The Vought F4U Corsair prototype was originally built in 1940 and the model went on to see the longest production run of any piston-engined fighter in U.S. history. During WWII, the Japanese Zero pilots considered the Corsair to be formidable, with many fearing it far more than the P-51 Mustang.
A total of 12,571 Corsairs were made between 1942 and 1953, there were some minor model variations but most used the 2,000 hp, 18-cylinder, Pratt & Whitney R-2800 Double Wasp radial. Power was transmitted through a large Hamilton Standard Hydromatic three-blade propeller with a diameter of 13’4″ (4.06 m).
During the second world war, the U.S. Navy counted an 11:1 kill ratio with the F4U Corsair. A remarkable feat not surpassed by many planes in the 20th century.
Ben Branch has had his work featured on CNN, Popular Mechanics, the official Smithsonian Magazine, Road & Track Magazine, the official Pinterest blog, the official eBay Motors blog, BuzzFeed, and many more.
Silodrome was founded by Ben back in 2010, in the years since the site has grown to become a world leader in the alternative and vintage motoring sector, with millions of readers around the world and hundreds of thousands of followers on social media.
The American Pale Ale Beer Brewing Kit by Craft A Brew is an all-inclusive $45 kit that’ll make approximately a dozen 12 oz bottles of beer. Many of us love the idea of trying out the process of creating craft beer, the barrier to entry has always been cost and complexity. Craft A Brew was founded in…
This 1912 Indian Board Track Racer is a pristine restoration by globally recognised expert Jim Prosper. Prosper is one of the finest restorers of Indian board track racers in the world, his restorations are considered some of the most authentic, factory-specification examples and they’re rebuilt using nearly all early factory parts that are painstaking sourced from…
The Bowlus Road Chief was the original riveted aluminum travel trailer, it was developed by Hawley Bowlus in 1934 and then famously emulated by Airstream two years later in 1936. Hawley Bowlus And The Bowlus Road Chief Bowlus was the Superintendent of Construction on Charles Lindbergh’s aircraft, the Spirit of St. Louis. He was also…
This is an original 1948 Tucker engine, the Tucker 48 is undoubtably one of the most famous low-production number cars of the 20th century and it was powered by a re-purposed 5.5 litre helicopter engine. The car was made famous in mainstream society thanks to the film Tucker: The Man and His Dream by…
The 1979 AMC Spirit AMX is a car that I think deserves far more love from the car community than it currently gets. AMC was a plucky automaker up against the biggest in the world, they turned out a series of ground-breaking models including the AMC Eagle SX/4 before ceasing operations in 1987. Race-prepared examples…
This 1968 Ford Bronco is the most successful Pioneer 4×4 class truck in modern NORRA desert racing history, it has competed in the brutal Mexican 1000 since 2010, racking up 7 class wins and 4 Pioneer-era “Steve McQueen” trophies. “The Bronco has always been the benchmark of off-road ability and an icon in the world of desert racing,…
