Ling-Temco-Vought
F7U Cutlass

The Vought F7U Cutlass is a United States Navy carrier-based jet fighter and fighter-bomber designed and produced by the aircraft manufacturer Chance Vought. It was the first tailless production fighter in the United States as well as United States Navy's first jet equipped with swept wings and the first to be designed with afterburners.

The Cutlass was developed during the late 1940s and early 1950s as Vought's entry in a United States Navy competition. Their design team, which was influenced by design information obtained from Nazi Germany, opted for a tailless configuration paired with low aspect ratio swept wings, which was regarded as a radical departure from traditional aircraft design for the era. Vought's submission was favoured by Navy officials and was declared the winner in 1946. On 29 September 1948, the prototype performed its maiden flight; all three prototypes would be lost during the flight test programme. It was initially powered by a pair of Westinghouse J34 turbojet engines which were relatively underpowered, contributing to its accident-prone nature; its unreliable hydraulic flight control system was also a source of difficulties.

The Vought F7U Cutlass was a carrier -based jet fighter and fighter-bomber . It featured broad chord , low aspect ratio swept wings , with twin wing-mounted tail fins either side of a short fuselage . As there was no horizontal tail surfaces, there were no flaps . The cockpit , which was pressurized , was situated well forward to provide good visibility for the pilot during aircraft carrier approaches . The pilot was provisioned with an ejector seat . Common nicknames for the F7U amongst naval aviators included the "Gutless Cutlass", the "Ensign Eliminator" and, in kinder moments, the "Praying Mantis". Wiki Link