OS2U Kingfisher
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| OS2U Kingfisher | |
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| Type | Observation floatplane |
| Manufacturer | Vought |
| Maiden flight | 1938 |
| Primary users | United States Navy Royal Navy |
| Number built | 1519 |
The Vought OS2U Kingfisher was a American catapult-launched observation floatplane. It was a compact mid-wing monoplane, with a big central float and small stabilizing floats. Performance was modest, because of its light engine. The OS2U could also operate on fixed, wheeled, taildragger landing gear.
The OS2U was the main shipboard observation aircraft used by the United States Navy during World War II, and 1,519 of the aircraft were built. It served on battleships and cruisers of the US Navy, and with the US Coast Guard, the Royal Navy and the Soviet Navy. The Royal Australian Air Force also operated a few Kingfishers from shore bases.
The Naval Aircraft Factory OS2N was the designation of the OS2U-3 aircraft built by the Naval Aircraft Factory in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The OS2U first flew on March 1, 1938.
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[edit] Variants
- XO2SU-1
- Prototype Vought Model VS.310 powered by a 450hp (336kW) Pratt & Whitney R-985-4 engine, one built.
- OS2U-1
- Initial production variant as the prototype but powered by a 450hp (336kW) Pratt & Whitney R-985-48, 54 built.
- OS2U-2
- Production variant with minor equipment changes and powered by a 450hp (336kW) Pratt & Whitney R-985-50, 158 built.
- OS2U-3
- Based on the 02SU-2 with self-sealing fuel tanks, armour protection, two 0.3 in guns (dorsal and nose mounted), and able to carry 325lb (147kg) of depth charges or 100lb (45kg) bombs, powered by a 450hp (336kW) Pratt & Whitney R-985-AN2 engine, 1006 built.
- OS2U-4
- Two aircraft converted with narrow-chord and high-aspect ratio wings, also fitted with full-span flaps. Not developed.
- OS2N-1
- Naval Aircraft Factory built 02SU-3 with a 450hp (336kW) Pratt & Whitney R-985-AN-2 or -AN-8 engine, 300 built.
- Kingfisher I
- British designation for the OS2U-3, 100 delivered to the Royal Navy.
[edit] Operators
Argentina (nine)
Australia - Royal Australian Air Force
Chile (fifteen)
Cuba
Dominican Republic (three)
Mexico (six, 201 Squadron)
Netherlands (twenty-four not delivered in time)
Soviet Union
United Kingdom: Royal Navy (one hundred)
United States United States Navy US Coast Guard (forty)
Uruguay (six)
[edit] Survivors
At least nine Kingfishers seem to be still around in museums all over the world [1]. There is one at the National Naval Aviation Museum at Pensacola, Florida (obtained in 1971 from the Uruguayan Navy)[2][3]
Two Kingfishers are to be found on battleships: One on the battleship Alabama in Mobile, Alabama [4] and one on board the battleship North Carolina. Another Kingfisher on display is to be seen at the National Air and Space Museum outside of Washington DC. [5]
At the Yanks Air Museum at Chino, California there is a Kingfisher waiting 'to be restored', and one at Palm Springs Air Museum north of Palm Springs International Airport has recently been brought back to a nice state[6] as needs to be done with one at Whale World, Albany, Western Australia[7]. In the Museo Nacional Aeronáutico y del Espacio de Chile, Santiago there is a restored Kingfisher[8], as is one at Museum of the Revolution (Museo de la Revolución), Havana, Cuba. The latter is equipped with a 'fixed gear'. It has since been relocated to the Museo del Aire in Havana [9]
[edit] Specifications (OS2U-3)
.jpg/180px-Kingfisher_(AWM_150454).jpg)
Data from "The Complete Encyclopedia of World Aircraft" Editors: Paul Eden & Soph Moeng, ISBN 0-7607-3432-1, page 1128
General characteristics
- Crew: Two, pilot and observer
- Length: 33 ft 10 in (10.31 m)
- Wingspan: 35 ft 11 in (10.95 m)
- Height: 15 ft 1.5 in (4.61 m)
- Wing area: 262 ft² (24 m²)
- Empty weight: 4,123 lb (1,870 kg)
- Max takeoff weight: 6,000 lb (2,721 kg)
- Powerplant: 1× Pratt & Whitney R-985-AN-2 radial engine, 450 hp (336 kW)
Performance
- Maximum speed: 164 mph (264 km/h)
- Range: 805 mi (1,296 km)
- Service ceiling 13,000 ft (3,960 m)
Armament
- 2x .30 in (7.62 mm) M1919 Browning machine guns
- 650 lb (295 kg) of bombs
[edit] See also
Comparable aircraft
[edit] References
[edit] Notes
- ^ http://www.geocities.com/usnavyindanger/seaplanefighters.htm
- ^ http://collections.naval.aviation.museum/emuwebdoncoms/pages/doncoms/Display.php?irn=16006706&QueryPage=%2FDtlQuery.php
- ^ http://aeroweb.brooklyn.cuny.edu/database/museums/getimage.htm?id=547 Kingfisher at National Naval Aviation Museum Alabama
- ^ http://aeroweb.brooklyn.cuny.edu/database/aircraft/getimage.htm?id=15769 Kingfisher at Mobile
- ^ http://www.airliners.net/photo/USA---Navy/Vought-Sikorsky-OS2U-3-Kingfisher/1162312 Kingfisher nect to 'Enola Gay'
- ^ http://www.airfighters.com/photo_2388.details Kingfisher at Palm Springs
- ^ http://www.airliners.net/photo/Untitled/Vought-Sikorsky-OS2U-3-Kingfisher/0464660 Kingfisher at Whaleworld
- ^ http://www.angelfire.com/oh3/pmodels/KING3.jpg Chilean Kingfisher
- ^ http://www.airteamimages.com/52358.html Photograph of the Cuban Kingfisher at the Museo del Aire, Havana
[edit] Bibliography
- Adcock, Al. OS2U Kingfisher in Action (Aircraft in Action No. 119). Carrollton, Texas: Squadron/Signal Publications, Inc., 1991. ISBN 0-89747-270-5.
- Doll, Thomas E. and Jackson, B.R. "Vought-Sikorsky OS2U Kingfisher". Aircraft in Profile, Volume 14. Windsor, Berkshire, UK: Profile Publications Ltd., 1974, p. 113-136. ISBN 0-85383-023-1.
- Pattison, Barry. Kingfisher in the Antipodes. Glen Waverly, Victoria 3150, Australia: Red Roo Model Publications, 1998.
- Sturtivant, Ray & Burrow, M. Fleet Air Arm Aircraft - 1939 to 1945. Tonbridge, Kent, UK: Air Britain (Historians) Ltd, 1995. ISBN 0-85130-232-7.
[edit] External links
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