Carrying on the Fight
With its combination of high speed and heavy armament, the Corsair was a formidable aircraft active in the latter half of WWII. As a versatile bird it had a number of variants, among them the F4U-1D, which was the first Corsair to be officially deployed on U.S. aircraft carriers. Features unique to the F4U-1D included a frame-less semi-bubble canopy, thicker propeller blade roots, a raised pilot's seat and more. Armament took the form of six 12.7mm machine guns mounted in the gull wing, with a pylon under each side of the root allowing it to carry two 1,000lb bombs or drop tanks. The outer wing could be fitted with 4 rockets on each side. The F4U-1D was an important presence on its carriers, joining attacks on the Japanese archipelago in February 1945 as U.S. forces advanced.
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