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The F7U Cutlass was meant to be Vought's contribution to Naval fighter designs in the 1950s as a supplement and replacement for Grumman's F9F-5 Panther and McDonnell's F2H Banshee. Knowing it faced stiff competition from the F9F-6 Cougar and F3H Demon, Vought made the aircraft as radical as possible to attract orders. This new design was unusual, to say the least. It used swept wings, twin tails set back from the wings rather than attached to the fuselage, a twin-engine configuration (rare for fighters at the time), and a cockpit set well forward for better visibility. Vought assured the Navy that the aircraft would be able to reach over 600mph at altitude, though it would not be supersonic; slats and the broad wing would give it excellent maneuverability.

Allegedly, it was thought that the Cutlass design was based on aerodynamic data that was captured from the German Arado plant after WWII. However, Vought designers vehemently denied any such link at the time. The Navy accepted the design as the F7U-1 Cutlass, and ordered 14 preproduction versions, with a follow-on of about 250 F7U-2/3s. The F7U was the last aircraft designed by Rex Beisel, who was responsible for the first fighter ever explicitly designed for the U.S. Navy, the Curtiss TS-1 of 1922.

Almost immediately, everything went horribly wrong. While the Cutlass was indeed a nimble aircraft, it was often too much for the pilot to handle: new technology always experienced teething problems, and the Cutlass was no exception. The worst problem with the F7U, however, was the engines. The Westinghouse J46 was known to have problems, and with the Cutlass it ruined the possibility of a suitable aircraft. The J46s were extremely unreliable—they were known to flame out during hard turns or even in rainstorms and could not produce enough thrust. Because of how high the F7U sat on the deck, the nose gear was stressed for carrier landings, but the gear nonetheless still tended to collapse on landing, which would invariably injure the pilot.

All three prototypes of the Cutlass were lost in crashes, and the accident rate had grown so high that some squadrons never took them out to sea. The Blue Angels were given two for solo demonstrations, but after two near-catastrophic accidents, the F7Us were abandoned by the team at the nearest possible convenience. During its time in service, the aircraft gained nicknames like "Gutless Cutlass," "Ensign Eliminator," and, in kinder moments, the "Praying Mantis." The performance of the Cutlass was so bad that the Navy ended up canceling a contract for 400 additional aircraft. In 1957, Vought, already reeling from the utter failure of the F6U Pirate, nearly went bankrupt, but luckily, the company's next design turned out to be the superlative F8U Crusader. By March 1959, the type was fully retired from U.S. Navy service. Out of 320 F7Us built between 1948 and 1955, only seven examples survive today.

This F7U-3, BuNo 129565, was only the 49th aircraft built. She was accepted into U.S. Navy service on October 29th, 1953, with the aircraft initially assigned to Fleet Air Service Squadron Twelve (FASRON-12) on November 24th, 1954. Later, it was transferred over to Fleet Composite Squadron Three (VC-3) on April 2nd, 1955. It was flown by future NASA astronaut LT Walter Schirra at both units. After that, custody was transferred to FASRON-8 at Alameda, CA, for shipment to FASRON-11 at NAF Atsugi as a replacement aircraft for Fleet Air Japan. It was loaded aboard USS Bon Homme Richard (CVA 31) and departed for Japan on August 16th, 1956, along with deployed Attack Squadron Two Hundred Twelve (VA-212), which was equipped with F7U-3s. Upon CVA-31's arrival in Japan, the aircraft was assigned to VA-212 to replace a squadron aircraft damaged during the initial deployment. It operated from NAF Atsugi and Bon Homme Richard for the squadron's deployment.

After its return from the Far East deployment, the F7U-3 was transferred to the Naval Air Reserve Training Unit at NAS Olathe, Kansas on May 19th, 1957. It was placed on pylons at Olathe's Harrison Street Park in Kansas for display until being moved to the U.S. Navy Memorial Park at Johnston County Industrial Airport in 1978. The USS Hornet Sea, Air & Space Museum acquired the aircraft for display, but due to the extensive restoration required, it was transferred to NAS North Island. In 2011, it was transported to the Vought Aircraft Heritage Foundation's retirees group in Dallas, Texas, for restoration. After eight years, it returned to NAS North Island's Hangar 805 in 2019 where restoration work continued, including the fabrication of many replacement parts. It was unveiled to the public onboard the USS Midway on December 14th, 2022, and has since been on display on the main deck of the Midway at the port of San Diego.

Pilot Paul Wood in his wonderful and diminutive Douglas A-4C Skyhawk during the 2017 NAS Pensacola Airshow

Aka 'The Scooter' she wears her former US Navy marks of BuAerNo.148609/NP685 from Attack Squadron VA-76 when aboard the carrier - the USS Bon Homme Richard

She now flies with The Warbird Heritage Foundation on the US civilian FAA register as N49WH and is seen here catching the last of the fading light at the start of the Evening Airshow

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Douglas A-4B Skyhawk N49WH US Navy BuNo 148609 NP VA-76 685 8609 USS Bon Homme Richard This type of aircraft was used during the Vietnam War
This carrier-borne aircraft which now wears former US Navy marks of BuNo 148609 NP 685 from Attack Squadron VA-76 685 8609 when aboard the USS Bon Homme Richard
Photo taken at EAA Airventure Oshkosh 2019
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Douglas A-4B Skyhawk N49WH US Navy BuNo 148609 NP VA-76 685 8609 USS Bon Homme Richard This type of aircraft was used during the Vietnam War
This carrier-borne aircraft which now wears former US Navy marks of BuNo 148609 NP 685 from Attack Squadron VA-76 685 8609 when aboard the USS Bon Homme Richard
Photo taken at EAA Airventure Oshkosh 2019
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148314/NP681 Douglas A-4C Skyhawk seen preserved in gallery 203(Sea Air Operations) at the NASM-National Mall,Washington DC

View of flight deck of USS Bon Homme Richard CV-31 about March of 1952. On the deck are three Grumman AF-2S Guardians of the VS-931 Anti-Submarine Squadron just before the ships second deployment to Korea.

Douglas A-4B Skyhawk N49WH US Navy BuNo 148609 NP VA-76 685 8609 USS Bon Homme Richard This type of aircraft was used during the Vietnam War
This carrier-borne aircraft which now wears former US Navy marks of BuNo 148609 NP 685 from Attack Squadron VA-76 685 8609 when aboard the USS Bon Homme Richard
Photo taken at EAA Airventure Oshkosh 2019
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CV-31 puis CVA-31.

CV-31 puis CVA-31.

Douglas A-4B Skyhawk N49WH US Navy BuNo 148609 NP VA-76 685 8609 USS Bon Homme Richard
This carrier-borne aircraft which now wears former US Navy marks of BuNo 148609 NP 685 from Attack Squadron VA-76 685 8609 when aboard the USS Bon Homme Richard
Photo taken at EAA Airventure Oshkosh 2019
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Douglas A-4B Skyhawk N49WH US Navy BuNo 148609 NP VA-76 685 8609 USS Bon Homme Richard This type of aircraft was used during the Vietnam War
This carrier-borne aircraft which now wears former US Navy marks of BuNo 148609 NP 685 from Attack Squadron VA-76 685 8609 when aboard the USS Bon Homme Richard
Photo taken at EAA Airventure Oshkosh 2019
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Douglas A-4B Skyhawk N49WH US Navy BuNo 148609 NP VA-76 685 8609 USS Bon Homme Richard This type of aircraft was used during the Vietnam War
This carrier-borne aircraft which now wears former US Navy marks of BuNo 148609 NP 685 from Attack Squadron VA-76 685 8609 when aboard the USS Bon Homme Richard
Photo taken at EAA Airventure Oshkosh 2019

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