Landing techniques for the Corsair developed by the British Navy finally enabled use as a carrier aircraft. The F4U was capable of more than 400 mph, but the cockpit was well back on the fuselage creating line-of-sight issues for pilots, and the aircraft had a tendency to bounce on landing, something not desirable for aircraft carrier use. The gull wing effectively raised the engine so that the bigger propeller could be used, but left the landing gear relatively short and strong to handle the intensity of carrier landings.
The Chance Vought Corsair’s unique bent or inverted gull-wing design was driven by two needs: a bigger propeller to make full use of the powerful Pratt & Whitney R2800 Double Wasp engine, and the need for shorter, more stout landing gear appropriate to the Corsair’s intended use as a U.S. An aircraft company better known for producing biplanes hit an aviation home run in 1938 when it unveiled the iconic design of this much-respected WWII fighter/bomber.
