The
Vought F7U Cutlass was a
United States Navy carrier-based
jet fighter and
fighter-bomber of the early
Cold War era. It was a highly unusual, semi-tailless design, allegedly based on aerodynamic data and plans captured from the German
Arado company at the end of
World War II, though Vought designers denied any link to the German research at the time. The F7U was the last aircraft designed by
Rex Beisel, who was responsible for the first fighter ever designed specifically for the U.S. Navy, the
Curtiss TS-1 of 1922.