Discovery Channel-Great Planes: Vought F-4U Corsair (2001)

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General		Extras
Category	Documentary	Main Menu Audio
Rating
Year Of Production	2001
Running Time	46:09 (Case: 60)
RSDL / Flipper	No/No	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Menu
Region Coding	1,2,3,4,5,6	Directed By	John Honey
Studio Distributor	Discovery Channel Magna Home Entertainment	Starring	None Given
Case	Amaray-Transparent-Secure Clip
RPI	$14.95	Music	None Given

    For the final look at the most recent batch of releases from the Great Planes series, released under the Discovery Channel banner, we delve into Great Planes: Vought F-4U Corsair. Quick quiz - what does the F-4U Corsair have in common with the P-47 Thunderbolt? Both were powered by the supposedly obsolete air-cooled radial engine and were the first two American combat aircraft to exceed 400 mph. So what was that about the obsolete radial engine? The Europeans might have been very big on the in-line water cooled engines but the fragility of those engines was soon exposed in combat - although the aircraft that epitomised the use of the engines (the British Spitfire and the German Messerschmidt Me-109) were amongst the finest fighters of the Second World War. The other thing that the Corsair and the Thunderbolt had in common was the fact that they were enormously strong aircraft that took a lot of punishment before succumbing to the enemy. Nowhere is that more evidence by the impressive air combat numbers of the F-4U Corsair in the Pacific: 2,104 enemy aircraft shot down for the loss of only 187 Corsairs to air combat. Not a bad ratio!

    The Vought company had long been the supplier of aircraft to the United States armed forces, and in particular the United States Navy. Indeed, in the annals of US Navy carrier operations the Vought company ranks at the forefront as it was one of their aircraft, the VE-7, that made the first carrier landings and take offs. However, the company had never really produced a quality fighter aircraft despite a number of attempts. When the XF-4U emerged in 1938, it was clear that that record was about to change. This was a much different aircraft, notably for the use of the very distinctive inverted gull wing and a very big radial engine. After redesign to place a big fuel tank in front of the cockpit, its other distinctive feature was a long fuselage with the cockpit placed just over the trailing edge of the wing. In 1940, the aircraft was the first American fighter to exceed 400 mph and was placed into production. Ironically, it went into production for the United States Navy but there were serious misgivings about its suitability to the carrier role as a result of the poor visibility from the cockpit during carrier approaches. So the plane went into service with the United States Marine Corps, serving mainly in the Pacific Theatre. After a succession of aircraft had proved ineffective against the Japanese Zero, the F-4U finally gained service at Guadalcanal and immediately usurped the title of the most effective fighter aircraft in the theatre. The Zero was never a threat after the introduction of the F-4U.

    Whilst mainly used in the Pacific, the British acquired some 2,000 of the aircraft for service, rather ironically, with the Fleet Air Arm of the Royal Navy - as a carrier fighter! Sheer persistence and ingenuity saw the Corsair achieve operational status as a carrier aircraft, finally convincing the United States Navy to reappraise its use in such a role. Eventually the Corsair achieved the role it was designed for in January, 1945 when the first carrier-based squadron became operational aboard the USS Essex. Further irony came when, after the end of hostilities, the aircraft became the only propeller driven fighter to continue in production. Not only did it continue in production, but on 3rd July, 1950 it became operational in the Korean War. The aircraft continued in operation with the United States Navy until the end of the Korean War on 27th July, 1953 - seven months after the aircraft finally ceased production. In that time it became the first propeller driven fighter to down a MiG-15 jet.

    The Marine pilots swore by the aircraft and, like the P-47 Thunderbolt, its ability to carry significant ordinance meant that its original fighter role (at which it truly excelled) was extended to include other roles including ground attack and as a night fighter. It even ended up being used as a dive bomber. It continued to serve with the French Navy until 1964, an indication of how good the aircraft was. Over 12,000 were built between 1938 and 1952, of which few remain flying. Despite the number built and despite the experiences of the United States Marine Corps, when consideration is given to the great fighters of the Second World War, the F-4U Corsair is generally not considered as a contender. This probably reflects the fact that it did not serve to any great extent in the European theatre, but by most measures the aircraft was an extremely successful fighter and well worthy of consideration amongst the best of the Second World War.

    Whilst I have never seen one of these aircraft in the air, I certainly know the aircraft well as over the years I have built many models of the aircraft. Such activity resulted in plenty of research into the aircraft and thus developed an appreciation for this fine fighter. By any measure a Great Plane and deserving of inclusion in this series.

Video

    Considering that this is a Second World War aircraft, the overall presentation is surprisingly good in quality. Also for the first time in this batch of four releases, some relatively recent footage of preserved aircraft is included - this is significantly better looking footage obviously, and allows more detail to be seen than otherwise was the case.

    The transfer is presented in an aspect ratio of 1.33:1 and it is not 16x9 enhanced.

    The transfer is somewhat variable, with a whole gamut of quality from average to very good - reflecting the age of some of the source material. Some of the older Guadalcanal footage is surprisingly clear though. Definition is okay in general, although some of the in-flight footage is a tad variable. Detail is pretty good. Shadow detail is not much of an issue. The clarity is decent, with grain an issue at times in some of the source material. There does not appear to be any problem with low level noise.

    Comprising mixed footage, the colours are a bit all over the shop, with the new stuff being terrific and the old stuff being somewhat lacking. Given the nature of the material though, not too bad in general. Some of the early colour footage is a little too well saturated.

    There does not seem to be any introduced MPEG artefacting in the transfer, whilst much the same could be said about the film-to-video artefacts (mainly some very minor shimmer). The source material is variably affected by film artefacts, but certainly nothing more than is expected in material of this nature.

    This is a single sided, single layer DVD. There are no subtitle options to accompany the narration.

Video Ratings Summary

Sharpness
Shadow Detail
Colour
Grain/Pixelization
Film-To-Video Artefacts
Film Artefacts
Overall

Audio

    There is just the one soundtrack on the DVD, being a Dolby Digital 2.0 soundtrack.

    The narration comes across very well and it is easy to understand.

    The small amount of musical accompaniment is not credited. Some has a jazzy feel that is quite appropriate for the period being looked at.

    Nothing really wrong with the soundtrack, which again does enough to carry the narration and little else. It is reasonable clean and clear, but sorely lacking the underlying aircraft dynamic. This is very similar in style to the previous DVD reviewed from the series.

Audio Ratings Summary

Dialogue
Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

    The usual menu audio that is consistent in this batch of releases.

    It would appear that this DVD has not yet been released in Region 1 - although this is by no means certain.

    Great Planes: Vought F-4U Corsair is another interesting look at one of the classic aircraft of the Second World War. Whilst I would have liked to have seen more footage from the Fleet Air Arm days, the limitations of the series format restrict this. I found the whole thing interesting and some of the material included is decidedly better looking than I expected.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall