The distinction between day fighter and night fighter gradually disappeared.įor night fighter gunnery training, a special light was used. By the end of the decade, almost all fighters were radar equipped allowing to operate in all weather conditions and as effectively at night as during the day. While the F4U-5N Corsairs did fly missions in their intended night fighter role, they also flew hundreds of ground attack sorties against targets.

This version is easily distinguished by its two-foot diameter radar dome in the leading edge of the right wing. Interest in night and all-weather fighters had grown to such an extent that the Navy ordered a large number of airplanes in the first group converted to night fighters (F4U-5N). In the late 1950s the US delivered a small number of F4U-5 to Argentine and Honduras. They were assigned the task of flying low-level attack and ground support missions. When the North Koreans invaded South Korea in June of 1950, the F4U-5 Corsair went back into combat. The night fighters were divided into two sub-variants including 214 F4U-5N and 101 F4U-5NL. During F4U-4 production, 3 F4U-4 were modified as prototypes for the F4U-5 model and were designated XF4U-5.The first XF4U-5 flew on 4 April 1946.The first production F4U-5 day fighter flew for the first time on May 12, 1947. The majority were completed as night fighters, with a total of 315 being produced. The F4U-5 was the first post-war model it was basically similar to the F4U-4.

On February 6, 1946, the Navy gave Chance Vought a letter-of-intent on the company’s proposal to build the F4U-5. Navy, however, had decided they would keep the Corsair as their first-line fighter until the jet had been satisfactorily developed for carrier operations. In 1945, the attention of the military aviation community turned to the turbo-jet-powered aircraft.

War f4u corsair plans