The Goodyear FG-1 Corsair was one of the greatest combat aircraft in World War II. Chance Vought Aircraft began development on a new Navy fighter in1938, the first prototype flying on May 29, 1940. It was the first U.S. fighter to exceed 400 mph, outperforming all other American aircraft at that time. From the first production F4U-1 of 1942 to the last F4U-6 built ten years later, 12,571 Corsairs came off the production line, over 4000 being the Goodyear Aircraft version known as the FG-1. The FG-1 Corsair has a wingspan of 41' , a length of 33' 4", and stands 15' 7" high. Entering action in 1943 with land-based U.S. Marines squadrons stationed in the Solomon Islands, the Corsair swiftly gained air supremacy in the Pacific theater. Cleared for U.S. Navy carrier operations late in 1944, variants of the plane were also used by the Royal Navy and New Zealand Air Force( see the New Zealand F4U Corsair in Online Catalog ). After the end of World War II, the FG-1 saw use in air racing (Goodyear raced this airplane from 1944 to 1952).