The F4U-1 Corsair was one of the greatest combat aircraft of World War II. Development of this Navy fighter began in 1938, the first prototype flying on May 29, 1940. It was also the first fighter to exceed 400 mph, outperforming all other American aircraft at that time. Entering action in 1943 with land-based U.S. Marine squadrons stationed in the Solomon Islands, the Corsair swiftly gained air supremacy in the Pacific theater.