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Vought F6U Pirate

The first turbojet powered aircraft designed by Chance Vought was awarded a contract from the US Navy for three prototypes on December 29, 1944. A total of 65 had been ordered but after 30 had been delivered, the remainder were cancelled.
Straight-wing jet fighter, an ugly and unsuccessful aircraft. The design was conventional, with straight wings, a blunt nose, small wing root jet intakes, and small additional fins at the tips of the tailplane. The construction was innovative, with use of glassfibre and balsa wood. The F6U was underpowered, and was modified to become the first operational jet fighter with an afterburner. Even then the performance was described as "sub-marginal", and they were assigned to development tasks and training.
Modifications:
F6U-1: Westinghouse J34-WE-22 turbojet mounted in the aft fuselage
F6U-1P: given to one of the production F6U-1s following the installation of cameras for evaluation in a reconnaissance role.

General characteristics F6U-1
Primary function	Fighter
Power plant	One Westinghouse J34-WE-30 turbojet
Thrust	4,224 lb		1,916 kg
Wingspan	32.8 ft		10.00 m
Length	37.66 ft		11.48 m
Height	12.9 ft		3.93 m
Wingarea	203.4 sq ft		18.90 sq m
Weight	empty	7,320 lb	3,320 kg
	max.	12,900 lb	5,851 kg
Speed max.	596 mph		959 km/h
Ceiling	46,260 ft		14,100 m
Range max.	1,170 mi		1,880 km
Armament	4x 20mm cannon
Crew	One
First flight	October 2, 1946
Date deployed	August 1949
Number built	33

Jirka Wagner

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Last updated 19.11.2011