Vought VE-7 Bluebird

Water VE-7 Bluebird History

In 1917, Mr. Birdseye B. Lewis founded the Vought Group, an aircraft company that later became the Lewis & Vought Corporation in the United States. The Vought VE-7 Bluebird, named after Lewis himself, was a biplane designed in the same year. Lewis & Vought made this 2-seater trainer for the US Army.

When tested and deployed by the Army, Commodore Billy Mitchell was positive about the aircraft's ability to fly, believing they were better, if not better, than all current fighter jets at the time. The powerplant of choice was the Wright Hispano-Suiza engine, designated the HS-8A. With a compression ratio of 4.7 to 5.3, Swedish engineer Marc Birkigt increased the output to 180 hp (132 kW) at 2,100 rpm.

49,800 of these engines were eventually produced, making it one of the best in its class. The Wright Hispano engine also powered the fabled French SPAD biplane during World War I.

After World War I, the U.S. Army cancelled its order for 1,000 aircraft, but the U.S. Navy remained very interested in the VE-7 concept and received an evaluation aircraft in May 1920. Tests of the aircraft proved that it could meet the requirements of the U.S.

Navy and adopted the VE-7 as its first fighter. Full production orders were quickly received, and demand exceeded the capacity of the fledgling Water Company. The U.S. government foresaw this and created the Naval Aircraft Factory (NAF). The plant was established in Philadelphia by the U.S. Navy in 1918 to help such companies solve problems with aircraft supply and demand.

The Admiralty suspects a Navy-owned aircraft factory is necessary to ensure a steady supply of planes and to help obtain cost data to compare with private manufacturing companies. About 128 VE-7s were eventually built, and the single-seat fighter version of the VE-7 was further known as the VE-7S, with a streamlined forward cockpit and space for a single Vickers mark.

The 30 caliber machine gun was offset to the left and fired synchronously through the two-bladed propeller.

The Navy created the first two fighter squadrons in VF-1 and VF-2 and equipped them with these VE-7s. The VF-1 Fighter Squadron was originally established on July 1, 1922, and operated as VF-1 until July 1, 1934. VF-2 Squadron was originally organized as the Fourth Combat Squadron on September 23, 1921, based at Naval Air Station San Diego, California. The squadron was renamed Fighter Squadron VF-2 on July 1, 1922, and received these Vought VE-7 biplanes.

The squadron, also known as the "Flying Chiefs," operates from the USS Langley.

Lieutenant Virgil C. Griffin made history on October 17, 1922, when he took off from the deck of the new USS Langley (CV-1) in a VE-7 biplane, the first of its kind on a US aircraft carrier. Class action navy took place.

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