F7U Cutlass
An F7U Cutlass on the ramp at Naval Air Station Jacksonville.
Role Naval fighter
Manufacturer Chance Vought
First flight 29 September 1948
Retired 2 March 1959
Primary user United States Navy
Produced 1948-1955
Number built 320

The Vought F7U Cutlass was a United States Navy carrier-based jet fighter and fighter-bomber of the early Cold War. It was a highly unusual, semi-tailless design, allegedly based on aerodynamic data and plans captured from the Arado company at the end of World War II, Vought designers denied any link to the German research at the time.[1] The F7U was the last aircraft designed by Rex Beisel, who was responsible for the first fighter ever designed specifically for the US Navy, the Curtis TS-1 of 1922.

See also

edit

Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era

Related lists

References

edit

Notes

edit
  1. ^ Angelucci, 1987. p. 447.

Bibliography

edit
  • Angelucci, Enzo. The American Fighter. Sparkford, Somerset: Haynes Publishing Group, 1987. ISBN 0-85429-635-2.
  • Green, William and Pollinger, Gerald. The Aircraft of the World. London: Macdonald, 1955.
  • Gunston, Bill. Fighters of the Fifties. Cambridge, England. Patrick Stephens Limited, 1981. ISBN 0-85059-463-4.
  • Taylor, John W. R. "Vought F7U Cutlass". Combat Aircraft of the World from 1909 to the Present. New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1969. ISBN 0-425-03633-2.
  • Taylor, Michael J.H., ed. “Chance Vought F7U Cutlass.” Jane’s Encyclopedia of Aviation. New York: Crescent, 1993. ISBN 0-517-10316-8.
  • Winchester, Jim, ed. "Vought F7U Cutlass". The World's Worst Aircraft: From Pioneering Failures to Multimillion Dollar Disasters. London: Amber Books Ltd., 2005. ISBN 1-904687-34-2.
edit

Vought Aircraft Industries, F-7U Photo Gallery