SBU Corsair

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Vought SBU-1 Corsairs in colourful prewar US Navy markings during the mid-thirties.

The Vought SBU-1 Corsair was a two seat, all metal biplane dive bomber built by Vought Aircraft Company of Dallas, Texas for the US Navy. Its design was based upon the F3U-1 two seat fighter that was abandoned when the Navy decided not to built anymore two seat fighters. The aircraft was equipped with a closed cockpit, had fixed landing gear, and was powered by a Pratt & Whitney R-1535 radial air-cooled engine as had the F3U-1, but also included a controllable pitch propeller and a new NACA cowl with adjustable cowling gills on the trailing edge of the cowl. The adjustable cowling gills permitted better control of cooling airflow over the engine.

The SBU-1 completed flight tests in 1934 and went into production under a contract awarded in January 1935. The Corsair was the first aircraft of its type, a scout bomber, to fly faster than 200 mph.

1 Specifications (SBU-2)
- 1.1 General characteristics
- 1.2 Performance
2 Armament
3 Operators

[edit] Specifications (SBU-2)

[edit] General characteristics

Crew: two: pilot, navigator/gunner
Length: 8.4 m (27 ft 9 in)
Wingspan: 10.1 m (33 ft 3 in)
Height: 3.6 m (11 ft 11 in)
Wing area: 27.4 m² (295 ft²)
Empty: 1,558 kg (3435 lb)
Maximum takeoff: 2,427 kg (5,351 lb)
Powerplant: one, Pratt and Whitney R-1535-98 Twin Wasp Jr. double row radial air-cooled engine, 518 kW (700 hp)