Vought O2U Corsair
O2U Corsair | |
---|---|
O2U-4 Corsair | |
Role | Observation |
National origin | United States |
Manufacturer | Vought |
Introduction | 1926 |
Primary users | United States Navy United States Marine Corps United States Coast Guard |
Number built | 580 |
The Vought O2U Corsair was a 1920s
Design and development
Two prototypes were ordered in 1926 and tested by the Navy Trial Board before the first production batches were ordered. In 1927, a total of 291 O2Us were produced. The O2U-2, -3 and -4 were ordered in 1928 with minor changes. By 1930 they were being superseded by the O3U which was basically similar to the O2U-4, one variant of which was fitted with the Grumman float, and were manufactured until 1936. A total of 289 were built.[1] Many of them had cowled engines and some had enclosed cockpits.
Operational history
The 600-690 hp (448-515 kW)
Export versions included the Corsair V-65F, V-66F and V-80F for the Argentine Navy, the V-80P for the Peruvian Air Force, and the V-85G for Germany.[1] China purchased Corsair variants V-65C and V-92C. Brazil purchased 36 aircraft V-65B, some hydroplanes V-66B and 15 V-65F.
In March 1929, Mexico purchased 12 armed aircraft O2U-2M versions with the 400 hp (300 kW) Wasp engine to quell a military coup; Mexico then built 31 more units under licence, and called them Corsarios Azcárate O2U-4A. In 1937, Mexico purchased 10 V-99M equipped with the Pratt & Whitney R-1340-T1H-1 550 hp Wasp engine, some of them may have been sent to Spain.[2]
Thailand used their Corsairs in the Franco-Thai War and in the Battle of Ko Chang against the French Navy.[3]
The most famous "combat" operation of this aircraft was shooting the original King Kong off of the Empire State Building.[citation needed]
The name "Corsair" was used several times by Vought's planes; the O2U,
Variants
- XO-28
- Single example taken on charge by the
- O2U-1
- two prototypes followed by 130 production aircraft for USN with interchangeable wheel/float landing gear and 28 aircraft for other customers. 450 hp (336 kW) Pratt & Whitney R-1340-88 Waspengine
- O2U-2
- 37 built, increased span and larger rudder
- O2U-3
- 110 built (30 for export), revised wing rigging, redesigned tail surfaces and Pratt & Whitney R-1340-Cengine
- O2U-4
- 43 built (1 for export. Also seven civilian O2U were built), similar to O2U-3 but with equipment changes
- O3U-1
- 87 built as observation seaplanes incorporating Grumman amphibious float[6][7]
- O3U-2
- 29 built, strengthened airframe, Pratt & Whitney R-1690 Hornetengine
- O3U-3
- 76 built, 550 hp (410 kW) Pratt & Whitney R-1340-12 Waspengine.
- O3U-4
- 65 built, Pratt & Whitney R-1690-42 Hornetengine.
- XO3U-5
- test aircraft with Pratt & Whitney R-1535engine
- XO3U-6
- test aircraft converted from O3U-3 with NACA cowling and enclosed cockpits
- O3U-6
- 32 built, 16 with Pratt & Whitney R-1340-18 Waspengines
- SU-1
- Scout version of the O3U based on the O3U-2, 28 built[8]
- SU-2
- Scout version of the O3U based on the O3U-4, 53 built[8]
- SU-3
- Variant of the SU-2 with low-pressure tires, 20 built[8]
- XSU-4
- SU-2 converted as a prototype SU-4 variant with a 600 hp R-1690-42 engine, later became an SU-4.
- SU-4
- SU-4 re-engined with a 600 hp R-1690-2 engine, 41 built[8]
- One United States Navy O2U-3 evaluated by the United States Army Air Corps.
- Vought V-65B
- Export version for Brazil - 36
- Vought V-65C
- Export version for Nationalist China
- Vought V-65F
- Export version for Argentine Navy
- Vought V-66B
- Export version for Brazil
- Vought V-66E
- Export version, one evaluated by the Royal Air Force
- Vought V-66F
- Export version for Brazil - 15, and Argentine Navy
- Vought V-80F
- Export version for Argentine Navy
- Vought V-80P
- Export version for Peruvian Air Force
- Vought V-85G
- Export version for Germany
- Vought V-92C
- Export version for Nationalist China
- Vought V-93S
- Export version of the O3U-6 for Thailand
- Vought V-99M
- Export version for Mexico
- TNCA Corsario Azcárate
- 31 O2U-4A aircraft built under license in Mexico.
- Vought AXV1
- A single O2U supplied to the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service for evaluation in 1929.
Operators
- Chinese Nationalist Air Force
- Chinese Red Army - One V-65-C1 was obtained from a defection during the Long March and named "Lenin".
- Cuban Air Force - received at least 14 O2U-1A and O2U-3As from 1929.[9]
- Dominican Air Force - received one O2U-1 and two O2U-3SDs.[10]
- Germany - commercial variant (V-85G) used to deliver mail from the ocean liners SS Bremen and SS Europa
- Japan
- Imperial Japanese Army Air Force
- Royal Air Force, one V.66E for evaluation
- United States Army Air Corps one for evaluation
- United States Navy
- United States Marine Corps
- United States Coast Guard
- French-Thai War.
Specifications (SU-4 Corsair)
Data from The Complete Encyclopedia of World Aircraft
General characteristics
- Crew: Two
- Capacity: 500 lb (227 kg)
- Length: 27 ft 5.5 in (8.37 m)
- Wingspan: 36 ft 0 in (10.97 m)
- Height: 11 ft 4 in (3.45 m)
- Wing area: 337 sq ft (31.31 m2)
- Empty weight: 3,312 lb (1,502 kg)
- Max takeoff weight: 4,765 lb (2,161 kg)
- Powerplant: 1 × Pratt & Whitney R-1690-42 Hornetradial, 600 hp (447 kW)
Performance
- Maximum speed: 167 mph (269 km/h, 145 kn) at sea level
- Range: 680 mi (1,094 km, 591 nmi)
- Service ceiling: 18,600 ft (5,670 m)
- Power/mass: 0.13lb/hp (0.21 kW/kg)
Armament
- Guns: 3x .30 cal (7.62 mm) Browning machine guns, two forward firing in upper wing and one on a trainable mount in rear cockpit
- Bombs: 4x 116 lb (53 kg) or 10 30 lb (14 kg) bombs under lower wings
References
Citations
- ^ a b Eden and Moeng 2002
- ^ "Corsarios Mexicanos" (in Spanish). Archived 2009-03-26 at the Wayback Machine portalaviacion.vuela.com. Retrieved: 18 January 2011.
- ^ Royal Thai Air Force, Bangkok, 1976: The History of the Air Force in the Conflict with French Indochina.
- ^ "1922-1929 USAAS-USAAC Serial Numbers".
- ISBN 0-904597-22-9, page 138.
- ^ "New Navy Planes Land On Water Or Deck." Popular Science, February 1933.
- ^ "Eyes of the Fleet as seen during Maneuvers." Popular Mechanics, March 1933.
- ^ a b c d "Vought". Aerofiles. Retrieved: 18 January 2011.
- ^ Hagedorn 1993, p. 10.
- ^ Hagedorn 1993, p. 96.
Sources
- Eden, Paul; Moeng, Soph (2002). The Complete Encyclopedia of World Aircraft. London, England: Amber Books Ltd. ISBN 0-7607-3432-1.
- Hagedorn, Daniel P. (1993). Central American and Caribbean Air Forces. Tonbridge, Kent, UK: Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd. ISBN 0-85130-210-6.
- Lezon, Ricardo Martin & Stitt, Robert M. (January–February 2004). "Eyes of the Fleet: Seaplanes in Argentine Navy Service, Part 2". Air Enthusiast (109): 46–59. ISSN 0143-5450.
- Young, Edward M. (1984). "France's Forgotten Air War". ISSN 0143-5450.
Further reading
- Núñez Padin, Jorge Felix (2009). Núñez Padin, Jorge Felix (ed.). O2U-1A & V65F / V66F Corsair. Serie Aeronaval (in Spanish). Vol. 19. Bahía Blanca, Argentina: Fuerzas Aeronavales. Retrieved 2014-08-21.
- Media related to Vought O2U Corsair at Wikimedia Commons