This is the remarkable story of an airplane that became a legend--with a sleek silhouette and bent wings, it doubled as a day and night fighter, could fly off carriers or from land, and served both as a dive bomber and reconnaissance plane. Filled with facts and figures, this fast-paced history begins with the nerve-wracking test flights of the 1940s and concludes with the F4Us that were active thirty-eight years later. Placed skillfully in between are the stories that gave birth to the legend: the exploits of the aces, including the Medal of Honor recipient who shot down twenty-five enemy planes, and the details of the combat missions of Charles A. Lindbergh. During thirty months of combat in World War II with the U.S. Navy and Marines, the Corsair shot down more than two thousand Japanese planes. In Korea the U-bird, as it was called, was credited with ten aerial victories.
A trip down memory lane for anyone who has followed the career of this Cadillac of the props, this new paperback edition of a book first published in hardcover in 1979 offers fine historical aviation reading that presents a riveting picture of the men and machine that helped win two wars.
Customer Reviews:
Avg. Customer Rating: 4.5 / 5.0
Not a very human story -- very much about the machine:
I bought this because I wanted a good background to the combat actions of the Corsair in WW2, plus something about its origins. I thought it would do that, but mostly through the stories of the individuals who flew the things. It did this, but with much more of a focus on the machine, I thought, than I had wanted. Sure, individuals are mentioned, but there's not much life in any of them -- they show up, climb or dive at so many feet per minute or at such and such knots, shoot down x many planes, and... more info
Great book!:
The best overall history on the Corsair. (trust me I have almost all of them, and this one twice)
A little light on technical info, but for that you really should own Americas Hundred Thousand, by Francis H. Dean. Easy read as well, not overly dry. Some fun info like Marines using there Corsairs to Make Icecream! Yes durring the war!
Nice background read for Corsair enthousiasts:
Though not the book I would recommend to my girlfriend, I read it in one session from front to cover. Is it because I was born too late to fly this plane myself? The nice thing for me about this book is that I got the feeling that it took me back in time and let me experience wat it was like -or at least what I thought it would be like-. There are enough photographs to prevent you from drowning in text and evere aspect of the plane gets covered, with the exception of what it was to maintain a Corsair... more info
Nice background read for Corsair enthousiasts:
Though not the book I would recommend to my girlfriend, I read it in one session from front to cover. Is it because I was born too late to fly this plane myself? The nice thing for me about this book is that I got the feeling that it took me back in time and let me experience wat it was like -or at least what I thought it would be like-. There are enough photographs to prevent you from drowning in text and evere aspect of the plane gets covered, with the exception of what it was to maintain a Corsair... more info
