Aircraft Gallery
F7U Cutlass
SPECIFICATIONS:
Crew: 1
Length: 43 ft 1 in (13.13 m)
Wingspan: 39 ft 8 in (12.13 m)
Height: 14 ft 7 in (4.48 m)
Wing area: 535 sq ft (49.7 m²)
Empty weight: 18,210 lb (5,353 kg)
Max. takeoff weight: 31,840 lb (14,442 kg)
Powerplant: 2 x Westinghouse J46-WE-8B after-burning turbojet engines, 3,980 lbf (17.7 kn) thrust each dry, 6,000 lbf with afterburner (25.8 kn).
The F7U Cutlass prototypes was first flown in 1948. It was one of the U.S. military’s first jet-powered aircraft. The Cutlass actually conducted its first aircraft carrier landings and catapult takeoffs from the USS Midway (CV-41) in July 1951 during its carrier suitability testing phase. The Navy accepted that aircraft into naval aviation fleet in October 1953 and assigned to its first operational fleet squadrons in 1954. Only 288 operational F7U aircraft were produce and flew with 13 U.S. Navy squadrons while in the fleet. The F7U served with fleet squadrons in the Navy from 1953-1957.
