Vought F7U Cutlass was called the gutless cutlasss the worse usn fighter of all time but i think it need s a place in our game it did enter service but not for long
Ultimately, between June 1954 and December 1956, 13 fleet squadrons received Cutlasses. In 1957, Chance Vought analyzed major F7U-3 accidents. At 55,000 hours cumulative flight time, 78 accidents, and one-quarter of airframes lost, the Cutlass had the highest accident rate of all Navy swept-wing fighters.
A few of the Accidents and incidents
Ramp strike of Vought F7U-3 Cutlass BuNo 129595, Modex 412, of VF-124 on the USS Hancock on 14 July 1955. LCDR Jay T. Alkire (XO of USN's VF-124 "Stingrays") was killed in the crash, and several deck crew were injured.
26 July 1954 pilot Lt Floyd Nugent ejected from a Cutlass armed with 2.75 in rockets. The Cutlass continued to fly on and proceeded to circle the North Island of San Diego with its Hotel Del Coronado for 30 minutes, before it finally crashed close to shore.[2]
11 December 1954 during an air demonstration at the christening of aircraft carrier USS Forrestal, pilot Lt J.W. Hood was killed when his F7U-3 had a malfunction with the wing locking mechanism and the aircraft crashed into the sea.[2]
30 May 1955 pilot Lt Cmdr Paul Harwell's Cutlass suffered an engine fire upon takeoff on his first flight in the aircraft. Harwell ejected and never flew another Cutlass again. By the time he had landed on the ground, he had spent more airborne time in the parachute than the aircraft.[2]
Pilot Tom Quillin's Cutlass took off as part of a flight of four Cutlasses. Quillin's aircraft had an electrical failure which forced him to abort his training mission and return to base. At the airbase he had to wait in a landing pattern because two other aircraft in the flight also had aborted due to malfunctions in the aircraft.[2]
14 July 1955 pilot LCDR Jay T. Alkire was killed in a ramp strike on USS Hancock.[12]
4 November 1955, pilot Lt George Millard was killed when his Cutlass went into the cable barrier at the end of the flight deck landing area of USS Hancock. The nosegear malfunctioned and drove a strut into the cockpit which triggered the ejection seat and dislodged the canopy. Millard was launched 200 feet (61 m) forward and hit the tail of a parked A-1 Skyraider and later died of his injuries. The captain of Hancock ordered every Cutlass off the ship.[2]
General characteristics
Crew: 1
Length: 41 ft 3.5 in (12.586 m)
Wingspan: 39 ft 8 in (12.1 m)
Span wings folded: 22.3 ft (6.80 m)
Height: 14 ft 0 in (4.27 m)
Wing area: 496 sq ft (46.1 m2)
Empty weight: 18,210 lb (8,260 kg)
Gross weight: 26,840 lb (12,174 kg)
Max takeoff weight: 31,643 lb (14,353 kg)
Powerplant: 2 × Westinghouse J46-WE-8B after-burning turbojet engines, 4,600 lbf (20 kN) thrust each dry, 6,000 lbf (27 kN) with afterburner
Performance
Maximum speed: 606 kn (697 mph, 1,122 km/h) at sea level with Military power + afterburner
Cruise speed: 490 kn (560 mph, 910 km/h) at 38,700 ft (11,800 m) to 42,700 ft (13,000 m)
Stall speed: 112 kn (129 mph, 207 km/h) power off at take-off
93.2 kn (173 km/h) with approach power for landing
Combat range: 800 nmi (920 mi, 1,500 km)
Service ceiling: 40,600 ft (12,375 m)
Rate of climb: 14,420 ft/min (73.3 m/s) with Military power + afterburner
Time to altitude: 20,000 ft (6,100 m) in 5.6 minutes
30,000 ft (9,144 m) in 10.2 minutes
Wing loading: 50.2 lb/sq ft (245 kg/m2)
Thrust/weight: 0.45
Take-off run: in calm conditions 1,595 ft (486 m) with Military power + afterburner
Armament
Guns: 4x 20mm M3 cannon, 180 rpg
Hardpoints: 4 with a capacity of 5,500 lb (2,500 kg), with provisions to carry combinations of:
Missiles: 4 AAM-N-2 Sparrow I air-to-air missiles
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Topic: Vought F7U Cutlass (Read 1453 times)
