Gutless

Today on 'TWW' we depart a bit from the norm and offer for your viewing pleasure a rather groovy piece of artwork depicting a really groovy-lookin' P.O.S.

The Vought F7U Cutlass was, in a word, something of a freakin' fiasco. Quirky handling due to an underdeveloped flight control system, woefully under-powered by highly unreliable powerplants, and a host of other problems pegged the type as a killer. Literally. A total of twenty-five pilots were killed while flying the Cutlass, with more than one quarter of the entire production run being destroyed in accidents. The nicknames 'Gutless Cutlass', 'Ensign Eliminator', and 'Widow Maker' were well-earned, as was 'Praying Mantis'. Although, one has to wonder if the latter was due solely to the type's appearance, or if the alarmingly common practice of the female mantis devouring her mate after 'fun time'  had anything to do with it. Who knows... *shrug*

All your blogmeister knows for sure, aside from the fact that it was a disaster, is that the Cutlass was one cool lookin' bird.

Artwork by Darryl Legg

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