Vought XF5U
| XF5U | |
|---|---|
| |
| The XF5U-1 during testing | |
| Role | Fighter |
| Manufacturer | Vought |
| Designer | Charles H. Zimmerman |
| First flight | 1943 |
| Status | Cancelled 17 March 1947 |
| Primary user | United States Navy |
| Number built | 2 |
| Developed from | Vought V-173 |
The Vought XF5U "Flying Flapjack" was an experimental
flapjack/pancake, hence its nickname) serving as the lifting surface.[1]
Two piston engines buried in the body drove propellers located on the leading edge, at the wingtips.
Design and development
A developed version of the original
aspect ratio aircraft with low takeoff and landing speeds but high top speed.[2] The aircraft was designed to keep the low stall speed and high angle of attack from the V-173 prototype while providing for better pilot visibility, cockpit comfort, less vibration, and provisions to install armament. This included a cockpit redesign moving the cockpit from the leading edge of the wing to a nose nacelle that extended further in front of the leading edge. The arrestor hook was changed to a dorsal hook that would diminish the drag from the apparatus.[3]
propellers to actively cancel the drag-causing tip vortices.[4]
The propellers are arranged to rotate in the opposite direction to the tip vortices, with the aim of retaining the higher-pressure air below the wing. With this source of drag eliminated, the aircraft would fly with a much smaller wing area, and the small wing would yield high maneuverability with greater structural strength.
The propellers envisioned for the completed fighter — unlike the torque-reducing
Vought F4U-4 Corsair. An ejection seat was fitted to allow the pilot to clear the massive propellers in the event of an in-flight emergency.[2] Although the prototype was unarmed, a combination of six M2 Browning 50-caliber machine guns or four M3 20 mm cannons would be mounted in the wing roots in service.[2]
Testing and evaluation
The XF5U design was promising: specifications given at the time promised great maneuverability and speeds up to 452 mph (727 km/h).Smithsonian Museum for display. Although two aircraft were constructed, a lone XF5U-1 underwent ground runs but never overcame vibration problems. Taxi trials at Vought's Connecticut factory culminated in short "hops" that were not true flights.[7][8] The only completed XF5U-1 proved to be so structurally solid that it had to be destroyed with a wrecking ball.[9]
Specifications (XF5U-1)
General characteristics
- Crew: 1 pilot
- Length: 28 ft 7 in (8.73 m)
- Wingspan: 32 ft 6 in (9.91 m)
- Height: 14 ft 9 in (4.50 m)
- Wing area: 475 sq ft (44.2 m2)
- Empty weight: 13,107 lb (5,958 kg)
- Gross weight: 16,722 lb (7,600 kg)
- Max takeoff weight: 18,772 lb (8,533 kg)
- Powerplant: 2 × Pratt & Whitney XR-2000-2 radial engine, 1,350 hp (1,007 kW) each
Performance
- Maximum speed: 452 mph (727 km/h, 393 kn) at 28,000 ft (8,500 m) (estimated)[6]
- Stall speed: 20 mph (32 km/h, 17 kn)
- Range: 710 mi (1,142 km, 620 nmi)
- Service ceiling: 34,500 ft (10,516 m)
- Rate of climb: 3,120 ft/min (15.8 m/s) or 910 m/min
- Wing loading: 39.2 lb/sq ft (191 kg/m2)
Armament
- 6 × .50 (12.7 mm) machine guns
- 2 × 1,000 lb (450 kg) bombs
See also
Related development
Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era
Related lists
- List of fighter aircraft
- List of United States Navy aircraft designations (pre-1962)
- List of military aircraft of the United States
References
Notes
- ^ Chant 1984, p. 53.
- ^ a b c d Winchester Concept Aircraft 2005, p. 247.
- ^ Naval Fighters Number Twenty One Chance Vought V-173 and Xf5U-1 Flying Pancakes. Steve Ginter. 1992. pp. 15, 23.
- ^ Norton 2008, p.165
- ^ Naval Fighters Number Twenty One Chance Vought V-173 and Xf5U-1 Flying Pancakes. Steve Ginter. 1992. p. 15.
- ^ a b "Airplane characteristics and performance" (PDF). Retrieved 2023-12-17.
- ^ Winchester X-Planes 2005, p. 222. Suggestions of first XF5U flight were confused the V-173 test flying that continued into 1945.
- ^ Jerram 1980, p. 71.
- ^ Jerram 1980, p. 72.
- ^ "It became known why the USA created the world's slowest XF5U plane — SUNDRIES". 8 September 2022.
Bibliography
- Chant, Christopher. Fantastic Aircraft. New York: Gallery Books, 1984. ISBN 0-8317-3189-3.
- Ginter, Steve. Chance Vought V-173 and XF5U-1 Flying Pancakes (Naval Fighters Number Twenty-one). Simi Valley, CA: Steve Ginter Publishing, 1992. ISBN 0-942612-21-3.
- Guyton, Boone and Paul Marcus. "The Ups and Downs of The Flying Pancake." True, July 1951. Vol. 29, no. 170.
- Jerram, Michael E. Incredible Flying machines: An Anthology of Eccentric Aircraft. New York: Exeter Books, 1980. ISBN 0-85685-835-8.
- Norton, Bill. U.S. Experimental & Prototype Aircraft Projects: Fighters 1939-1945. North Branch, Minnesota: Specialty Press, 2008, pp. 165–168. ISBN 978-1-58007-109-3.
- XF5U Standard Aircraft Characteristics. Washington, DC: Naval Historical Center at the U.S. Navy Yard. Retrieved: 25 July 2009.
- Winchester, Jim. "Vought XF5U-1". Concept Aircraft: Prototypes, X-Planes and Experimental Aircraft. Kent, UK: Grange Books plc., 2005. ISBN 978-1-84013-809-2.
- Winchester, Jim. "Vought V-173 and XF5U-1 'Flapjack' (1942)". X-Planes and Prototypes. London: Amber Books Ltd., 2005. ISBN 1-904687-40-7.
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Vought XF5U.
- The XF5U story
- Chance Vought Flying Flapjack
- Story and Photos at vought.org
- Chance Vought V-173 & XF-5 U1 Flying Pancakes
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