U.S. NAVAL AVIATION RESOURCE CENTER > FIGHTERS > PREVIOUS PAGE VOUGHT F7U CUTLASS Image Gallery [Source: Unknown] Ramp strike of a Vought F7U-3 Cutlass on the aircraft carrier USS Hancock (CVA-19) on 14 July 1955. The pilot, LCDR Jay Alkire, USNR, of fighter squadron VF-124 Stingrays, Carrier Air Group Twelve (CVG-12), was killed. [Source: Charles H. Faulker, BM1, USN/U.S. Navy] F7U-3M Cutlass Launches from USS Intrepid (CV-11) 1954. [Source: U.S. Navy] In 1952, these drivers on Jefferson Boulevard, which ran along the perimeter of Naval Air Station (NAS) Dallas, Texas, got an up close look at an F7U Cutlass on final approach. [Source: National Museum Of Naval Aviation] F7U-3P Cutlass/Bu. 129749, one of twelve aircraft built as photographic reconnaissance versions, 1954 [Source: National Museum Of Naval Aviation] Launch of the first production Vought F7U-1 Cutlass (BuNo 124415) from the aircraft carrier USS Midway (CVB-41) on 23 July 1951. The plane was piloted by Lt.Cmdr. E.L. Feightner. After tests at the NATC Patuxent River the F7U-1 was used for carrier qualifications. It was the only landing of a F7U-1 on a carrier, as the pilot's visibility was so poor that he could not see the flight deck during the landing. The LSO had to give Feightner the signal to cut the engine, but this method almost led to a ramp strike. [Source: Jack Cook Collection] A F7U Cutlass on the ramp at the Naval Air Station Jacksonville, Florida, June 13, 1954 [Source: U.S. Navy] A view of joint operations on board the British Royal Navy carrier HMS Eagle on July 18, 1956. An F7U-3M Cutlass of Attack Squadron (VA) 83 conducts a bounce, its wheels hitting the flight deck momentarily before the plane climbs back into the air. HMS Eagle was not equipped to actually trap a Cutlass. [Source: National Museum Of Naval Aviation] U.S. NAVAL AVIATION RESOURCE CENTER > FIGHTERS > PREVIOUS PAGE   HOW CAN I SUPPORT THIS SITE? (Click Here For Info)