OS2U Kingfisher | World War Photos

Click on thumbnail images to enlarge

: Prototype on the trolley used to move the floatplane around

: Vought OS2U PBM

: Kingfishers from VO-5 undertake a formation take-off

: OS2U-3 VS-39 NAS Banana River

: OS2U-3 VS-33 Banana River

: OS2U-3 VS-33 1944

: OS2U-3 VS-1D5

: Mexican Kingfishers

: OS2U-3 NAS Norfolk May

: Underwing load for the aircraft: a pair of 350 lb depth charges

: OS2U-3 black 4

: OS2U-3 1941

: OS2U-3 1944 Banana River

: OS2U-3 1944

: OS2U-2

: OS2U-2 from USS Missouri 1944

: Overall grey BuNo. 3102 being launched at NAS Pensacola

: OS2U-2 from USS Missouri

: OS2U-2 2189

: OS2U-2 22

: 3-O-4 1714 enroute to NAS Alameda

: OS2U-1 1714

: OS2U-1 1714 1940

: OS2U-1 1714

: Aircraft with anti-spin parachute mounted under the tail cone

: OS2U sitting on its catapult

: OS2U trainers 1942

: Kingfisher landed on the water in Truk Lagoon and rescued nine Navy fliers downed during the air strike on Truk. 20-20 April 1944

: OS2U USS South Dakota

: USS South Dakota catapult

: OS2U Okinawa

: OS2U Life-Raft

: OS2U Gets Shower after Flight

: Battleship USS Missouri

: OS2U being recovered by USS Arizona September 1941

: OS2U December 1942

: OS2U Ellyson Field Pensacola

: OS2U formation

: OS2N-1 VS-1D5 with depth charges

: OS2U 5D4-S-3 NAS Cape May

: OS2U Alaska

: British Kingfisher I

: OS2U August 31. 1943

: Seaplane tender USS Pocomoke

: Kingfisher I

: Kingfisher I in landplane configuration

: Kingfisher I

: Kingfisher FN678

: Vought Kingfisher Mk.l FN678

: Kingfisher FN712

: Kingfisher FN672 HMS Pegasus

: HMS Pegasus – catapult training ship

: Kingfisher FN672 with Donald Duck on the cowling

: Kingfisher FN659

: Kingfisher FN656 A&AEE Boscombe Down, October 1942

: Damaged OS2U-3

: 1st OS2U-2 front

: USS Mobile enroute to Marcus Island

: OS2U Corpus Christi Texas August 1942

: Kingfishers in landplane configuration

: Aviation Cadets 1942

: OS2U-2 2190 Cape May, New Jersey

: OS2U-2 from USS North Carolina

: Sunday services on board the USS Mobile

: XOS2U-1 1939

: OS2U in flight

: OS2U-2 3102

: Catapulting OS2U USS Quincy (CA-39)

: OS2U-3 East Coast base

: OS2U-3

: Formation of OS2U in flight 1942

: OS2U-1 code “1-O-7” of VO-1 from USS Pennsylvania BB-38 off San Pedro 11 August 1940

: OS2U-3 “black 16” is pulled ashore on a beach at Attu 3 June 1943

: Marine OS2U-3 fitted with fixed landing gear on patrol over Caribbean during 1942

: USS Indianapolis Seagull flying in formation with an OS2U

: Kingfishers of VS-56 at Casco Cove, Attu Island November 1943

: Vought OS2U code C74 fitted with fixed landing gear in flight

: Vought OS2U-1 moments for making a water landing, 1942

: Kingfisher floatplane of the USS New Mexico (BB-40)

: Kingfishers in flight 1942

: U.S. Coast Guard pilot training in OS2U 1942

: OS2U aboard USS Albemarle AV-5 14 May 1942 4

: U.S. Navy pilot and OS2U at NAS Corpus Christi 1943

: Vought OS2U floatplane on patrol 1944 – color photo

: Wreckage of OS2U at Ford Island Station Pearl Harbor December 1941

: OS2U aboard USS Albemarle AV-5 14 May 1942 3

: OS2U-3 #55 BuNo 5390 at NAS Corpus Christi Texas 1941

: Vought OS2U hoisted aboard USS Charger ACV-30 in 1942

: OS2U aboard USS Albemarle AV-5 14 May 1942

: OS2U on the sled USS Iowa 1945

: OS2U #51 on the beach at NAS Pensacola awaiting the crew

: Vought OS2U-2 floatplane in flight

: OS2U at Noumea ,New Caledonia in early 1943

: Vought OS2U Kingfisher being armed, 1941

: U.S. Sailors with floatplane Vought OS2U in South Pacific 1942

: Damaged Vought OS2U off Attu Island May 1943

: OS2U-3 assigned to the USS Miami CL-89 10 February 1945

: Kingfisher on catapult of the USS Iowa (BB-63) 1944

: OS2U #2 being hoisted on board

: Kingfishers aboard USS Albemarle AV-5 14 May 1942 2

: OS2U-1 Kingfisher at NAS Alameda June 1942

: Wounded Airman helped from OS2U after rescue from Pacific 1944

: OS2U #18 of the VS-49 at Dutch Harbor November 1942

: Formation of Kingfishers during Atlantic Patrol

: OS2U-3 over Padre Island 1942

: Kingfisher “white 37” 1944, color photo

: OS2U Kingfisher “white 50” on water 1943

: OS2U of the FAW 4 in Aleutians 1943

: OS2U-3 Kingfishers on catapult aboard USS New Mexico (BB-40) off Guam 1944

: OS2U “white 43” taxiing at NAS Jacksonville in March 1943

: OS2U-1 “4-O-7” of the VO-4 from USS Maryland in flight

: OS2U-2 on the ground on May 6, 1943

: Personnel signal an approaching OS2U from an unidentified ship

: Kingfisher in color PTO 1945

: Kingfisher gunnery run on target sleeve NAS Jacksonville August 1942 4

: OS2U Kingfisher The Bug September 1943

: U.S. Coast Guard OS2U

: Marine tractor pulls OS2U Kingfisher on Funafuti Beach 1943

: OS2U flies low over the water of Iwo Jima 19 February 1945

: Battle damaged OS2U-3 off Attu Island 17 May 1943

: Kingfishers prior to a flight 1942

: OS2U aboard USS Missouri 2

: Tractor pulls OS2U of the FAW-4 onto Alaskian shore 8jan43

: OS2U gunnery run on target sleeve NAS Jacksonville August 1942 3

: OS2U of the VS-49 at Andrew Lagoon Adak 1943

: Kingfishers of VS-56 Andrew Lake Adak 1942/43

: OS2U “white 43” makes a water landing at NAS Jacksonville in 1943

: OS2U of the FAW 4 unit at Adak Island April 1943

: Kingfishers at Cape May NJ

: OS2U gunnery run on target sleeve NAS Jacksonville August 1942 1

: Missouri recovers its OS2U-3 “white 2” August 1945

: OS2U hoisted aboard battleship USS Missouri

: OS2U being launched from a stateside training catapult on January 21, 1944

: Crew taxiing back to their warship during a stateside training operation 1944

: OS2U secured aboard the battleship USS West Virginia with the USS Foote DD-511 visible astern on July, 22 1944

: Piloted by Lt Fred Hunter OS2U-3 of VCS-1 catapults off USS Detroit during operations in the Aleutians 1943

: OS2U taxis during recovery operations by the USS South Dakota during operations at sea on April 29, 1943

Kingfisher was an U.S. observation floatplane. It was a compact mid-wing monoplane, with a big central float and small stabilizing floats. Alternatively, a tailwheel undercarriage could be fitted.

Technical description

Mid-wing cantilever monoplane. Centre-section integral with fuselage. Two tapering outer panels. Structure comprises a single-spar with a D-shaped torque-resisting metal leading- edge. Aft of spar wing is covered with fabric. The trailing-edge includes deflector-plate type flaps and drooping ailerons. Spoilers are built into the upper wing surfaces to provide lateral control when the ailerons are drooped. All-metal monocoque fuselage of riveted and spot-welded construction. The skin panels, reinforced by spot-welded stiffeners or channels, are riveted to two upper longerons and one keel member. Cantilever monoplane tail type. Fixed surfaces are all-metal. Movable surfaces have fabric-covered metal frames. The movable surfaces are equipped with trimming-tabs controllable in flight by the pilot.
Split type landing gear. Each oleo shock-absorbing strut forms one leg of a tripod bolted to fuselage fittings. Duo-servo hydraulic brakes and high pressure tyres. Free swivelling lock- able tail-wheel equipped with smooth-contour pneumatic tyre. The tail-wheel shock-strut is of the oleo-air cushion typo. As a seaplane, a single main float is attached to the fuselage by two centre-line struts and bracing wires. Wing-tip floats are connected to the wing by five aluminium-alloy streamline struts.
Powered by Pratt & Whitney Wasp-Junior R-985-AN-2 radial air-cooled engine rated at 400 hp at 1,524m (5,000 ft) and at 450 hp for take-off. NACA cowling, adjustable trailing- edge gills, Hamilton-Standard constant-speed airscrew. Cartridge starter. The fuel tank is built integral with the centre-section of the wing and has a capacity of 545 litres (144 US gallons). The oil tank is of welded aluminium-alloy construction mounted in the engine compartment and has an oil capacity of 37.8 litres (10 US gallons). An oil-cooler, and automatic oil-temperature control-unit are included in the lubricating system.

Serial numbers:

XOS2U-l: 0951;
OS2U-1: 1681-1734;
OS2U-2: 2189-2288 and 3073-3130;
OS2U-3: 5284-5989 and 09393-09692;
OS2N-1: 01216-01515

Source:

Michael J. H Taylor: Jane’s American Fighting Aircraft of the 20th Century