| Aircraft | |
|---|---|
| Registration / Serial: | 129655 |
| Aircraft Original Type: | Vought V-346/366 F7U Cutlass |
| Aircraft Generic Type: | Vought V-346/366 F7U Cutlass |
| Aircraft Version: | Vought F7U-3M Cutlass |
| C/n (msn): | 139 |
| Operator Titles: | USA - Navy |
| Location | |
|---|---|
| City / Airport: | Pensacola - NAS / Forrest Sherman FieldMap |
| Region / Country: | Florida, United States |
| Airport Codes: | ICAO: KNPA IATA: NPA Local: NPA Other: - |
| Collection: | National Museum of Naval Aviation |
| Photo Date: | 13 December 2024 |
| Photo by: | Richard Vandervord |
| Photo ID: | 767801 |
| Photo Comment |
|---|
|
First flown in 1948, the F7U was ahead of its time and the capabilities of available power plants, being dubbed the "Gutless Cutlass". Plagued with weaknesses, over a quarter of the 320 F7Us built were lost to accidents. From 1954 this one flew with VF-83 (Oceana), VF-212 (Moffett), VA-151 (Alameda) and NARTU (Los Alamitos). Displayed in a Los Angeles park from 1960, it was restored from 1991. I was delighted to shoot this having recently acquired the wonderful new Crecy book on the Cutlass, co-authored by the owner of another F7U being restored for flight This photo is copyright © Richard Vandervord, and may not be used or published in any way without permission. It was added on 13 January 2025, and has since been viewed 82 times. |