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Wikipedia / Vought O2U Corsair

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 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 aircraft 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 By 1930 they were being superseded by the O3U which was basically similar to the O2U-4, one variant of which was fitted with the Grumman float, and were manufactured until 1936.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 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 aircraft were built for the United States Navy. No fewer than 141 Corsairs were still serving with the US 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 thwart 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 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.

In 1929 Peru replaced surviving Vought UOs with 12 O2U-1. Used first as trainers, they saw action against APRA rebels in the north of the country, and against Colombian forces during the Colombia-Peru War. None were lost due to enemy fire, but several were destroyed in accidents. These 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.

Variants

  1. XO-28: Single example for U.S. Army Air Corps evaluation with serial 29-323, Wright Field Project Number P-547, powered by a 450 h.p. R-1340-C engine. Destroyed in a fire at in March 1930.

  2. O2U-1: two prototypes followed by 130 production aircraft for USN with interchangeable wheel/float landing gear and 28 aircraft for other customers. Pratt & Whitney R-1340-88 Wasp engine

  3. O2U-2: 37 built, increased span and larger rudder

  4. O2U-3: 110 built (30 for export), revised wing rigging, some had redesigned tail surfaces and Pratt & Whitney R-1340-C engine

  5. O2U-4: 43 built (1 for export. Also seven civilian O2U were built), similar to O2U-3 but with equipment changes

  6. O2U-4A: 31 built, Mexican licensed production

  7. O3U-1: 87 built as observation seaplanes incorporating Grumman amphibious float

  8. O3U-2: 29 built, strengthened airframe, Pratt & Whitney R-1690 Hornet engine

  9. O3U-3: 76 built, Pratt & Whitney R-1340-12 Wasp engine.

  10. O3U-4: 65 built, Pratt & Whitney R-1690-42 Hornet engine.

  11. XO3U-5: test aircraft with Pratt & Whitney R-1535 engine

  12. XO3U-6: test aircraft converted from O3U-3 with NACA cowling and enclosed cockpits

  13. O3U-6: 32 built, 16 with Pratt & Whitney R-1340-12 Wasp and 16 with Pratt & Whitney R-1340-18 Wasp engines

  14. SU-1: Scout version of the O3U based on the O3U-2, 28 built

  15. SU-2: Scout version of the O3U based on the O3U-4, 53 built

  16. SU-3: Variant of the SU-2 with low-pressure tires, 20 built

  17. XSU-4: SU-2 converted as a prototype SU-4 variant with a R-1690-42 engine, later became an SU-4.

  18. SU-4: SU-4 re-engined with a R-1690-2 engine, 41 built

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

  20. Vought V-65B: Export version for Brazil - 36

  21. Vought V-65C: Export version for Nationalist China

  22. Vought V-65F: Export version for Argentine Navy

  23. Vought V-66B: Export version for Brazil

  24. 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.

  25. Vought V-66F: Export version for Brazil - 15, and Argentine Navy

  26. Vought V-80F: Export version for Argentine Navy

  27. Vought V-80P: Export version for Peruvian Air Force

  28. Vought V-85G: Export version for Germany

  29. Vought V-92C: Export version for Nationalist China

  30. Vought V-93S: Export version of the O3U-6 for Thailand. Locally designated B.F.5 () as a trainer and B.J.1 () as an attack aircraft.

  31. Vought V-99M: Export version for Mexico

  32. TNCA Corsario Azcárate: 31 O2U-4A aircraft built under license in Mexico.

  33. Vought AXV1: A single O2U supplied to the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service for evaluation in 1929.

  34. O1V: Brazilian Navy designation of the O2U-2A.

  35. O2V: Brazilian Navy designation of the V-66B.

Operators

Argentine Navy

Specifications (SU-4 Corsair)

References

Citations

Sources

Further reading