Vought O2U Corsair

File:Vought O2U Corsair over Cavite in 1930.jpg

An O2U floatplane flies over the Cavite Navy Yard, circa 1930. The seaplane tender is docked at the yard, directly below the plane. Sangley Point is in the background.

The Vought O2U Corsair is a 1920s biplane scout and observation aircraft. Developed by Vought Corporation, the O2U was ordered by the United States Navy (USN) in 1927. Powered by a 400 hp (298 kW) Pratt & Whitney R-1340 engine, it incorporated a steel-tube fuselage structure and a wood wing structure with fabric covering. Many were seaplanes or amphibians.

The O2U was the first of several Vought planes to bear the name Corsair. The Vought SBU Corsair of 1933, Vought F4U Corsair of 1938, and A-7 Corsair II of 1963 all also bore the name.

Design and development

Two prototypes were ordered in 1926 and tested by the Navy Trial Board before the first production batches were ordered. In 1927, a total of 291 O2Us were produced. The O2U-2, -3 and -4 were ordered in 1928 with minor changes. By 1930 they were being superseded by the O3U which was basically similar to the O2U-4, one variant of which was fitted with the Grumman float, and were manufactured until 1936. A total of 289 were built. Many of them had cowled engines and some had enclosed cockpits.

Operational history

The 600-690 hp (448-515 kW) Pratt & Whitney R-1690-42 Hornet engine was used to power Corsairs designated SU-1 to SU-4. The change in designation reflected their role as scouts (their larger engines and heavier weight precluded their use as floatplanes, and USN examples were only used on wheels from either carrier decks or land bases). A total of 289 SU designated aircraft were built for the USN. No fewer than 141 Corsairs were still serving with the United States Navy and United States Marine Corps when the United States entered World War II in December 1941.

Export versions included the Corsair V-65F, V-66F and V-80F for the Argentine Navy, the V-80P for the Peruvian Air Force, and the V-85G for Germany. China purchased Corsair variants V-65C and V-92C. Brazil purchased 36 aircraft V-65B, some hydroplanes V-66B and 15 V-65F.

In March 1929, Mexico purchased 12 armed aircraft O2U-2M versions with the Wasp engine to quell a military coup; Mexico then built 31 more units under licence, and called them Corsarios Azcárate O2U-4A. In 1937, Mexico purchased 10 V-99M equipped with the Pratt & Whitney R-1340-T1H-1 550 hp Wasp engine, some of them may have been sent to Spain.

China purchased the 42 export versions of O2U-1 from 1929 to 1933, and 21 export versions of O3U between 1933 and 1934 and they saw extensive bombing actions. The O2U-1 versions participated in the Central Plains War and in the January 28 Incident against Japanese targets, while the O3U versions first participated in the Battle of Pingxingguan to support the Chinese ground forces, and later against the Japanese targets in Shanghai.

Peru purchased two Vought OSUs which were designated UO-1A. Later, in 1929, 12 O2U-1 were acquired. Used first as trainers, they saw action against APRA rebels in the northern areas of the country, and against Colombian ships and aircraft during the Colombia-Peru War. None were lost due to enemy fire, but several were destroyed due to accidents. These aircraft were also used for light bombing and casualty evacuation by the U.S. Marine Corps during the U.S. intervention in Nicaragua in the late 1920s.

Thailand used its Corsairs in the Franco-Thai War and in the Battle of Ko Chang against the French Navy.

The most famous "combat" operation of the O2U was its use in the 1933 film King Kong, in which O2Us shoot the giant ape King Kong off of the Empire State Building in New York City.

Variants

XO-28

Single example taken on charge by the U.S. Army Air Corps for evaluation with serial 29-323, Wright Field Project Number P-547, powered by a 450 h.p. R-1340-C engine. Destroyed in hangar fire at Wright Field, Ohio, 18 March 1930.

O2U-1

two prototypes followed by 130 production aircraft for USN with interchangeable wheel/float landing gear and 28 aircraft for other customers. 450 hp (336 kW) Pratt & Whitney R-1340-88 Wasp engine

O2U-2

37 built, increased span and larger rudder

O2U-3

110 built (30 for export), revised wing rigging, redesigned tail surfaces and Pratt & Whitney R-1340-C engine

O2U-4

43 built (1 for export. Also seven civilian O2U were built), similar to O2U-3 but with equipment changes

O3U-1

87 built as observation seaplanes incorporating Grumman amphibious float

O3U-2

29 built, strengthened airframe, Pratt & Whitney R-1690 Hornet engine

O3U-3

76 built, 550 hp (410 kW) Pratt & Whitney R-1340-12 Wasp engine.

O3U-4

65 built, Pratt & Whitney R-1690-42 Hornet engine.

XO3U-5

test aircraft with Pratt & Whitney R-1535 engine

XO3U-6

test aircraft converted from O3U-3 with NACA cowling and enclosed cockpits

O3U-6

32 built, 16 with Pratt & Whitney R-1340-12 Wasp and 16 with Pratt & Whitney R-1340-18 Wasp engines

SU-1

Scout version of the O3U based on the O3U-2, 28 built

SU-2

Scout version of the O3U based on the O3U-4, 53 built

SU-3

Variant of the SU-2 with low-pressure tires, 20 built

XSU-4

SU-2 converted as a prototype SU-4 variant with a 600 hp R-1690-42 engine, later became an SU-4.

SU-4

SU-4 re-engined with a 600 hp R-1690-2 engine, 41 built

One United States Navy O2U-3 evaluated by the United States Army Air Corps.

Vought V-65B

Export version for Brazil - 36

Vought V-65C

Export version for Nationalist China

Vought V-65F

Export version for Argentine Navy

Vought V-66B

Export version for Brazil

Vought V-66E

Export version for United Kingdom, powered by Pratt & Whitney Wasp D.1 engine, one brought for evaluation by the Royal Air Force, delivered 1933 and discarded 1936.

Vought V-66F

Export version for Brazil - 15, and Argentine Navy

Vought V-80F

Export version for Argentine Navy

Vought V-80P

Export version for Peruvian Air Force

Vought V-85G

Export version for Germany

Vought V-92C

Export version for Nationalist China

Vought V-93S

Export version of the O3U-6 for Thailand. Locally designated B.F.5 (Template:Langx) as a trainer and B.J.1 (Template:Langx) as an attack aircraft.

Vought V-99M

Export version for Mexico

TNCA Corsario Azcárate

31 O2U-4A aircraft built under license in Mexico.

Vought AXV1

A single O2U supplied to the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service for evaluation in 1929.

O1V

Brazilian Navy designation of the O2U-2A.

O2V

Brazilian Navy designation of the V-66B.

Operators

File:Ray Wagner Collection Photo (15903336487).jpg

Argentine Navy O2U Corsair

File:V93CorsairRTAFMuseum.jpg

The only survivor of V-93S/SA Corsair fleet, displayed at the Royal Thai Air Force Museum

• Argentine Navy
  • Argentine Naval Aviation

• Brazilian Air Force

Template:Flagcountry

• Chinese Nationalist Air Force
• Chinese Red Army - One V-65-C1 was obtained from a defection during the Long March and named "Lenin".

• Cuban Air Force - received at least 14 O2U-1A and O2U-3As from 1929.

Dominican Republic

• Dominican Air Force - received one O2U-1 and two O2U-3SDs.

Germany - commercial variant (V-85G) used to deliver mail from the ocean liners SS Bremen and SS Europa

• Imperial Japanese Army Air Force

• Mexican Air Force

• Peruvian Air Force

• Royal Air Force, one V.66E for evaluation

United States

• United States Army Air Corps one for evaluation
• United States Navy
• United States Marine Corps
• United States Coast Guard

• Royal Thai Air Force had 70 operational aircraft at the time of the French-Thai War.

Specifications (SU-4 Corsair)

File:Vought O2U-2 3-view Aero Digest November 1928.jpg

Vought O2U-2 3-view drawing from Aero Digest November 1928