F6U Pirate

infobox Aircraft
name=F6U Pirate
type=Fighter aircraft
manufacturer=Chance Vought


caption=
designer=
first flight=2 October 1946
introduced=
retired=
status=Cancelled in 1950
primary user=
more users=
produced=
number built=33
unit cost=
variants with their own articles=The Vought F6U Pirate was the company's first jet fighter. A specification was issued by the US Navy's Bureau of Aeronautics ("BuAer") for a single-seat carrier-based fighter powered by a Westinghouse "24C" (later "J34") turbojet, on 5 September 1944. In December of that year, Chance Vought was awarded a contract for three prototypes, with the initial "XF6U-1" prototype flying on 2 October 1946.

Design and History

The Pirate was an uninspired design, with the intakes slung under the wing roots, exhaust in the tail, fitted with straight wings and tail surfaces, plus optional wingtip tanks. The aircraft featured unusual construction techniques, including "Metalite" skinning of balsa, sandwiched between two thin sheets of aluminum, and "Fabrilite" skinning of balsa, sandwiched between sheets of fiberglass for the vertical tail and air intake. Production aircraft had two auxiliary fins, one towards the tip on each side of the tailplane.Eden and Moeng, 2002, p. 1126.] While not quite as conservative in design as the Ryan FR Fireball (which included a propellor and piston engine for takeoff and landing, and only used its jet for high-speed cruising), it was still very much a piston-engined aircraft given an underpowered jet.

The first XF6U-1 prototype was powered by a Westinghouse J34-WE-22 turbojet with 3,000 pounds (13.34 kN) thrust, one third of the weight of the aircraft. Therefore the prototype was seriously underpowered. To help improve the aircraft's performance, the third prototype, which first flew on 10 November 1947, was fitted with a Westinghouse J34-WE-30 [http://www.arkairmuseum.org/engines/engine-westinghouse.php Arkansas Air Museum] accessed October 7, 2007] afterburning engine of 4,224 lbf (18.78 kN) thrust, the first US Navy fighter to have such a powerplant.Green and Swanborough, 1998, p. 587.]

The first production F6U-1 performed its initial flight on 5 March 1949, and 20 of the aircraft were provided to a Navy operational evaluation squadron. The judgement from the evaluation was that the Pirate was unacceptably unimpressive.Green & Swanborough, 1998, page 588.] Naval aviators disparagingly called the F6U the "groundhog".O'Rourke, G.G, CAPT USN. "Of Hosenoses, Stoofs, and Lefthanded Spads". "United States Naval Institute Proceedings", July 1968.]

On 30 October 1950, BuAer informed Vought of the Navy's opinion of the Pirate in terms both bureaucratic and scathing: "The F6U-1 had proven so sub-marginal in performance that combat utilization is not feasible." The aircraft ended up being used to develop arrester gear & barriers, and transition at least one Texas Naval Reserve squadron to jets.

Variants

* XF6U-1 - Three prototypes.
* F6U-1 - The initial production version. (29 built)
* F6U-1P - Photo-reconnaissance version. (1 built)

pecifications (F6U-1)

aircraft specifications

plane or copter?=plane
jet or prop?=jet
ref="The Complete Book of Fighters"
crew=1
length main=37 ft 7 in
length alt=11.46 m
span main=32 ft 10 in
span alt=10 m
height main=12 ft 11 in
height alt=3.39 m
area main=203.4 ft²
area alt=18.9 m²
empty weight main=7,320 lb
empty weight alt=3,320 kg
loaded weight main=12,900 lb
loaded weight alt=5,850 kg
max takeoff weight main=
max takeoff weight alt=

engine (jet)=Westinghouse J34-WE-30A
type of jet=turbojet
number of jets=1
thrust main=3,150 lbf
thrust alt=14.0 kN
afterburning thrust main=4,224 lbf
afterburning thrust alt=18.78 kN

max speed main=596 mph
max speed alt=517 knots, 959 km/h
range main=1,170 mi
range alt=1,020 nm, 1,880 km
ceiling main=46,260 ft
ceiling alt=14,100 m
climb rate main=8,060 ft/min
climb rate alt=40.95 m/s
loading main=63.4 lb/ft²
loading alt=304 kg/m²
thrust/weight=0.327
guns=4× 20 mm (0.787 in) M3 cannon under the nose

ee also

aircontent

related=

similar aircraft=
*F-84 Thunderjet

lists=
* List of fighter aircraft
* List of military aircraft of the United States (naval)

see also=

References

Notes

Bibliography

* Eden, Paul and Soph Moeng, eds. "The Complete Encyclopedia of World Aircraft". London: Amber Books Ltd., 2002. ISBN 0-7607-3432-1.
* Green, William and Gordon Swanborough. "The Complete Book of Fighters". New York: Barnes & Noble Inc., 1988, ISBN 0-07607-0904-1.

External links

* [http://www.arkairmuseum.org/ Arkansas Air Museum]
* [http://www.airtoaircombat.com/detail.asp?id=257 AirToAirCombat.Com: Vought F6U Pirate]