Vought XF3U

The Vought XF3U was the prototype of a two-seat, all-metal biplane fighter built by Vought at Dallas, Texas for the United States Navy. It was designed to Bureau of Aeronautics Design Specification No. 111 of 1932, which called for a high-performance fighter with a fixed undercarriage and a Pratt & Whitney R-1535 Twin Wasp Junior radial engine. Of seven proposals, the Berliner-Joyce XF3J-1, Curtiss XF12C-1, Chance Vought XF3U-1 and Douglas XFD-1 were chosen, and prototypes were ordered on 30 June 1932. The XF3U was the first all-metal aircraft Vought produced and had an enclosed cockpit. In flight testing in 1933 it outperformed the Douglas entry and was chosen the winner, but the Navy had lost interest in two-seat fighters and only the one prototype, Bureau number 9222, was built. The design then evolved into a dive bomber, the XSBU prototype for the SBU-1 Corsair, and the aircraft was also redesignated the XSBU.