F-4U-10 Corstang

by Lee Miller

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Silly Week 2008

 

Towards the end of World War II the US was far ahead of all enemies and allies in the development of advanced aircraft designs.  Prior to the end of hostilities a contract was awarded jointly to Chance Vought Aircraft and North American Aviation to develop a dual service aircraft that would utilize the best features of the US's two premier fighters of the day...the Navy's F-4U Corsair and the USAAF's P-51 Mustang.  The result of this cooperative effort was the outstanding F-4U-10 CORSTANG.  

The F-4U-10 used the fuselage of the Mustang with the wings of the Corsair. The Corsair wing, undercarriage and arrestor hook were utilized so that the CORSTANG could be used for carrier operations as well as land based.  The Mustang fuselage offered the pilot much better visibility overall.

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One marked departure from both aircraft designs was the use of a turbo-prop powerplant.  The CORSTANG marked the first use of such a powerplant in a US warplane.
 
The F-4U-10 proved to have remarkable performance characteristics.  Fortunately for Germany and Japan the war ended before the F-4U-10 could be deployed. The aircraft pictured here served with an unidentified post war Marine reserve unit. It should be noted that this particular aircraft is still carrying its World War II tri-color paint scheme.

Lee 

Photos and text © by  Lee Miller