The Vought F6U Pirate was a single set jet fighter developed for the United States Navy, following on from the company's F4U Corsair.
Description[]
Before World War ll ended, Vought was busy with the design of the V-340 single-seat jet-propelled fighter for service with the USN. It was the first turbojet-powered aircraft to be designed by the company, but proved sufficiently attractive for the Navy to award a contract for three XF6U-1 prototypes on 29 December 1944.
Of low-wing monoplane configuration, the all-metal structure of the airframe had Metalite skins, patented by the company and comprising two sheets of high-strength light alloy bonded to a balsa wood core. The tailplane was mounted on the fin, just above the fuselage, but production aircraft had two auxiliary fins, one towards the tip on each side of the tailplane. The Pirate had retractable tricycle landing gear, jettisonable auxiliary fuel tanks at each wingtip, and the pilot accommodated high on the fuselage, well forward of the wing.
The first of the three prototypes made its maiden flight at Muroc Dry Lake, powered by a 3,000-lb (13.34-kN) thrust Westinghouse J34-WE-22 turbojet mounted in the aft fuselage. Production examples of the F6U-1, of which the first flew during July 1949, began to enter service with the US Navy in the following month. A total of 65 had been ordered but after 30 had been delivered the remainder were cancelled.[1]
Variant[]
- F6U-1P: Designation allocated to one of the production F6U—1s following the installation of cameras for evaluation in a reconnaissance role
References[]
- ↑ World Aircraft Information Files Aviation Partwork. Midsummer Books Ltd. File 910 Sheet 5 (A-Z of Aircraft:V - Vought A-7 Corsair II (continued) to Vought F6U Pirate)