F4U Corsair World War 2 Military Fighter Airplane Books. 

Bent Wings
Softbound Book

F4U Corsair Action & Accidents: True Tales of Trial & Terror! Blechman. You are in an F4U Corsair, turning toward the carrier and preparing all the controls for a night carrier landing. You are dive-bombing the Japanese battleship Yamato. You are in combat and watch your best friend get shot down… 43 "tales of trial and terror" by ten pilots who lived to tell them! 376 pgs., 5¼"x 8¼", sfbd.
#0005485

by Fred Blechman 
Paperback - 376 pages 1 edition (May 1999) 

Book Description 
You are in an F4U Corsair, turning toward the carrier and preparing all the controls for a night carrier landing. You are dive-bombing the Japanese battleship Yamato. You are in combat and watch your best friend get shot down 

About the Author 
Fred Blechman flew F4U-5 Corsairs with the VF-14 Tophatters. He made two Mediterranean carrier cruises,  and numerous Caribbean carrier deployments from 1950-1952. Since 1961 he has written 750 magazine articles and seven books about microcomputers, electronics and flying. 

Through Bruce Porter's  writing, you'll live the challenges, frustrations, and triumphs of training, of victories in  a Corsair in the Solomons, and of achieving ace status as a night fighter at Okinawa. A fabulous Marine combat story with an introduction by "Pappy" Boyington. 280 pgs., 20 photos, 6"x 9", sfbd.

Aircraft of the Aces Vol. 8

Styling. This versatile aircraft saw service with the U.S. Navy and Marines, the British Fleet Air Arm and the RNZAF. Most of the F4U pilots who recount their experience within these pages considered it to be the best all-round fighter in the Pacific theater. 96 pages including 18 pages of color profiles, 100+ photographs, 3-view drawings and a list of Corsair aces. 7¼"x 9¾", softcover.
#0001653

Well worth the price, and probably the best F4U book written to date. This book examines each model with stories from aces, test pilots, and others who flew the plane. Good coverage of the radar equipped night fighters, Corsairs in service in South America, in the movies, and RACERS! Too bad it wasn't put out in hardback.

• ISBN-10: 0879388544
• ISBN-13: 978-0879388546

VMF-121 was established in June, 1941 and deployed to Guadalcanal in October, 1942, flying the Grumman F4F-Wildcat. The unit later converted to the F4U Corsair  and remained in combat until the end of the war. One of the Marine’s highest scoring  aces, Joe Foss, flew with VMF-121. The squadron had a total of fourteen aces on its  roles. Over 150 photos, 8 pages of color, 80 pgs., 8½"x 11", sfbd.

Tillman. Sleek, clean, innovative: the Corsair was loaded with power and potential.  Here is a look at the design and construction of the aircraft, including carrier action  photos, air racing Corsairs, Korean combat models, and the F2G-the ultimate Corsair.  104 pgs. with 125 color and B&W photos and 15 drawings and diagrams. 8½"x 11", sfbd.

The WarbirdTech series is the first new, innovative look at military aircraft to arrive in the marketplace in the last  fifteen years. Individual volumes in this series provide a first-ever "layman's technical" analysis and review of the  world's most exciting combat aircraft. Included are photos, drawings and excerpts from previously "secret" and  "restricted" technical manuals produced by the government and the aircraft manufacturers. Included are vintage  photos of aircraft during prototype and manufacturing stages, exploded views, cutaways and phantom drawings  form tech manuals, disassembled aircraft, rare variants and experimental models etc. Special emphasis is placed  on the unique and ground-breaking design and performance aspects of each aircraft. 

This series is for the enthusiast who has read all the combat stories, seen all the camouflage and markings books and now wants to learn the fascinating technical details behind the design and performance of combat aircraft. 

A photo essay of the F4U Corsair covering the XF4U through the F2G.  Featuring both period photos – many from Vought - and modern photos of restored  Corsairs, you get a great look at early Corsair variants both inside and out. Be sure  to order Part 2 below to complete this Corsair set. Great, low-cost reference for the  modeler or enthusiast, you get 200+ photos, 3-view drawings and detailed line art. 79 pgs. with 8 in color, 8½"x 11", sfbd   #0001730
Price: $14.95

Complete the F4U photo-essay begun in Part 1 with coverage of the F4U-4  through the F4U-7. Again featuring both period photos and modern photos of  restored Corsairs, you get a great look at the later Corsair (including the ground attack AU-1) variants both inside and out. Great, low-cost reference for the modeler or enthusiast, you get 200+ photos, 3-view drawings and detailed line art. 79 pgs.  with 16 in color, 8½"x 11", sfbd.

"With a vivid memory, Captain Andrew Jones recreates his World War II experience as a Marine pilot of the legendary F4 U. His story of one man's war, told with verve and skill, is an eloquent testimony. His book should find a well deserved  place in the annals of the Pacific Campaign." - James A. Michener. 176 pgs., 35 B&W photos, 6" x 9", hdbd.

A reprint of the official pilot's manual for the later-model Corsairs. Large and detailed with all the photos and diagrams, you'll be ready for flight training after reading this! 112 pgs., 8½"x 11", sfbd. #0003829
Price: $19.95

Pilot's Manual for F4 U Corsair
Softbound Book

Reprint of official government issue Pilot Manual for early model F4 U Corsairs. Covers:  Description, Flight Operating Instructions, Emergency Instructions, Equipment,  Performance Charts. Many photos and diagrams. 68 pgs., 8"x 11", sfbd. #0001412
Price: $9.95

• ISBN-10: 0897471202
• ISBN-13: 978-0897471206

Take to the war-torn skies over the Pacific in the cockpits of Grumman Wildcats and Hellcats, F4 U Corsairs, Bearcats and Tigercats. Rare original  color photos from the era and a historically exacting text depict these legendary  aircraft and their squadrons as they attempt to impede the encroaching Japanese  Imperial Navy. Included are a naval air battle history and a listing of today’s surviving Warbirds. 96 pgs., 85 color illustrations, 8¼"x 9", sfbd.

From the test pilot who did the flight testing of the Corsair comes this  extraordinary account of the men and women who worked around the clock to bring  the Corsair into aerial action in the nick of time in the Pacific. Relating the close  calls, the crash landings, and the humor as only the test pilot could. Illustrated, 320  pgs., 6"x 9", hdbd.

Whistling Death is the true story, by the test pilot, of the rush to produce the F4U Corsair, the Navy fighter that brought America air superiority over the Japanese Zero in World War II. Here is the crash program - complete  with crash landings - powered by the dedicated men and women of the home front who designed and built this revolutionary, tide-turning airplane. Boone T. Guyton, an experimental test pilot at Chance Vought during and  after World War II, flew 105 types of aircraft in 45 years as a pilot. 

The Vought Corsair became legend during WWII. More than a story of Vought  aircraft, missiles and related hardware, book also delves into the human side - the  management, the workers and the business climate through the years. 168 pgs., 316  photos, 39 general arrangement 3-views, 8½"x 11", sfbd.

The unit history of one of the most successful top gun squadrons of their day. 152 Japanese aircraft destroyed in the air in only 76 days of combat, plus a number of ships and troop barges destroyed. The unit had 13 aces  who took the Corsair into combat for the first time. 8½"x 11", 240 pgs., over 350 photos, hdbd.

This little known part of the Pacific war is detailed in readable historical perspective. Based on extensive records and personal experiences, traces the training and deployment of eighteen Corsair  squadrons in 1944 and 1945 as the fighters engaged the enemy in dogfights, shipping  attacks and strikes at the heartland of the islands. These brave men pioneered the way to the modern close-air units stationed aboard carriers in the Persian Gulf and  elsewhere. Illustrated 160 pgs., 6"x 9", hdbd

Aero Detail Vol. 25
Softbound Book

A photo essay on the Vought F4U Corsair. 250 color photos from Corsairs in museums and Osh Kosh, plus dozens of period B&W photos and detailed drawings, give the reader a thorough view of the airplane. Includes camouflage and marking color plates. 96 pgs., 10"x 10", sfbd.
#0003804

• ISBN-10: 0711007667
• ISBN-13: 978-0711007666

This pictorial review of the Korean air war shows them all: F-51  Mustangs and F4U Corsairs, the new jets like the F-80, F-84, F-86 and T-33, even the attack aircraft and bombers such as the B-26 and B-29 are here. If you want to see the aircraft of Korea, this is the book for you! Includes 140 B&W photos, 36 color profiles, maps, squadron markings and more. 80 pgs., 8½"x 11", sfbd.

During WWII, Pratt and  Whitney's R-2800 18-cylinder radial, the "Double Wasp," was used exclusively for  fighters and medium bombers such as the P-47, the F6F Hellcat, the F4U Corsair, and  the B-26 and A-26 twin-engine mediums. Post-war, its reliability commended its use  for long-range patrol planes and for the DC-6, Martin 404, and Convair transports. This is the story of the engine that helped lead a nation to victory in war, and of the  men and women who made it all possible. 726 pgs., 8½"x 11", hdbd.

• ISBN-10: 0668023147
• ISBN-13: 978-0668023146

Compared with the Aero series title about the Corsair this books stands out by beating the other on al fronts. It has one page more, but instead of five side views you get more than forty. It has more and better text and it has more photographs, though not all of the same quality as in the Maloney-Feist book. If your funds are not unlimited and if you had to choose between these two books when you come across them in a second-hand bookshop I would urge you to take this one.
By the way, it was published in Britain by Osprey as Aircam no.23 and in the States as Arco/Aircam no.28 by Arco Publishing. Together with the Maloney/Feist book and the two "Aircraft in Profile" publications it was pretty much all you could buy about this plane when I started reading about WW2 aviation. Since then a lot of books have been published, but no book has as yet rivaled this one in the amount of color side views.

Book Description 
Heaven Belonged to God. The Sky Belonged to America's Aces. 

From the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, to the last dogfight over Kyushu on July 2, 1945,  America's fighter aces blasted their way across the skies of the Pacific and East Asia -- hurling their Warhawks and Wildcats, Lightnings and Thunderbolts, Mustangs and Corsairs -- against the best enemy ever sent aloft. Now, in their own words, forty American eagles vividly recreate the terror, exhilaration, and ultimate triumph of   their crusade for airborne supremacy. 

Stalk the air with 1st Lt. Jack Jones in his P-400, as he employs his bird-hunter instinct in the pursuit and destruction of the deadly metallic vultures of the enemy. Race with 1st Lt. Jim Swett as his F4F scores an  unprecedented seven kills and earns him the Medal of Honor. Ride with Ensign Wendell Twelves on his first  engagement in his Hellcat as he rescues stranded American airmen from the Pacific below -- and marauding Zeros above. 

Out of print but is still available used

Author pits each combat  aircraft against each adversary, calling the probable winner of such contests.  Examples: Zeke vs F6F, Corsair, Wildcat, Buffalo, or Avenger. Combatants in Atlantic  and Pacific theaters are grouped according to major battle with dogfights analyzed. The theoretical vs. the actual. Makes very interesting reading. 84 photos, drawings,  223 pgs., 7"x 10¼", hdbd.

Covers in detail the eleven fighter typers  produced during WWII. P-40, P-39, P-38, P-47, P-51, Corsair, Hellcat, Wildcat and others. Includes development, production, combat records, comparative records with  a chronology of combat, and more. 608 pgs., 1000 photos, 8½"x 11", hdbd.America's Hundred Thousand  U.S. Production Fighters of WWII Dean. Covers in detail the eleven fighter typers produced during WWII. P-40, P-39, P-38, P-47, P-51, Corsair, Hellcat, Wildcat and others. Includes development, production, combat records, comparative records with a chronology of combat, and more. 608 pgs., 1000 photos, 8½"x 11", hdbd.

A war time tour of restricted aircraft plants. Consists of 258 large, crisp photos taken inside U.S. aircraft plants during the war. You name it, see it being assembled: P-38s, Hellcats, B-17s, Corsairs, etc. 179 pgs., 8¾"x 11¾", sfbd.

F4U CORSAIR Specifications

Performance
Maximum Speed:
417 mph (671km/h) at 19,000 ft (6065m)
316 mph (509 km/h) at sea level
Initial Climb: 2,890 ft (881m) per  minute
Service Ceiling: 36,900 ft (11247m)
Max Range: 1,015 miles (1633 km)

Max Weights
Empty: 8,982 lb (4074 kg)
Loaded: 14,000 lb (6350kg)

 Dimensions
Wing Span: 41 ft (12.5m)
Length: 33 ft 4 in (10.16m)
Height:16 ft 1 in (4.9m)
Wing Area: 314 sq ft (29.15m2)

Armament
6 X 0.5 (12.7mm) machine guns
Bomb Load (F4U1-D): 2,000 lb (1818 kg)