Specifications compared
| Variant compared | Sea Fury FB.11 | F4U-4 Corsair |
|---|---|---|
| First flight | 21 Feb 1945 (Sea Fury) | 29 May 1940 (prototype) |
| Entered service | Sep 1947 (Royal Navy) | 28 Dec 1942 (type) |
| Max speed | 460 mph (740 km/h) at 18,000 ft | 446 mph (717 km/h) |
| Engine | Bristol Centaurus 18, 2,480 hp | Pratt & Whitney R-2800-18W, 2,380 hp |
| Armament | 4 × 20 mm Hispano Mk V cannon; 2,000 lb bombs or 16 rockets | 6 × .50 in M2 Browning MG; 4,000 lb bombs or 8 rockets |
| Number built | 864 | 12,571+ (all versions) |
| Crew | 1 | 1 |
The Corsair
The Corsair flew on 29 May 1940. Its large propeller needed long undercarriage legs, so Vought used an inverted gull wing to shorten them.
It was hard to land on a carrier at first. The long nose blocked the pilot's view, the undercarriage bounced, and the left wing could drop without warning.
Early US Navy pilots nicknamed it the bent-wing widow maker.
The Corsair in the Fleet Air Arm
The Royal Navy received its first 95 Corsairs in mid-1943. In all, 2,012 went to Britain from Vought, Brewster and Goodyear.
British work cleared the Corsair for carrier operations before the US Navy did. The Navy developed a curving approach that kept the deck in sight, later adopted by the Americans.
On 9 August 1945 Lieutenant Robert Hampton Gray of 1841 Squadron sank a Japanese escort ship in his Corsair. He was killed and received the Victoria Cross.
The Sea Fury
The Sea Fury was Hawker's last piston-engined fighter. The Fury flew on 1 September 1944, and the naval Sea Fury on 21 February 1945. It entered Royal Navy service in September 1947.
Its Bristol Centaurus radial gave 2,480 hp. The Sea Fury reached 460 mph and climbed to 20,000 ft in under five minutes. It was the fastest of Hawker's piston fighters.
The Sea Fury sold widely abroad, to Australia, Canada, the Netherlands, Pakistan and others. Cuban Sea Furies flew during the Bay of Pigs invasion in 1961.
Korea and the MiG
Sea Furies flew from HMS Ocean and Glory over Korea. On 8 August 1952 Lieutenant Peter Carmichael of 802 Squadron was credited with shooting down a MiG-15.
The credit is not straightforward. Carmichael credited the whole flight, and another pilot in it, Brian Ellis, later claimed the kill himself. It was still a rare piston-engined victory over a jet.
Hawker built 864 Sea Furies. More than 12,571 Corsairs were built, in production until 1953.
Where to see a Sea Fury and a Corsair
The Fleet Air Arm Museum at Yeovilton shows Sea Fury FB.11 WJ231 and Corsair IV KD431, a wartime Fleet Air Arm aircraft. IWM Duxford adds a Sea Fury but no Corsair.
| Museum | Adult entry | Airframes | Headline exhibit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fleet Air Arm MuseumYeovil, Somerset | £21 | 97 | Concorde 002 (G-BSST), the first British-assembled Concorde, which made her maiden flight from Filton in 1969 and now headlines a hall of… |
Frequently asked
Was the Sea Fury faster than the Corsair?
Slightly. The Sea Fury reached 460 mph; the late-war F4U-4 Corsair about 446 mph. The Corsairs flown by the Fleet Air Arm were earlier and slower versions.
Did the Royal Navy fly Corsairs?
Yes, 2,012 of them. The Fleet Air Arm cleared the Corsair for carrier use before the US Navy and flew it against Japan in 1945.
Where can I see a Sea Fury and a Corsair together?
At the Fleet Air Arm Museum, Yeovilton, which holds the only Corsair in the gazetteer.