The Vought XF3U was the

prototype A prototype is an early sample, model, or release of a product built to test a concept or process. It is a term used in a variety of contexts, including semantics, design, electronics, and Software prototyping, software programming. A prototyp ...

of a two-seat, all-metal

biplane A biplane is a fixed-wing aircraft with two main wings stacked one above the other. The first powered, controlled aeroplane to fly, the Wright Flyer, used a biplane wing arrangement, as did many aircraft in the early years of aviation. While ...

fighter, built by Vought Aircraft Company of Dallas, Texas for the United States Navy.

Development and design

The XF3U was designed to meet the Bureau of Aeronautics 1932 ''Design Specification No. 111'', which called for a high-performance fighter with a fixed

undercarriage Undercarriage is the part of a moving vehicle that is underneath the main body of the vehicle. The term originally applied to this part of a horse-drawn carriage, and usage has since broadened to include: *The landing gear of an aircraft. *The ch ...

and powered by a

Pratt & Whitney R-1535 Twin Wasp Junior The Pratt & Whitney R-1535 Twin Wasp Junior was an engine used in American aircraft in the 1930s. The engine was introduced in 1932 as a 14-cylinder version of the 9-cylinder R-985. It was a two-row, air-cooled radial design. Displacement was ; ...

air-cooled radial engine. Of the seven proposed aircraft the XF3U and the Douglas XFD were chosen. The XF3U was the first all-metal aircraft produced by Vought. The aircraft was also equipped with an enclosed

cockpit A cockpit or flight deck is the area, usually near the front of an aircraft or spacecraft, from which a Pilot in command, pilot controls the aircraft. The cockpit of an aircraft contains flight instruments on an instrument panel, and the ...

. During flight testing in 1933, it outperformed the Douglas entry and was chosen the winner.

Operational history

The Navy no longer was interested in two-seat fighters, and therefore only the one XF3U prototype aircraft was built. The XF3U subsequently evolved into a

dive bomber A dive bomber is a bomber aircraft that dives directly at its targets in order to provide greater accuracy for the bomb it drops. Diving towards the target simplifies the bomb's trajectory and allows the pilot to keep visual contact througho ...

, and became the XSBU prototype for the SBU-1 Corsair.

Specifications

References

Notes

Bibliography

* Angelucci,Enzo. ''The American Fighter from 1917 to the present.'' New York: Orion Books, 1987. .

External links

{{USN fighters F03U 1930s United States fighter aircraft Single-engined tractor aircraft Biplanes Aircraft first flown in 1933