Background The Cutlass was developed in response to a competition organised by the
United States Navy for a new carrier-capable day fighter that was launched on 1 June 1945. Specific requirements of the competition included the ability to fly at speeds of up to and altitudes of up to . Specifically, former
Messerschmitt AG senior designer
Woldemar Voigt, who supervised the development of numerous experimental jet fighters in
Nazi Germany, contributed to its design with his experience in the development of the
Messerschmitt P.1110 and
P.1112 projects. The F7U was the last aircraft designed by
Rex Beisel, who was responsible for the first fighter ever designed specifically for the U.S. Navy, the
Curtiss TS-1 of 1922. Vought's design was given the company type number
V-346 and later received the official designation of
F7U when the aircraft was announced to be the winner of the competition.
Flight testing On 29 September 1948, the first prototype performed its
maiden flight from
Naval Air Station Patuxent River in
Maryland, piloted by Vought's chief test pilot, J. Robert Baker. Several issues were encountered during this initial flight. Shortly thereafter, the Navy announced that the aircraft would be named
Cutlass. During subsequent flight testing, one of the prototypes attained a maximum speed of 625 mph (1,058 km/h). During September 1949, Vought received a contract to modify the design and to produce 88
F7U-2 Cutlasses for the Navy. In May 1950, the Navy opted to halt
F7U-1 production at 14 aircraft in favor of the updated model. None of the 14 F7U-1s built between 1950 and 1952 were approved for use in squadron service. Funding for the Cutlass was briefly cut before being reinstated during 1950. The extent of the aircraft's development difficulties were such that, according to aviation author Tommy Thomason, there were serious considerations towards cancelling the Cutlass entirely during the latter half of 1951, however, severe difficulties with the
Westinghouse J40 that powered many of its potential competing aircraft and thus the Navy had no solid alternative to readily take its place. The introduction of more powerful
steam catapults during 1952 also aided the programme considerably. Specific changes included the use of more powerful
Westinghouse J46 engines, a stronger airframe that was enlarged by one-third, as well as better maintenance access via additional panels. Test pilot (and later,
astronaut)
Wally Schirra wrote in his autobiography that he considered the F7U-3 to be accident prone and a "widow maker". Several positive observations were also recorded by test pilots, such as it being a stable weapons platform, relatively maneuverable, fun to fly, and fairly sturdy with the strengthened airframe. Furthermore, test pilots gave particular praise for its high
roll rate of 570 degrees/s, which was three times faster than most production jets at the time. Some pilots have suggested that inexperience with swept wing aircraft, as well as other innovative features of the aircraft, likely contributed to the poor accident record. Early on, it was discovered that the Cutlass would gyrate after experiencing a stall. During one test flight, Lt. Morrey Loso's Cutlass exhibited such behavior, tumbling towards the ground following a stall. Upon letting go of the control stick to reach with both hands for the ejection handle, Loso's Cutlass promptly self-corrected. It was determined that normal recovery procedures did not apply to the Cutlass, a conclusion that was later confirmed via
wind tunnel testing. ==Design==