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[1993.317.001] Aircraft - 'F7U-3M Aircraft, Bureau Number 129655' |
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F7U-3M Aircraft, Bureau Number 129655
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| Accession Number |
1993.317.001 |
| Accession Date |
24/03/1993 |
| Creator |
| Creator |
Creator Role |
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Manufacturer |
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| Date Created |
1954 |
| Object Desciption |
Accepted on 11 June 1954, the F7U-3M Cutlass on display in the museum first served in Fighter Squadron (VF) 83 based at Naval Air Station (NAS) Oceana, Virginia, beginning in 1954. Overhauled the following year, it joined VF-212 at NAS Moffett Field, California, on 30 December 1955. Following the squadron's redesignation as Attack Squadron (VA) 212, the museum's aircraft deployed with it for a Western Pacific cruise in the aircraft carrier Bon Homme Richard (CVA 31) during the period September 1956 to April 1957. Transferred to the Naval Air Reserve Training Unit at NAS Los Alamitos, California, on 29 April 1957, the museum's aircraft was stricken from the Navy inventory the following month having flown 414 hours. Displayed for many years in Griffith Park in Los Angeles, California, the aircraft was restored by Aero Nostalgia, Inc. of Stockton, California, during the early 1990s and arrived at the museum in 1993. |
| Notes |
With a tradition of producing unconventional aircraft, namely the gull-wing F4U Corsair, Chance Vought began work on a tailless, swept-wing jet in June 1945. Called F7U-1 Cutlass, the prototype made its first flight on 29 September 1948, but experienced early mechanical difficulties. All three XF7U-1 prototypes eventually crashed, as did two of the first fourteen production aircraft ordered by the Navy. An order for 88 F7U-2s in 1949 was canceled in favor of the F7U-3, which incorporated many improvements over the F7U-1. However, it was still underpowered and had a troublesome nose-wheel design., the former trait mirroring the aircraft's unofficial moniker "Gutless Cutlass." The F7U-3 equipped four Navy fighter squadrons, which with the replacement of their aircraft with the missile-carrying F7U-3M were redesignated attack squadrons. On 12 March 1953, one these units, Attack Squadron (VA) 83 equipped with Sparrow I missiles, went aboard Intrepid (CVA 11), becoming the first squadron to deploy overseas with missiles.
Specifications
Manufacturer: Chance Vought Division of United Aircraft
Dimensions: Length: 44 ft., 3 in.; Height: 14 ft., 7 ½ in.; Wingspan: 38 ft., 8 in.
Weights: Empty: 18,210 lb.; Gross: 31,642 lb.
Power Plant: Two 4,600 lb. static thrust Westinghouse J46-WE-8A turbojets with afterburners
Performance: Maximum Speed: 680 M.P.H. at 10,000 ft.; Service Ceiling: 40,000 ft.; Range: 660 miles
Armament: Four 20mm fixed forward-firing machine cannon and provision for four Sparrow I missiles
Crew: Pilot |
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