Goodyear Corsair

FG-1D

 

Registration: G-FGID

Operator: The Fighter Collection

Year of Manufacture 1945

Powered by one Pratt & Whitney R-2800-8

Colour Scheme. British Fleet Air Arm as KD 345 of 1850 Sqn.

 

When the Chance Vought FG-1D Corsair was introduced in 1940 it boasted the most powerful engine along with the largest diameter propeller of any fighter aircraft in history. The result of this engine and propeller combination was the first fighter to exceed 400mph. Corsairs were built right up to 1952, giving the type the honour of having the longest production run of any American piston-engined fighter. The first service engagement for the Corsair was with the US Marine Corps operating from makeshift land bases across the Pacific, and it was not until later that she was operated from aircraft carriers initially with the British Fleet Air Arm. The Corsair proved to be a formidable air superiority fighter during World War II when she was the scourge of the skies across the Pacific, and continued to deliver sterling service in later years during the Korean War.

​

Image credit: Harry Measures