Despite its Oldsmobile namesake, from 1953 to 1957, the Vought F7U Cutlass was an unconventionally designed jet known for its mechanical shortcomings.

But Beisel also invented the F7U Cutlass jet, which was not anyone’s idea of a fine fighter. ... The 320 Cutlasses that Vought built ended up killing no fewer than 25 pilots in wrecks.

Named either for the Vought F7U Cutlass US Navy jet fighter, or for the type of sword (the jury is still out), the Cutlass would become a model unto itself as a mid-size car with body-on-frame ...

Such is the case with the Vought F7U Cutlass. The story of this stunning-looking single-seat, twin-engined, carrier-based fighter jet dates back to the end of the Second World War.

Vought’s F7U Cutlass would ultimately serve for a paltry 8 years, retiring in 1959. Despite the aircraft’s advanced design, perhaps its greatest distinction was as one of the Navy’s ...

There is some debate about the origin of the Cutlass name, which was taken either from the type of sword, or possibly from the Vought F7U Cutlass US Navy fighter jet.

Vought F7U Cutlass. The Vought F7U Cutlass was visually distinct. This was a design from the dawn of the jet age, when designs were not standardized and there was room for experimentation.

In northeastern Ohio, there’s a bucolic airplane graveyard filled with the decaying remains of old jets, like this Vought F7U Cutlass. Here’s an eerie video of these rotting old birds.