Aircraft Pictorial 6 - F4U-1 Corsair, Vol. 1
by Dana Bell

Reviewed by Martin J Quinn
March 2015


 

Classic Warship Publishing has released a new book, the seventh in it's Aircraft Pictorial line.   This is the first of two books on the F4U-1 Corsair, with the focus of this volume on "Birdcage" Corsair variant. 
This book features 72 pages with over 110 photographs, many of which are in glorious color.  There is a "general history" of the F4U-1 Corsair in the front of the book ,which captures some interesting information, such at the fact that the "F4U-1A" designation (the subject of a future volume) was never an official variant sanctioned by the Bureau of Aeronautics.   It also debunks the myth that the Corsair was "too hot" for carrier duty.  Instead, it points out that the Navy made the decision to standardize for supply reasons: F6F Hellcats would serve afloat with the fleet, while the F4U-1 would serve with the Marines, which meant they'd fly mostly from land bases.  The author also touches on the different camouflage schemes worn by the "Birdcage" Corsair and provides some data on which serial numbers were produced by which manufacturers.   The rest of the books is a photographic journey showing different variants of the early Corsair:  Vought built, Brewster built, Goodyear built, in US Service, in Royal Navy service, and so on.  click to
enlarge images

There are many detail shots of the F4U-1 in this book, which will be a boon to scale modelers wishing to super detail their Birdcage Corsairs.   There is also a few nice color plates with different camouflage schemes worn by the "Birdcage" airframe. 
Conclusions:

Classic Warships Publishing has come up with another great book for modelers, historians and aviation buffs. This is Aircraft Pictorial 7 - F4U-1 Corsair Vol. 1. Published by Classic Warships Publishing ISBN 978-0-9857149-7-0. Price is $18.00 US retail and it is available direct of from one of their vendors listed on the Classic Warships website.  Bent Winged Bird fans will want this for their reference library! Thanks to Classic Warships Publishing for the review sample. 
 

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