Vought is the name of several related aerospace firms. These have included, in
the past, Lewis and Vought Corporation, Chance Vought, Vought-Sikorsky, LTV
Aerospace, Vought Aircraft Companies, and the current Vought Aircraft
Industries. The first incarnation of Vought was established by Chance M.
Vought and Birdseye Lewis in 1917. In 1928, it was acquired by United Aircraft
and Transport Corporation, which a few years later became United Aircraft
Corporation; this was the first of many reorganizations and buyouts. During the
1920s and 1930s, Vought Aircraft and Chance Vought specialized in fighter
planes and other carrier-based aircraft for the United States Navy, by far its
biggest customer. Chance Vought produced thousands of planes during World War II,
including the F4U Corsair. Vought became independent again in 1954, and was
purchased by Ling-Temco-Vought in 1961. The company designed and produced a
variety of planes and missiles throughout the Cold War. Vought was sold
from LTV and owned in various degrees by the Carlyle Group and Northrop Grumman
in the early 1990s. It was then fully bought by Carlyle, renamed Vought
Aircraft Industries, and continues aerospace work today, with headquarters
in Dallas, Texas. History
= The Chance Vought years 1917–1928 = The Lewis and Vought Corporation was
founded in 1917 and was soon succeeded by the Chance Vought Corporation in 1922
when Birdseye Lewis retired. A former chief engineer of the Wright Company,
Chance M. Vought founded the company to take advantage of the growing field of
military and civilian aviation after World War I. Operations began in
Astoria, New York and in 1919 were moved to Long Island City, New York.
Vought died from septicemia in 1930, but in that short time period succeeded in
producing a variety of fighters, trainers, flying boats, and surveillance
aircraft for the United States Navy and the United States Army Air Service.
Vought made history in 1922 when their Vought VE-7 trainer made the first
takeoff from the decks of the USS Langley, the first American aircraft
carrier. Following this success came the VE-11 naval fighter and the Vought O2U
Corsair, the first of the Corsair aircraft.
In 1928, the company was acquired by United Aircraft and Transport
Corporation, but stayed its own separate division among the likes of Pratt &
Whitney and Boeing. = 1930s–1960 =
Despite the Great Depression, Vought continued to design and manufacture
aircraft at a growing pace. Soon after Chance Vought's death in 1930, the
company moved its operations to East Hartford, Connecticut. Under the Air
Mail Act of 1934, United Aircraft and Transportation Corp. was forced by law
to divide its businesses, resulting in Boeing Aircraft, United Airlines, and
the United Aircraft Corp, of which Vought was a part. In 1939 United
Aircraft moved Vought to Stratford, Connecticut where their Sikorsky
division was located and renamed the entire division Vought-Sikorsky
Aircraft. Chief Engineer Rex Beisel began in 1938
to develop the XF4U, recognized by its distinctly inverted gull wings. After a
maiden flight in 1940, thousands of F4U Corsairs were produced for the Navy and
Marines in World War II. By the end of its production in 1952, Vought,
Goodyear, and Brewster had all produced the aircraft at one point or another.
Vought was reestablished as a separate division in United Aircraft in 1942.
In postwar 1949, Vought moved operations to Dallas, Texas where the former North
American "B" plant was located. Initiated by the Navy, who feared having
their two main aircraft manufacturers located on the East Coast posed an
unnecessary risk, Vought moved 27 million pounds of equipment and 1300
employees in 14 months, a record breaking industrial move at the time.
In 1954, the company fully separated from United Aircraft and became the
independent Chance Vought Aircraft Inc. Vought began manufacture of its F-8
Crusader for the US Navy in 1957, one of the first Navy fighters capable of
supersonic flight and the Navy's last all-gun fighter. The same basic design
was later heavily revised and shortened to produce Vought's A-7 Corsair II, a
carrier-borne close air support and attack plane in 1965, an aircraft which
would become heavily engaged in a variety of close support and strike
missions during the Vietnam War, beginning in 1967. The A-7 has also
participated in the US invasion of Grenada in 1983; a punitive raid on
Syrian missile sites, in 1983; reprisal raids against Libya during Operation El
Dorado Canyon, in 1986; strikes against Iranian coastal platforms and naval
forces during Operation Praying Mantis, in 1988; support of the 1989 invasion of
Panama; and throughout operations during Desert Storm in 1991. The A-7A, A-7B,
A-7C and A-7E served with the US Navy while the A-7D was purchased by the US
Air Force and Air National Guard. Two-seat models known as the TA-7C/E
served with the US Navy while the US Air Force purchased the TA-7K. The A-7
served in limited numbers with three foreign air forces, including Greece,
Portugal and Thailand. = LTV acquisition 1960–1990 =
Vought was bought by James Ling in 1962, forming the new conglomerate
Ling-Temco-Vought. Yet despite the buyout, Vought Aeronautics and Vought
Missiles and Space continued to develop and produce for the Air Force and Navy
under the umbrella of LTV Aerospace. By the early 1980s, LTV was struggling, and
Vought suffered heavy layoffs. The first of two decades of reorganizations began
in 1972 with the creation of Vought Systems by the merging of the Vought
Missiles and Space and Aeronautics divisions.
All of LTV Aerospace was renamed the Vought Corporation in 1976, but by 1983
the Vought company was again split along aeronautic and missile lines under LTV
Aerospace and Defense. 1992 proved the end of Vought's
relationship with LTV. In mid-year the aircraft division was purchased by
Northrop and the Carlyle Group, each owning roughly 50% of the company.
Additionally, the entire missile division was sold to the Loral
Corporation, and is currently a part of Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire
Control. = 1990s to today =
Northrop Grumman, the successor to Northrop and Grumman, bought out the
Carlyle Group's share of Vought for $130 million in 1994. The Carlyle Group then
purchased the entire company from Northrop Grumman in 2000, establishing
Vought Aircraft Industries, Inc., the current incarnation. It is now primarily
an aerostructures subcontractor. Vought is heavily involved in the Boeing 747,
Boeing 787 aircraft as well as supplying parts for the F-22 Raptor and F-35
Lightning II and the V-22 Osprey. In July 2003, the Aerostructures Corp.,
owned by the Carlyle Group and based in Nashville, Tennessee, merged with
Vought. Vought's Nashville site supplies wing components for Airbus A319, A320,
A330, and A340. Boeing announced in July 2009 that it
had agreed to acquire the North Charleston, South Carolina facility of
Vought Aircraft Industries, where Vought builds sections 47 and 48 of the aft
fuselage for Boeing's 787 Dreamliner. Boeing agreed to pay $580 million for
the facility. In June 2010, the Carlyle Group sold
Vought to the Triumph Group, an aerospace component manufacturer. The
Vought acquisitions now operate as Triumph Aerostructures - Vought Aircraft
Division. Products
= Aircraft = Consolidated TBY Sea Wolf;
Vought-designed; Production was by Consolidated as the TBY.
Vought A-7 Corsair II Vought YA-7F
LTV XC-142 Vought FU
Vought XF2U Vought XF3U
Vought F4U Corsair Vought XF5U Flying Flapjack
Vought F6U Pirate Vought F7U Cutlass
Vought F-8 Crusader, formerly F8U Crusader.
Vought XF8U-3 Crusader III LTV L450F - prototype quiet spyplane
Vought O2U Corsair Vought O4U Corsair
Vought O5U Vought OS2U Kingfisher
Vought XSO2U Vought XS2U
Vought SBU Corsair Vought SB2U Vindicator
Vought XSB3U Vought V-141
Vought V-173 Vought VE-7
Vought Model 1600 = Unmanned aerial vehicles =
LTV XQM-93 = Missiles =
M270 Multiple Launch Rocket System ASM-135 ASAT
MGM-52 Lance SSM-N-8 Regulus
SSM-N-9 Regulus II Vought HVM
= Rockets = Scout
RM-89 Blue Scout I RM-90 Blue Scout II
Scout X Scout X-1
Scout X-1A Scout X-2
Scout X-2B Scout X-2M
= Workshare projects = Airbus A320 family
Airbus A330 and A340-200/-300 Airbus A340-500/-600
Boeing C-17 Globemaster III Bell-Boeing V-22 Osprey
Boeing 747 Boeing 767
Boeing 777 Boeing 787
Rockwell B-1B Lancer Lockheed C-5M Super Galaxy
Lockheed C-130 Hercules Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor
Northrop Grumman B-2 Spirit Sikorsky UH-60 Blackhawk/Sikorsky SH-60
Seahawk References
External links Official site
Vought Aircraft Industries website's "Heritage" section, with history,
photos, and original line drawings of Vought aircraft
US Centennial of Flight Commission LTV/Chance Vought Archive from McDermott
Library at the University of Texas at Dallas