During the Korean War, military technology was in a transitional state. While a whole generation of more modern weapons had been developed, the large inventory of World War II weapons and the post-war Truman budget cuts meant that old and new operated side by side throughout the conflict. This can be clearly seen in the Navy's aircraft, where WWII propellor planes operated with jets and helicopters. This post will provide a brief overview of every aircraft variant that served aboard the newly redesignated attack carriers during the Korean War.
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| An F4U-4 Corsair armed with eight 5" rockets |
The F4U Corsair Fighter
The F4U-4 Corsair was the single most common carrier aircraft in the Korean War. Designed as a high-performance fighter during World War II, by 1950 its top speed of 390 knots and service ceiling of 41,000 feet was decidedly outclassed by the jet fighters that were then in service. However, large numbers were available and its six internal .50 machine guns with 2400 rounds of ammo as well as its provisions for two 1000-pound bombs and eight 5" rockets, the F4U-4 was well equipped for ground attack. With a single 150 gallon external tank and eight 5” rockets, a Corsair had a 285 nautical mile combat radius with 20 minutes on station - substantially more than the new jets. A sub-variant, the F4U-4B, had its machine guns replaced with four 20mm cannon and 924 rounds.
Special purpose variants of the Corsair were also in common service. The F4U-5N, was a dedicated night fighter. The base F4U-5 was a post-war upgrade of the Corsair, incorporating a 10% more powerful engine as well as improvements to performance and pilot interface. All F4U-5 Corsairs also had the 20mm cannon armament. Together, these changes resulted in a plane that was almost 20 knots faster and had another 4,000 feet of ceiling. However, few were built and many of them were converted to the F4U-5N night fighter, which carried a large AN/APS-19 radar under the starboard wing. With a maximum detection range against fighters of no more than 10 miles the system was fairly limited, but it was a vast improvement over 4 mile AN/APS-6 on the WWII-era F4U-4N. Generally, night fighters were not expected to find their own targets, but to use their radar to pinpoint the location of targets detected by surface radars. There was also the F4U-5NL sub-variant that included additional deicing measures to allow operations in the freezing Korean winters.
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| An F4U-5N displaying its prominent AN/APS-19 radar |
There were also the F4U-4P and F4U-5P photo reconnaissance planes. These had a single oblique camera built into the fuselage behind the pilot. Although often neglected by history, photo recon planes were critical to identifying targets and performing battle damage assessment, as the camera would often catch things that pilots under fire would overlook. Since the only way to get recon photographs to strike pilots was to physically deliver them (remember, communication between ships was limited to voice radio, signal flags, and lights), it was essential that every airwing had its own photo recon aircraft to ensure timely circulation of intelligence to pilots.
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| An F9F-2 Panther with its common loadout of tip tanks and six 5" rockets |
The F9F Panther Jet Fighter
The next most common carrier aircraft was the F9F-2 Panther, a single-engine jet fighter. When configured for air to air combat with its four 20mm cannon and 760 rounds of ammo, it had a top speed of 500 knots and a service ceiling of 43,000 feet. But while this was far superior to the legacy propeller-driven fighters, it was nearly 100 knots slower than the new swept-wing jet fighters such as the F-86 and MiG-15. Thus, although it did score some air to air kills, the Panther spent most of its time in Korea in the ground attack role. Configured for air to ground, it could carry up to two 1000-pound bombs and six 5” rockets, although actual loads were generally lighter. But while its payload was comparable to that of the Corsair, the thirsty jet engine meant that its range was far less. When armed with just the six 5” rockets and internal guns, the F9F had a combat radius of only 130 nautical miles with 10 minutes on station.
Like the F4U, the F9F came in several variants. The F9F-3 and F9F-5 differed only in their engines and appeared in small numbers. The F9F-2B was the designation for Panthers equipped to carry bombs and rockets, but this was designation was dropped as that modification became universal. The F9F-2P was the primary photo recon plane of the war and quickly supplanted the F4U-4P and F4U-5P. Unlike the photo recon Corsairs, the F9F-2P sacrificed its guns for a oblique nose-mounted camera, with some mounting a second downward-facing camera as well. However, the F9F-2P was an interim measure to cover until the F9F-5P could enter service. Armed with two oblique and two downward-facing cameras, the F9F-5P was a far superior recon aircraft that also incorporated a special camera sight for the pilot and the option of recording video as well as still photos.
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| An AD-4 Skyraider loaded with twelve 250-pound bombs and two 300 gallon drop tanks |
The AD-4 Skyraider Attack Plane
The third most common plane was the AD-4 Skyraider, a large single-seat, single-engine, attack plane. Originally designed as a dive-bomber to replace the WWII-era SB2C Helldiver, the Skyraider proved powerful enough to take over the torpedo bomber role as well. Armed with four wing-mounted 20mm cannon with 800 rounds, the AD-4 had hardpoints for three 2000-pound bombs and twelve 500-pound bombs or 5” rockets. However, when operating off a carrier it was limited to a bomb load of 6500-pound. In addition to this phenomenal armament (nearly equal to that of a B-17 bomber), the Skyraider had an impressive range. Loaded with two 150 gallon external tanks, a single 1000-pound bomb, and twelve 5” rockets, an AD-4 had a combat radius of 520 nautical miles with 15 minutes on station.
The large size of the Skyraider also made it extremely versatile, and a large number of variants were in service. The AD-2 and AD-3 were the predecessors of the AD-4 and showed up occasionally during the Korean War. These were powered by a slightly less powerful engine and had only two 20mm cannon with 400 rounds, but the actual performance difference was minor. The AD-4L, like the F4U-4L, incorporated various modifications for winter operations. The AD-2Q, AD-3Q, and AD-4Q were electronic warfare aircraft. While structurally identical to the standard Skyraiders, the “Q” variants had a small compartment in the fuselage to house a second crew member and were equipped with a variety of ESM and ECM equipment. They also commonly carried the same AN/APS-19 radar found on the Corsair night fighters (which could technically be fitted to any Skyraider), as it had surface search and ESM capabilities. The “Q” variants also had the collateral duty of towing targets during drills and so played an important role in maintaining readiness.
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| The AD-4W early warning variant with its massive belly-mounted radar and enlarged fuselage |
Also present in significant numbers were the AD-3N and AD-4N, the night attack variants. With some structural modifications and a crew of three (the third was a radio operator / navigator), the greatest advantage of these aircraft was their more modern AN/APS-31 radar, which allowed for radar-aimed bombing. Other unique equipment included a searchlight and a sonobuoy receiver that gave the “N” variants an important role in antisubmarine operations (the radar was important here as well for detecting submarines recharging their batteries on the surface). The AD-4NL was the winterized sub-variant. Oddly, several of the AD-4N planes were converted to AD-4NA standard, which removed the night-attack equipment. Another important variant was the AD-4W and the much less common AD-3W. These were unarmed airborne early warning planes that housed three crew members and a large belly-mounted APS-20 radar, which could detect fighter aircraft at around 45 nautical miles. Finally, there was the rare AD-4B, which was an otherwise standard AD-4 that was capable of carrying a single nuclear bomb. But the single most interesting Skyraider variant was the AD-2Q, which was the control ship for the F6F-5K suicide drone. However, this unique weapon system was deployed only once to mixed success.
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| An HO3S-1 demonstrating its search and rescue capabilities |
The HO3S Helicopter
The most unique airframe on the carriers of the Korean War was the HO3S-1 helicopter. Immediately following the end of WWII, the USN began large scale experimentation with the use of helicopters and the HO3S-1 was the first to see widespread service. Although designated as an “observation helicopter” and used as such by the Marines and aboard cruisers and battleships, when deployed on carriers the HO3S-1 was employed in the general utility role. With a top speed of 94 knots and a range of 160 nautical miles when carrying its maximum load of 3 passengers, the performance of the HO3S-1 was extremely limited. However, its ability to hover and land vertically was revolutionary, and with its 300-pound hoist it proved invaluable in rescuing downed pilots. It was also quite valuable simply for shuttling people and cargo between ships - something that had previously been a complicated evolution.
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| An F2H-2 Banshee with its 200 gallon tip tanks mounted |
The F2H Banshee Jet Fighter
Another aircraft that was present in the carrier airwings was the F2H-2 Banshee single-seat, twin-engine, jet fighter. Although developed slightly before the far more common F9F Panther, the Banshee was roughly twice as expensive and the Truman budget cuts meant that procurement was limited prior to the Korean War. With a top speed of 480 knots, the F2H-2 was slightly slower than the F9F-2 and it only had 600 rounds for its four 20mm cannon. However, the Banshee had a superior service ceiling of 49,000 feet and, when equipped with two 200 gallon wingtip tanks, had an air to air combat radius of 540 nautical miles. It was this attribute that made the F2H-2 the escort fighter of choice for the Air Force’s strategic bombing missions close to the Russian and Chinese borders. Like all Navy fighters, the Banshee was also quite capable in the air to ground role, with provisions for two 500-pound bombs or eight 5” rockets. With tip tanks and rockets, it had a combat radius of 290 nautical miles with 10 minutes on station. There was also limited use of the F2H-2B variant, which had a single hardpoint strengthened to carry a Mk 8 nuclear bomb (although obviously not for nuclear delivery). Finally, there was the F2H-2P photo recon variant, which traded its cannon armament for a six nose-mounted cameras. While an F2H-2N night fighter variant equipped with either an AN/APS-19 or and AN/APS-36 radar existed, it is unclear if these were ever sent to Korea.
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| An F3D-2 Skyknight equipped with 150 gallon drop tanks |
The F3D Skynight Night Fighter
The final aircraft that deployed as part of the Korean War carrier airwings was the F3D-2 Skyknight, a two-seat, twin-engine, jet night fighter. Armed four 20mm cannon with 800 rounds, the F3D-2 had a top speed of 425 knots, a service ceiling of 37,000 feet and, when equipped with two 150 gallon external tanks, a combat radius of 1200 nautical miles. But this limited performance was acceptable given its advanced AN/APQ-35 radar system, which incorporated forward-facing search and track radars as well as a rear-facing radar warning receiver and could detect fighters at 20 miles. The Skyknight also had provisions for up to two 2000-pound bombs, but ground attack does not appear to have been considered a significant part of its mission. The F3D-2 only deployed to Korea as part of a carrier airwing once and appears to have been something of a failure in flight deck operations, being quickly banished to airfields ashore. However, the shore based units were quite successful, downing several Communist jet fighters.
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