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 (part of
Ling-Temco-Vought),
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.