Corsair
- Episode aired 2004
YOUR RATING
Photos
Storyline
Featured review
Covers the Bases.
A nicely done documentary on the F4U Corsair and its career as a fighter in the Pacific during World War II, and its role as a ground attack airplane in the Korean War.
No talking heads, reenactments, CGIs, or graphics -- just movie footage and a reasonably intelligent narration. Some of the footage is entirely new, at least to me.
The approach is chronological. I had no idea the relationship between Vaught, Pratt and Whitney, and Hamilton was so comfortable for so long. It seemed to work well, too, although it could easily be seen as part of the "military/industrial complex" that Eisenhower warned against.
The editing and overall presentation of the material are done professionally. The writing soft pedals some of the less pleasant aspects of what we see. The F4U was used in the ground attack role in Korea "at the cost of some limit." Why not come right out and say its maximum speed was reduced from more than 400 miles per hour to about 270, which it was? Post-war analysis determined that it wasn't "the best defense" against kamikaze attacks at Okinawa. The F6F Hellcat was. The narration doesn't misrepresent any facts but frankly it crows a little too much about the airplane and its makers.
However, this is likely to be about as good as an hour-long documentary on a weapons system is likely to get. I ought to add that, inverted gull wing or no, this is one plug-ugly airplane, the smallest that could be built around a giant engine. The Germans did the same with a liquid-cooled in-line engine that had to be inverted to turn it into as small a package as possible, and the result was the Me 109.
No talking heads, reenactments, CGIs, or graphics -- just movie footage and a reasonably intelligent narration. Some of the footage is entirely new, at least to me.
The approach is chronological. I had no idea the relationship between Vaught, Pratt and Whitney, and Hamilton was so comfortable for so long. It seemed to work well, too, although it could easily be seen as part of the "military/industrial complex" that Eisenhower warned against.
The editing and overall presentation of the material are done professionally. The writing soft pedals some of the less pleasant aspects of what we see. The F4U was used in the ground attack role in Korea "at the cost of some limit." Why not come right out and say its maximum speed was reduced from more than 400 miles per hour to about 270, which it was? Post-war analysis determined that it wasn't "the best defense" against kamikaze attacks at Okinawa. The F6F Hellcat was. The narration doesn't misrepresent any facts but frankly it crows a little too much about the airplane and its makers.
However, this is likely to be about as good as an hour-long documentary on a weapons system is likely to get. I ought to add that, inverted gull wing or no, this is one plug-ugly airplane, the smallest that could be built around a giant engine. The Germans did the same with a liquid-cooled in-line engine that had to be inverted to turn it into as small a package as possible, and the result was the Me 109.
helpful•00
- rmax304823
- Aug 26, 2014
Details
Contribute to this page
Suggest an edit or add missing content