Vought V-326

Vought · United States · first flew 1943 · light aircraft

The Vought V-326 (also Vought-Sikorsky VS-326) was an American experimental aircraft used by Pratt & Whitney as a high-altitude engine test bed.

Recognition (WEFT)

W — Wings	Low-mounted, straight
E — Engines	1 × piston, nose-mounted
F — Fuselage	13.1 m fuselage
T — Tail	Conventional

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Spot it by:

Low-wing monoplane with a pressurised two-seat cockpit
Main wheels rotate 90 degrees and retract rearward into the wings
Carburettor scoop ahead of the vertical stabiliser

A low-wing monoplane with a pressurised two-seat cockpit, main wheels that rotate 90 degrees to retract rearward into the wings, and a ballast compartment in the rear fuselage.

Specifications

The Vought V-326 has a length of 13.1 m (43 ft).
It has a wingspan of 17.6 m (58 ft).
Its maximum speed is 673 km/h (418 mph).
Typical crew: 2.

Figures are for the representative variant described above; marks differ. See how AircraftIQ sources figures.

History

Vought began work in 1941 at the request of Pratt & Whitney, designing a test bed for the R-4360 Wasp Major radial engine. It was based on the XTBU-1 Sea Wolf and used components from the F4U Corsair.

Variants

The V-326 had a deep cowling enclosing the supercharger and a three-bladed propeller. The second aircraft, the V-326A, had a tight cowling, intakes under the wings feeding twin superchargers and a four-bladed propeller.

Where you'll see it

The V-326 first flew on 18 June 1943 with Pratt & Whitney chief test pilot A. Lewis McClain, and pressurisation troubles kept most flights below 40,000 ft. The V-326A made its first and only flight on 30 August 1944, and both aircraft were scrapped in 1946, the V-326 having logged 111 hours.

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