50 Best Military Aircraft of All Time, Ranked

The Vought F4U Corsair compiled an 11:1 kill ratio in the Pacific, the highest of any major fighter on either side of World War II. Marine and Navy Corsair pilots shot down 2,140 Japanese aircraft while losing only 189 of their own in air-to-air combat. The bent-wing bird's distinctive inverted gull wings, designed to accommodate its massive propeller, became one of the most recognizable silhouettes in aviation history.

Initially rejected for carrier operations due to poor visibility on approach, the Corsair first went to Marine Corps land-based squadrons where it immediately proved devastating. Pappy Boyington's Black Sheep squadron flew Corsairs. So did the highest-scoring Marine ace, Joe Foss. The F4U was faster than the Hellcat, carried more ordnance, and could dive like a meteor. When carrier landing problems were eventually solved, it became a superb naval fighter too. The Corsair remained in production until 1953 and flew combat in Korea, the last propeller-driven fighter to see frontline service with the U.S. military.