Here is a 50 photo walk around of the vought f7u3m 129655 cutlass. It was quite unlike any other plane in the sky, and looks to modern eyes like it would be more at home in an episode of star blazers. This page was last edited on 26 november 2014, at 06. Twelve unarmed f7u 3p photo planes in 195455 never became operational, but are included in the cutlass total of 307. It was a radical new design, but the development of the governmentfurnished engines did not meet. It was a highly unusual, semitailless design, allegedly based on aerodynamic data and plans captured from the german arado company at the end of world war ii, though vought designers denied any link to the german research at. The first incarnation of vought was established by chance m. Project cutlass vought f7u restoration the warbird watcher. The cutlass was a tailless navy fighter that first flew in 1948.
Navy service in july 1951, the tailless, sweptwing jet fighter seemed to represent a leap into the future. The vought f7u cutlass was a united states navy carrierbased. In 1946, the navy embarked on the development of the chance vought f7u1 cutlass, a highperformance, carrierbased jet fighter that would be equal, if not superior, to any landbased fighter. Former messerschmitt ag senior designer waldemar voigt, who supervised the development of numerous experimental jet fighters in nazi. The vought f7u cutlass was an american cold warera naval fighter and the first sweptwing usn fighter to be adopted into service as well as the first tailless american fighter aircraft. The result was a wing with a sweepback of 38 degrees, a very low 3.
The f7u 1 cutlass was basically the same as the xf7u1 airplane with changes resulting from the xf7u flight testing. It was a highly unusual, semitailless design, allegedly based on aerodynamic data and plans captured from the german arado company at the end of world war ii, though vought designers denied any link to the german research at the time. To avoid extreme nosedown forces, the cutlass was a tailless aircraft. Feb 21, 2018 the vought f7u cutlass was an american cold warera naval fighter and the first sweptwing usn fighter to be adopted into service as well as the first tailless american fighter aircraft. Jan 30, 2017 a vought f7u cutlass restoration is on its way to fly again one day, thanks to the efforts of project cutlass. The vought f7u cutlass would be host to the following first time achievements for any naval aircraft. Everyones favorite, the gutless cutlass vought f7u3m, in. If westinghouse had delivered engines with the thrust and fuel consumption that vought and the navy were expecting, its reputation might not have suffered so badly. These pictures were taken and shared with the web by howard mason.
The relationship of the f7u 3 to the smallerfated f7u 1 was rather like the relationship of the grumman hellcat to the wildcat it was a larger perpetuation of the earlier airplane, but in this case a mistake. Vought f7u cutlass fighters war thunder official forum. Mar 22, 2014 f0837 vought f7u cutlass carrier crash on uss hancock video duration. It was the first production naval aircraft to achieve supersonic flight, the first to release bombs at a speed greater than the speed of sound a. It was the first production naval aircraft to achieve supersonic flight, the first to release bombs at a speed greater than the speed of sound and the first to be catapulted from a carrier. Oct 06, 2015 with shiny new diploma i ran wind tunnel testes on the f7u 3 and followed its stability and control issues as revealed through flight tests. Everyones favorite, the gutless cutlass vought f7u3m. It has been downloaded 36 times by fellow modelers from around the world. Vought was the name of several related american aerospace firms. Exceptional coverage of the us navys first sweptwing, afterburner equipped, tailless jet fighter. They were delivered to the blues without tail numbers, carrying the cutlass script on both sides of each vertical fin. The f7u1 cutlass was basically the same as the xf7u1 airplane with changes resulting from the xf7u flight testing. The vought f7u cutlass was based on tailless aircraft design work done by the arado company during wwii. Twelve unarmed f7u3p photo planes in 195455 never became operational, but are included in the cutlass total of 307.
The vought f7u cutlass was a united states navy carrierbased jet fighter and fighterbomber of the early cold war era. One of the things i look forward to at club nights is when members bring along surplus kits to sell. Appendix iii the chronological development of the vought f4u corsair appendix iv vought f8 crusader statistics appendix v aircraft vought aeronautics modified, reconditioned or helped build appendix vi bibliography and other acknowledgements. The vought f7u cutlass was a sweptwing tailless singleseat carrierborne fighter which entered service with the us navy in several versions from 1952. Here is the vought f7u cutlass modelers online reference onestop resource for photos and kits. Here is the access download page of chance vought f7u 1 cutlass pdf, click this link to download or read online. Chance voughtltv history university of texas at dallas. A vought f7u cutlass restoration is on its way to fly again one day, thanks to the efforts of project cutlass. It was used for the cold war, from american aircraft carriers. Zwrrwwwbrzr the moose jaw nine a history of ww2 in 25 airplanes. Appendix iii the chronological development of the vought f4u corsair. Jun 29, 2017 the film shows many vought f7u cutlass fighterbomber jets taking off and landing. A developmental history the vought f7u cutlass would be host to the following first time achievements for any naval. It was tailless for compactness and weight reduction and incorporated afterburning jet engines for transonic speed performance and unparalleled rate of.
In addition to the aircrafts development and testing, each book covers squadron histories, insignias. Steve brought a fine selection along at julys meeting and there was one i just had to have even if it was in 172 nd scale. F0837 vought f7u cutlass carrier crash on uss hancock video duration. Vought delivered the last of 98 new f7u 3ms august 12, 1955, and va83 made the first overseas deployment on intrepid to the mediterranean of a navy missile squadron in march 1956, when 11 cutlass squadrons were operating. The film shows many vought f7u cutlass fighterbomber jets taking off and landing. A developmental history the vought f7u cutlass would be host to the following first time achievements for any naval aircraft. The type led a troubled developmental existence and an even more troubled service life to the point that only a few hundred aircraft were procured and. Vought f7u cutlass wikipedia, a enciclopedia livre. The company soon became chancy vought to us, for in our judgment the cutlass was an accident looking for a place to happen, a widow maker. Our job was to test the cutlass, wrote f7u navy test pilotlater astronautwally schirra in his autobiography, schirras space. Files are available under licenses specified on their description page. When the chance vought f7u cutlass first entered u. It was a tailless aircraft for which aerodynamic data from projects of the german arado and messerschmitt companies, obtained at the end of world war ii through german scientists who worked on the projects, contributed. The vought f7u cutlass was a united states navy carrierbased jet fighter and.
The airplane was designed for aircraft carrier use, but lacked the forward visibility necessary for carrier landings because of the very high noseup. In the early jet age, pilots had good reason to fear the f7u military. Read on wikipedia edit history talk page print download pdf. Click through the available thumbnails to enlarge the images. Chance voughtltv history the university of texas at dallas. The tail area was substantially enlarged, the landing gear positions for takeoff and landing were modified, and two wing pylons were added which permitted carrying two 250gallon external fuel tanks for extended range. All structured data from the file and property namespaces is available under the creative commons cc0 license. Read online now chance vought f7u 1 cutlass ebook pdf at our library. The chance vought cutlass was probably the most radical fighter aircraft to ever achieve fleet service. Get chance vought f7u 1 cutlass pdf file for free from our online library pdf file. In 1946, the navy embarked on the development of the chance vought f7u 1 cutlass, a highperformance, carrierbased jet fighter that would be equal, if not superior, to any landbased fighter. About the vought f7u 3 cutlass plan this plan is 1. Why give your material to a publisher anyway cut out the middle man, deal with your.
The blue angels briefly flew two vought f7u1s beginning in march 1952, but the airplanes were grounded a few months later due to mechanical unreliability. View profile view forum posts private message view blog entries view articles top gun join date mar 2005 location kalispell, mt posts 20,861. Oct 27, 20 the vought f7u cutlass was a sweptwing tailless singleseat carrierborne fighter which entered service with the us navy in several versions from 1952. Vought delivered the last of 98 new f7u3ms august 12, 1955, and va83 made the first overseas deployment on intrepid to the mediterranean of a navy missile squadron in march 1956, when 11 cutlass squadrons were operating. The vought f7u cutlass was a united states navy carrierbased jet fighter and fighterbomber. The vought f7u cutlass is a navalized fighter aircraft that served in the u. Vought f7u cutlass cutaway drawing aircraft, fighter aircraft. The relationship of the f7u3 to the smallerfated f7u1 was rather like the relationship of the grumman hellcat to the wildcat it was a larger perpetuation of the earlier airplane, but in this case a mistake. He said the f7u1 cutlass, recalls feightner, at the time a navy test pilot with the.
The f7u 1 was first demonstrated to the public in 1948 and went into production in 1953. It was the first production naval aircraft to achieve supersonic flight, the first to release bombs at a speed greater than the speed of sound and the first to be. It was a highly unusual, semitailless design, allegedly based on aerodynamic data and plans captured from the arado company at the end of world war ii, though vought designers denied any link to the german research at the time. The cutlass was a sweptwing tailless singleseat carrierborne fighter which entered service with the us navy in several versions from 1952. F7u 3 cutlass survivors although much maligned, the f7u cutlass racked up a number of firsts or close seconds for navy jet fighter airplanes. These have included, in the past, lewis and vought corporation, chance vought, vought sikorsky, ltv aerospace part of lingtemco vought, vought aircraft companies, and vought aircraft industries. Certainly one of the most radical of the early navy jet fighter designs ever to fly, the cutlass was a real handful to deckland, but for us model builders,she makes a very compelling subject. Any questions, comments, or problems, please email me. Some vought f7u cutlass were modified for aerial reconnaissance as f7u 3p. Vought f7u 1 cutlass lord photo model building building ideas space fantasy navy aircraft navy marine aircraft design korean war air force explore kitchener. Aircraft number 7 was buno, 124426 and number 8 was buno. Each monographs size is dictated by the individual aircrafts own history. Its swept wings had vertical fins and ailevator control surfaces.
The f7u was designed in the 1950s as a tailless fighter for the usn. In the early jet age, pilots had good reason to fear the f7u. Certainly one of the most radical of the early navy jet fighter designs ever to fly, the cutlass was a real handful to deckland, but for us model builders,she makes a. The swept wing of the cutlass had ailevator control surfaces on the wing trailing edge outboard of the two vertical fins. Al casby is the owner of two f7u cutlass airframes, which are buno 129622 and buno 129554. The chance vought f7u cutlass was inspired in part by the sweptwing, tailless aircraft research that was recovered from german aircraft manufacturer arado after world war ii. The gutless cutless earned its nickname primarily from its underpowered engines. Alkire xo of usns vf124 stingrays was killed in the crash, and several deck crew were killed injured. This is a retextured version of paul clawsons basic model and accurately displays the markings of navy fighter squadron 124.
It was the first tailless airplane to go into production in the united states, the first jet fighter in the u. The cutlass turned a lot of heads with its radical design, said to have been partially based on data captured from the germans at the end of world war ii. Vought f7u cutlass images gallery detailing the carrierborne fighter aircraft below are images of the vought f7u cutlass carrierborne fighter aircraft. It was tailless for compactness and weight reduction and incorporated afterburning jet engines for.
In late 1945 chance vought took this design data and refined it. The vought f7u cutlass was a united states navy carrier. This book assesses the major trends in the history of jetfighter design and development in the united states since world war ii in order to evaluate the role of prior fighter and. It was very innovative in that the conventional horizontal tail was eliminated to avoid the extreme nosedown forces experienced by. Some vought f7u cutlass were modified for aerial reconnaissance as f7u3p. Chance vought f7u cutlass naval fighters series no 6. Vought f7u cutlass simple english wikipedia, the free. Because of development problems with the powerplant, however, the f7u2 would never be built, while the f7u3 would incorporate many.