The F4U-5, which can be said to be the culmination of the F4U Corsair series and was fully modernized and produced after World War II, was the Navy's fastest reciprocating fighter at the time, surpassing the top speed of the F8F-2.
The engine mounting position was moved forward and the cowling itself was slightly enlarged, emphasizing the length of the nose.
In addition, the carburetor air intake on the underside of the nose was split into two, resulting in a frontal shape with bulges on the left and right (rice ball shaped), which became a major characteristic of the F4U-5.
The F4U-5N was a single-seat, reciprocating engine night fighter. The aircraft was basically the same as the F4U-5, with the biggest difference being the radar mounted on the right wing, but because it had two radio sets, an auxiliary antenna was attached to the rear of the vertical tail, an autopilot was installed to reduce the pilot's burden, and the exhaust pipe was made flameproof to ensure the pilot's visibility during night flights, and a flameproof plate was installed above and behind that.
The F4U-5NL was equipped with de-icing rubber boots on the leading edge of each wing, and water-methanol liquid injection de-icing devices on the leading edge of the propeller and the windshield, making it a cold-climate aircraft suited to the extreme cold of North Korea. 214 F4U-5Ns and 101 F4U-5NLs were produced.
Lt. Guy P. Bordelon of VC-3 Det.D shot down five aircraft in an F4U-5N (Bu. No. 124453) between June 29 and July 17, 1953, earning him the Triple Threat Ace honor as the only man to have been a night fighter ace, a reciprocating engine ace, and a Navy ace in the Korean War. After flying 35 sorties in the F4U-5N, Lt. Bordelon left the aircraft behind and withdrew, but the F4U-5N (Bu. No. 124453) was crashed by an Air Force pilot shortly thereafter. The F4U-5N (Bu. No. 124453) had five kill marks at one time, but the box art shows it with two kills at the time.
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Crew: 1 person
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Overall length: 12.49m
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Overall width: 10.52m
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Overall height: 4.50m
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Total weight: 5,852kg
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Engine: R-2800-32W(E)
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Takeoff power: 2,300 horsepower
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Maximum speed: 756km/h (altitude 8,169m)
- Fixed armament: 20mm cannon x 4,