Vought OS2U
Vought OS2U Kingfisher | |
---|---|
Type: | Reconnaissance plane |
Design country: | |
Manufacturer: | |
First flight: |
March 1, 1938 (as a land plane) |
Commissioning: |
August 1940 |
Production time: |
1940 to 1942 |
Number of pieces: |
1519 |
The Vought OS2U Kingfisher (factory designation VS 310) was a single-engine reconnaissance aircraft that could be used in many ways. The aircraft, which can be equipped with both floats and a wheeled landing gear, could be launched from large warships , among other things, with the help of an aircraft catapult . After landing, the aircraft was hoisted onto the carrier ship by crane.
history
The prototype of the seaplane variant of the OS2U flew for the first time on May 19, 1938 and was used as a catapult aircraft by the US Navy from 1940 . A total of 1519 machines were produced. In addition to the US Navy and the US Coast Guard, she was in service in many other naval forces. These included the British and Soviet navies , the Australian air force and a number of Latin American countries.
The main purposes were reconnaissance , anti -submarine defense and sea rescue . The Naval Aircraft Factory in Philadelphia built the OS2U-3 under license; this version was named OS2N-1.
construction
The OS2U was a compact two-seater middle - decker with a central float and two small stabilizing floats under the wing tips. It wasn't particularly powerful with its 443-horsepower Pratt & Whitney R-985 AN-2 engine and was relatively slow to fly. The OS2U could also be equipped with a fixed landing gear.
production
Acceptance of the Chance-Vought Kingfisher by the US Navy:
Manufacturer | version | 1940 | 1941 | 1942 | TOTAL |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Chance-Vought, Stratford | OS2U-1 | 54 | 54 | ||
Chance-Vought, Stratford | OS2U-2 | 3 | 155 | 158 | |
Chance-Vought, Stratford | OS2U-3 | 369 | 638 | 1.007 | |
Naval Aircraft, Philadelphia | OS2N-1 | 300 | 300 | ||
TOTAL | 57 | 524 | 938 | 1,519 |
Countries of operation
- Argentina (9 copies)
- Australia (18)
- Chile (15)
- Dominican Republic (3)
- Mexico (6)
- Soviet Union : 2 under the Lend Lease Act
- United Kingdom
- Uruguay (8)
- United States : Coast Guard, Navy
Technical specifications
Parameter | Naval Aircraft Factory OS2N-1 |
---|---|
length | 10.08 m |
span | 10.69 m |
Wing area | 24 m² |
height | 4.60 m |
drive | a radial engine Pratt & Whitney R-985 -AN-2 with 443 HP (330 kW) |
Top speed | 264 km / h at an altitude of 1980 m |
Range | 1860 km |
crew | Pilot and observer |
Service ceiling | 3060 m |
Empty mass | 1870 kg |
Flight mass | 2722 kg |
Armament | two 7.62mm machine guns , 295kg bombs |
literature
- Al Adcock: OS2U Kingfisher in Action (Aircraft in Action No. 119). Squadron / Signal Publications, Inc., Carrollton 1991, ISBN 0-89747-270-5 .
- Peter M. Bowers : United States Navy Aircraft since 1911. Naval Institute Press, Annapolis 1990, ISBN 0-87021-792-5 , pp. 447-448.
- Thomas E. Doll, BR Jackson: Vought-Sikorsky OS2U Kingfisher. In: Aircraft in Profile. Volume 14. Profile Publications Ltd., Windsor 1974, pp. 113-136, ISBN 0-85383-023-1 , pp. 113-136.
- Paul Eden, Soph Moeng (Ed.): The Complete Encyclopedia of World Aircraft. Amber Books Ltd., London 2002, ISBN 0-7607-3432-1 .
- Patrick M. Hickman: The Aircraft Collection. The Naval Aviation Museum Foundation Inc., Pensacola 2010.
- Hans-Joachim Mau, Hans Heiri Stapfer: Under the Red Star - Lend Lease Aircraft for the Soviet Union 1941–1945. Transpress, Berlin 1991, ISBN 3-344-70710-8 , pp. 130-133.
- Barry Pattison: Kingfisher in the Antipodes. Red Roo Model Publications, Glen Waverly, Victoria 1998.
- Ray Sturtivant, M. Burrow: Fleet Air Arm Aircraft: 1939 to 1945. Air Britain (Historians) Ltd, Tonbridge 1995, ISBN 0-85130-232-7 .
- David Vincent: Kangaroo Kingfishers. In: Air Enthusiast . No. 77, September / October 1998, Key Publishing, Stamford UK, ISSN 0143-5450 , pp. 54-62.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Statistical Digest of the USAF 1946, p. 100 ff .; www.uswarplanes.net
- ↑ Jerry Scutts: Vought Kingfisher. In: AIR International. January 1996, p. 52.
- ↑ Hans-Joachim Mau, Hans Heiri Stapfer: Under the Red Star - Lend Lease Aircraft for the Soviet Union 1941-1945. Transpress, Berlin 1991, ISBN 3-344-70710-8 , pp. 130-133.