Plastic model aircraft VOUGHT OS2U "KINGFISHER" US NAVY 1941 1:32

KH32016 - Plastic Model Aircraft VOUGHT OS2U "KINGFISHER" US NAVY 1941

The Vought OS2U Kingfisher is the first catapult-launched maritime reconnaissance seaplane of the U.S. Navy, used both from ships and land bases. Intensively used for reconnaissance, anti-submarine warfare, and rescue missions, the Kingfisher was designed by Vought to replace the O3U Corsair reconnaissance biplane in service in the late 1930s.

The XOS2U-1 prototype made its first flight in March 1938, equipped with a Pratt & Whitney R-985-4 Wasp Junior engine of 450 hp and a wheeled undercarriage. The seaplane version, equipped with an R-985-48 engine, first flew in May, and 54 units were produced. A second version, the OS2U-2, was produced in 58 units with an R-985-50 engine. The OS2U-3 version was produced in 1,000 units, equipped with an R985-AN-2 engine, self-sealing tanks, pilot protection armor, and two machine guns (one fixed and one flexible). This version could also carry two 147 kg depth charges. Several aircraft were delivered to American countries and the USSR, with a hundred delivered to the UK. A final version, the OS2U-4, was planned but abandoned; this version would have included a new empennage, thinner wings with full-span flaps, and square wingtips.