American postwar aircraft

QUICK LINKS

Vought F7U Cutlass

“Gutless Cutlass”, very unusual Vought design for a tailless fighter, with a swept wing and twin fins on the trailing edge near mid-span. The original F7U-1 was very unsatisfactory; after much redesign the F7U-3 entered service. It enjoyed only limited succes and service, and had a bad safety record: over about 25% were lost in accidents in three years of service. 290 built.

General characteristics
Primary function	Fighter
Contractor	Vought
Power plant	Two Westinghouse J46-WE-8A turbojet
Thrust	2x 6,140 lb		2x 2,785 kg
Length	44 ft 3 in		13.49 m
Height	14 ft 7 in		4.44 m
Wingspan	38 ft 8 in		11.79 m
Wingarea	496 sq ft		46.08 sq m
Weight	empty	18,210 lb	8,258 kg
	takeoff	31,642 lb	14,350 kg
Range	660 miles		1,062 km
Max. speed	680 mph		1,095 km/h
Rate of climb	13,000 ft/min		3,962 m/min
Ceiling	40,000 ft		12,191 m
Crew	One

Jirka Wagner