F4u-4 and F8F

[IceFire]

Originally Posted by pandacat

Interesting why they kept F4u-4, but not F4u-1 or other variants? Since we have F4u-1s in game, I assume they kept a much looser hand on those.

Pacific Fighters shipped with the F4U-1 models. After it shipped, the legal wranglings began. The details are unclear but it was made clear to the third party development community some time after it was settled that no further aircraft from the corporation that shall not be named would be allowed.

Efforts to add the F4U-4 and other aircraft and objects such as ships were forever locked down for the original IL-2 series.

Because European companies don't have entire teams of bored and insane lawyers... those aircraft are still very much free reign. There are some popular options for both Europe and the Pacific that would be nice to have added at some point but unfortunately we'll never see the hottest of the Corsair models.

I will say, however, that as far as historical scenarios go... we have the Corsair models necessary to do every campaign. Even in 1944 and 1945 the F4U-1D was pretty much the model in use and the F4U-4 was comparatively rare. Similarly... the best of the Japanese types were rare to begin with and beset by technical and reliability issues so proper historical campaigns will have the models we have VERY much in their element.