Vought OS2U Kingfisher
The Vought OS2U Kingfisher was an American catapult-launched observation floatplane. It was a compact mid-wing monoplane, with a large 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, with the United States Marine Corps in Marine Scouting Squadron THREE (VMS-3), with the United States Coast Guard at coastal air stations, at sea with the Fleet Air Arm of the Royal Navy, and with 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 1 March 1938.
Operational history
The first 54 Kingfishers were delivered to the U.S. Navy beginning in August 1940 and six had been assigned to the Pearl Harbor based Battle Force before the end of the same year. Many of the following 158 OS2U-2s were attached to flight training at Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida, but 53 were assigned to equip the newly established Inshore Patrol Squadrons, based at NAS Jacksonville, Florida. In 1942, nine more Inshore Patrol Squadrons were established, all exclusively equipped with OS2N-1s built by the Naval Aircraft Factory.[1]
The Kingfisher was widely used as a shipboard, catapult-launched scout plane on US Navy battleships, heavy cruisers and light cruisers during World War II, as well as playing a major role in support of shore bombardments and air-sea rescue. Two examples showing the plane's rescue capabilities include the recovery of World War I ace Eddie Rickenbacker and his crew from the Pacific in November 1942 and LT John A. Burns' unique use of the aircraft in April 1944 to taxi airmen rescued from the Truk Lagoon to the submarine USS Tang which was serving rescue duty near the atoll on that date. In all, LT Burns rescued 10 survivors on two trips and was awarded the Navy Cross for his efforts. Additionally, the Kingfisher served as a trainer in both its seaplane and landplane configurations throughout the war.[2] The OS2U and even its predecessor, the Curtiss SOC Seagull served much longer than planned, as the planned successor, the Curtiss SO3C Seamew, suffered from an insufficiently powerful engine which was a complete failure.[3] The OS2U was only slowly replaced in the latter stages of World War II with the introduction of the Curtiss SC Seahawk, the first examples reaching the U.S. Navy in October 1944.[4]
Australia received 18 Kingfishers from a batch of aircraft ordered by the Dutch East Indies that was diverted to Australia in 1942. They were initially used as training aircraft for pilots destined for flying boats, but in 1943, they were used to equip No. 107 Squadron RAAF, which carried out convoy escort duties until disbanded in October 1945.[5] One Kingfisher was used in support of the Australian National Antarctic Reseach Expedition in 1947–48.[6]
Variants
- XO2SU-1
- Prototype Vought Model VS.310 powered by a 450 hp (336 kW) Pratt & Whitney R-985-4 engine, one built.
- OS2U-1
- Initial production variant as the prototype but powered by a 450 hp (336 kW) Pratt & Whitney R-985-48, 54 built.
- OS2U-2
- Production variant with minor equipment changes and powered by a 450 hp (336 kW) Pratt & Whitney R-985-50, 158 built.
- OS2U-3
- Based on the 02SU-2 with self-sealing fuel tanks, armour protection, two .30 cal (7.62 mm) guns (dorsal and nose mounted), and able to carry 325 lb (147 kg) of depth charges or 100 lb (45 kg) bombs, powered by a 450 hp (336 kW) 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 OS2U-3 with a 450 hp (336 kW) 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.
Operators
- Australia
- Chile
- 15 aircraft, operated 1942–1957.
- Cuba
- Operated four aircraft between 1942 and 1959.
- Dominican Republic
- (Three aircraft)
- Mexico
- Six aircraft, 201 Squadron.
- Netherlands
- 24 aircraft, not delivered in time for hostilities.
- Soviet Union
- 2 aircraft on the ship USS Milwaukee (Murmansk)
- United Kingdom
- Received 100 aircraft.
- United States
- Uruguay
Survivors
At least eight Kingfishers survive in collections of historic aircraft around the world:[7]
- Vought OS2U-3 (BuNo 5926) Kingfisher is at the National Museum of Naval Aviation at NAS Pensacola, Florida. It was one of six OS2U-3 Kingfishers that were transferred by Lend-Lease to the Uruguayan Navy during World War II. This aircraft operated as a seaplane until 1958 and was obtained in 1971.[8][9]
- Vought OS2U-3 (BuNo 5909) Kingfisher is on display in the Boeing Aviation Hangar at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center, National Air and Space Museum at Dulles International Airport outside of Washington, DC. This aircraft was loaned to the Palm Springs Air Museum north of Palm Springs International Airport while the NASM's Udvar-Hazy Center was under construction.[10][11][12]
- Vought OS2U-4 (marked #60, painted as BuNo 0951) Kingfisher: Obtained years ago from Mexico, this aircraft is now displayed in the aircraft pavilion at the battleship USS Alabama (BB-60) in Mobile, Alabama. Unfortunately, the building and the aircraft sustained some damage from Hurricane Ivan in 2004.[13]
- Vought OS2U-3 (marked #55) Kingfisher is on board the battleship USS North Carolina (BB-55) in Wilmington, NC. With the assistance of a Royal Canadian Air Force Piasecki helicopter, Lynn Garrison salvaged this Kingfisher from Calvert Island, off British Columbia during the winter of 1963. It crashed there on a ferry flight to Alaska during World War II. Garrison then donated it to the North Carolina Battleship Commission. It was restored for display by volunteers at Vought Aeronautics in Grand Prairie, TX.[14]
- Vought OS2U-3 (BuNo Unknown) Kingfisher is in storage at the Yanks Air Museum at Chino, California.[15]
- Vought OS2U-3 (BuNo 5985) Kingfisher is at Whale World, Albany, Western Australia. It is also waiting "to be restored." Originally built for Netherlands Navy in Dutch East Indies, it was transferred to the RAAF in 1942, serving with Seaplane Training Flight (later 3 OTU) and 107 Sqn before being sold as war surplus in 1945.[16]
- Vought OS2U-3 (BuNo 5925) Kingfisher is restored and on display at the Museo Nacional Aeronáutico y del Espacio de Chile, Santiago.[17]
- Vought OS2U-3 (marked #50) Kingfisher is at the Museum of the Revolution (Museo de la Revolución), Havana, Cuba. It is fitted with fixed landing gear rather than a float.[18]
Specifications (OS2U-3)
Data from The Complete Encyclopedia of World Aircraft[19]
General characteristics
Performance
Armament
See also
- Aircraft of comparable role, configuration and era
References
- Notes
- Bibliography
- Adcock, Al. OS2U Kingfisher in Action (Aircraft in Action No. 119). Carrollton, Texas: Squadron/Signal Publications, Inc., 1991. ISBN 0-89747-270-5.
- Bowers, Peter M. United States Navy Aircraft since 1911. Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press, 1990, pp. 447–448. ISBN 0-87021-792-5.
- Doll, Thomas E. and B.R. Jackson. "Vought-Sikorsky OS2U Kingfisher". Aircraft in Profile, Volume 14. Windsor, Berkshire, UK: Profile Publications Ltd., 1974, pp. 113–136. ISBN 0-85383-023-1.
- Eden, Paul and Soph Moeng, eds. The Complete Encyclopedia of World Aircraft. London: Amber Books Ltd., 2002, ISBN 0-7607-3432-1.
- Hickman, Patrick M. The Aircraft Collection. Pensacola, FL: The Naval Aviation Museum Foundation, Inc., 2010.
- Pattison, Barry. Kingfisher in the Antipodes. Glen Waverly, Victoria 3150, Australia: Red Roo Model Publications, 1998.
- Sturtivant, Ray and M. Burrow. Fleet Air Arm Aircraft: 1939 to 1945. Tonbridge, Kent, UK: Air Britain (Historians) Ltd, 1995. ISBN 0-85130-232-7.
- Vincent, David. "Kangaroo Kingfishers". Air Enthusiast, No. 77, September/October 1998. Stamford, UK: Key Publishing. pp. 54–62. ISSN 0143-5450.
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