the [[British Pacific Fleet]] took part in several [[Bombing of South East Asia, 1944–1945|major air raids in South East Asia]] beginning with [[Operation Cockpit]], an attack on Japanese targets at [[Sabang, Indonesia|Sabang]] island, in the [[Dutch East Indies]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=J |first=Cox, Leonard |date=1998-09-18 |title=Attack on Sabang, Northern Sumatra, 1944 |url=https://navyhistory.org.au/attack-on-sabang-northern-sumatra-1944/ |access-date=2022-11-20 |website=Naval Historical Society of Australia |language=en-AU}}</ref>

In July and August 1945, Corsair naval squadrons 1834, 1836, 1841, and 1842 took part in a series of strikes on the Japanese mainland, near Tokyo. These squadrons operated from ''Victorious'' and ''Formidable.''<ref>Thetford 1978, p. 74.</ref> On 9 August 1945, days before the end of the war, Corsairs from ''Formidable'' attacked [[Shiogama]] harbor on the northeast coast of Japan. [[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 ''[[Japanese escort ship Amakusa|Amakusa]]'', sinking it with a {{convert|1000|lb|kg|abbr=on}} bomb but crashing into the sea. He was posthumously awarded Canada's last [[Victoria Cross]], becoming the second fighter pilot of the war to earn a Victoria Cross as well as the final Canadian casualty of World War II.<ref>{{citation |url=http://www.vac-acc.gc.ca/general/sub.cfm?source=history/secondwar/citations/gray |title=Lt. Robert Hampton Gray |publisher=Veterans Affairs Canada |access-date=5 August 2010 |archive-date=29 October 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101029030416/http://www.vac-acc.gc.ca/general/sub.cfm?source=history%2Fsecondwar%2Fcitations%2Fgray |url-status=dead }}</ref> {{#tag:ref|Although P/O [[Andrew Mynarski]]'s Victoria Cross was actually awarded in 1946, it commemorated an action in 1944.|group=N}}

[[File:Corsair being pushed on elevator HMS Glory (R62) 1945.jpg|thumb|left|1831 NAS Corsair aboard {{HMS|Glory|R62|6}}, off [[Rabaul]], 1945, with added "bars" based on their 28 June 1943 adoption by the U.S. Navy]]
FAA Corsairs originally fought in a camouflage scheme with a Dark Slate Grey/Extra Dark Sea Grey disruptive pattern on top and Sky undersides, but were later painted overall dark blue.{{citation needed|date=April 2021}} As it had become imperative for all [[Allies of World War II|Allied]] aircraft in the Pacific Theater of World War II to abandon all use of any "red devices" in their national insignia — to prevent any chance of misidentification with Japanese military aircraft, all of which bore the circular, all-red ''[[Hinomaru]]'' insignia (nicknamed a "meatball" by Allied aircrew{{citation needed|date=April 2021}}) that is [[Japan Air Self-Defense Force|still in use to this day]], the United States removed all areas of red color (specifically removing the red center to the roundel) and removed any sort of [[Fin flash|national fin/rudder markings]], which at that time had [[Flag Acts (United States)#Flag Act of 1818|seven horizontal red stripes]], from the American national aircraft insignia scheme by 6 May 1942. The British did likewise, starting with a simple paintover with white paint, of their "Type C" roundel's red center, at about the time the U.S. Navy removed the red-center from their roundel. Later, a shade of [[slate gray]] center color replaced the white color on the earlier roundel. When the Americans starting using the added white bars to either side of their blue/white star roundel on 28 June 1943; SEAC British Corsairs, most all of which still used the earlier blue/white Type C roundel with the red center removed, added similar white bars to either side of their blue-white roundels to emulate the Americans.{{citation needed|date=April 2021}}

In all, out of 18 carrier-based squadrons, eight saw combat, flying intensive ground attack/interdiction operations and claiming 47.5 aircraft shot down.<ref>Styling 1995, pp. 69, 73.</ref>

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.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Tony Nye's Recollections of the Archerfield Quarry|url=https://www.ozatwar.com/nye.htm|access-date=2023-02-20|website=www.ozatwar.com}}</ref>{{Better source needed|reason=One person's recollection. Also needs clarifying was this every FAA Corsair or one ship's? |date=April 2015}}

====Royal New Zealand Air Force====
Equipped with obsolescent [[Curtiss P-40]]s, Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) squadrons in the [[Pacific War|South Pacific]] performed impressively, in particular in the air-to-air role. The American government accordingly decided to give New Zealand early access to the Corsair, especially as it was not initially being used from carriers. In addition as the war moved up the island chain the RNZAF moved from the US Army Aircorps zone to the US Navy zone reporting into Chester Nimitz and needed to use the US Navy supply lines making the P40 unworkable. Some 424 Corsairs equipped 13 RNZAF squadrons, including [[No. 14 Squadron RNZAF]] and [[No. 15 Squadron RNZAF]], replacing [[Douglas SBD Dauntless]]es as well as P-40s.<ref name="Russell 1984 p. 28.">Russell 1984, p. 28.</ref> Most of the F4U-1s{{#tag:ref|Although these are often call '''F4U-1A'''s, apparently this was not an official wartime designation but was one applied postwar to indicate that there were production line modifications. The same comment applies to the '''-1B'''.<ref name="Russell 1984, p. 27."/>|group=N}} were assembled by Unit 60 with a further batch assembled and flown at [[RNZAF Station Hobsonville]]. In total there were 336 F4U-1s and 41 F4U-1Ds used by the RNZAF during the Second World War. Sixty FG-1Ds arrived late in the war.<ref name="Russell 1984, pp. 48-87.">Russell 1984, pp. 48–87.</ref>

[[File:RAAF Boomerang with RNZAF Corsairs on Bougainville 1945.jpg|thumb|RNZAF Corsairs with a [[Royal Australian Air Force]] [[CAC Boomerang]] on [[Battle of Bougainville|Bougainville]], 1945.]]
The first deliveries of lend-lease Corsairs began in March 1944 with the arrival of 30 F4U-1s at the RNZAF Base Depot Workshops (Unit 60) on the island of [[Espiritu Santo]] in the [[New Hebrides]]. From April, these workshops became responsible for assembling all Corsairs for the RNZAF units operating the aircraft in the South West Pacific; and a Test and Despatch flight was set up to test the aircraft after assembly. By June 1944, 100 Corsairs had been assembled and test flown.<ref name="Russell 1984 p. 28."/> The first squadrons to use the Corsair were 20 and 21 Squadrons on Espiritu Santo, operational in May 1944. The organization of the RNZAF in the Pacific and New Zealand meant that only the pilots and a small staff belonged to each squadron (the maximum strength on a squadron was 27 pilots): squadrons were assigned to several Servicing Units (SUs, composed of 5–6 officers, 57 NCOs, 212 airmen) which carried out aircraft maintenance and operated from fixed locations:<ref>Russell 1984, pp. 32–33.</ref> hence F4U-1 ''NZ5313'' was first used by 20 Squadron/1 SU on Guadalcanal in May 1944; 20 Squadron was then relocated to 2 SU on [[Bougainville Island|Bougainville]] in November.<ref>Russell 1984, p. 49.</ref> In all there were ten front line SUs plus another three based in New Zealand. Because each of the SUs painted its aircraft with distinctive markings<ref>Russell 1984, pp. 40–45.</ref> and the aircraft themselves could be repainted in several different color schemes, the RNZAF Corsairs were far less uniform in appearance than their American and FAA contemporaries.<ref>Russell 1984, pp. 90–104.</ref> By late 1944, the F4U had equipped all ten Pacific-based fighter squadrons of the RNZAF.<ref name="Russell 1984, pp. 48-87."/>

By the time the Corsairs arrived, there were very few Japanese aircraft left in New Zealand's allocated sectors of the Southern Pacific, and despite the RNZAF squadrons extending their operations to more northern islands, they were primarily used for close support of American, Australian, and New Zealand soldiers fighting the Japanese. At the end of 1945, all Corsair squadrons but one (No. 14) were disbanded. That last squadron was based in Japan, until the Corsair was retired from service in 1947.<ref>Tillman 1979, pp. 103–105.</ref>

No. 14 Squadron was given new FG-1Ds and in March 1946 transferred to [[Iwakuni]], Japan as part of the [[British Commonwealth Occupation Force]].<ref name="Tillman p. 192">Tillman 1979, p. 192.</ref> Only one airworthy example of the 437 aircraft procured survives: FG-1D ''NZ5648''/''ZK-COR'', owned by the Old Stick and Rudder Company at [[Masterton]], New Zealand.<ref>[http://www.ofmc.co.uk/aircraft/corsair_hist.htm "Chance Vought FG-1D Corsair."]''The Old Flying Machine Company''. Retrieved: 21 October 2013. {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070207064819/http://www.ofmc.co.uk/aircraft/corsair_hist.htm |date=7 February 2007 }}</ref>

====Captured Corsairs====
On 18 July 1944, a British Corsair ([[United Kingdom military aircraft serials|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''. It flew in company with a [[Fairey Barracuda]]. Due to technical problems the Corsair made an emergency landing in a field in [[Hamarøy Municipality]] north of [[Bodø (town)|Bodø]], Norway. The pilot, Lt Mattholie, was taken prisoner and the aircraft was captured undamaged. Luftwaffe interrogators{{citation needed|date=September 2023}} failed to get the pilot to explain how to fold the wings so as to transport the aircraft to [[Narvik]]. The Corsair was ferried by boat for further investigation. Later the Corsair was taken to Germany and listed as one of the captured enemy aircraft (''Beuteflugzeug'') based at ''[[Rechlin-Lärz Airfield|Erprobungsstelle Rechlin]]'', the central German military aviation test facility and the equivalent of the [[Royal Aircraft Establishment]] for 1944 under repair. This was probably the only Corsair captured by the Germans.<ref>{{cite web |title=Captured Fleet Air Arm Aircraft |url=http://www.fleetairarmarchive.net/Aircraft/FAACapturedAircraftHomepage.html |website=fleetairarmarchive.net |access-date=1 June 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100819085241/http://www.fleetairarmarchive.net/aircraft/faacapturedaircrafthomepage.html |archive-date=19 August 2010 |url-status=usurped}}</ref>

In 1945, U.S. forces captured an F4U Corsair near the Kasumigaura flight school. The Japanese had repaired it by covering damaged parts on the wing with fabric and using spare parts from crashed F4Us. It seems Japan captured two force-landed Corsairs fairly late in the war and may have tested one in flight.<ref group=N>A photograph exists of an F4U-1 being examined on the ground by Japanese airmen.</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Prados |first=John |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aAhnAAAAMAAJ |title=Combined Fleet Decoded: The Secret History of American Intelligence and the Japanese Navy in World War II |date=1995 |publisher=Random House |isbn=978-0-679-43701-7 |pages=429 |language=en}}</ref>