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Pilots,
Today we have a look at what is quite possibly the most unusual plane in World of Warplanes – the Chance-Vought XF5U-1, more commonly known as the ‘Flying Pancake’ due to its very unusual shape and design. This American experimental plane sought to push the limits of what could be put into the air – and succeeded.
The ‘Flying Pancake’ plane design was initially suggested in 1933 by Charles H. Zimmerman, a pioneer of innovative flying technologies. He was responsible for a number of novel ideas, some of which were very ahead of the time but were developed much later, such as vertical take-off and landing aircraft.
The Flying Pancake came out of his attempts to design the ‘ultimate’ aircraft. The intention of the design was to optimise the aircraft completely for lifting power by effectively turning the entire body of the plane into a single huge aerofoil. In order to do that, Zimmerman had to go write back to the drawing board and put aside everything that had already been learned about aircraft design. Instead he simply took the concepts of aerodynamic lift and began from scratch.
In 1935, Zimmerman applied for a patent on his invention, which was granted in 1938. The specifics of the patent included the elliptical cross-section and the location of the propellers, which directed air flow at the tips to reduce induced drag.
At the time, though, there seemed little interest in Zimmerman’s designs. Although he built a number of scale models with the Vought company, including a remote controlled large scale model, there was little funding to be had in developing such an off-the-wall design. At the time, US defence authority funding was needed to produce planes for the war, and they chose to stick to established designs with standard evolution in modifications, all the better to mass produce.
However, in the early 1940s, Zimmerman finally got his chance. After the US Navy saw the remote controlled model in action, they requested and funded a prototype version which became known as the V-173.
Although Zimmerman had plans for a much heavier and more powerful version of the design, he sensibly kept things more simple to begin with. The V-173 prototype was a lightweight construction made from wood and fabric. It had a top speed of 220 km/h. The whole project was completed with a minimal budget of a few thousand dollars.
Test flights began and lasted for several years. Several test pilots had a go at the helm of the V-173, including the legendary Charles Lindbergh who stated that he found it surprisingly easy to handle.
Problems were encountered though, including a severe issue with the gearbox causing vibrations. These problems were fixed as they were found and the plane kept flying. At one point, it had to make an emergency landing on a beach. The designers simply shrugged, picked up the wreckage and kept going.
Of course, to the civilians on the ground, the aircraft looked incredibly strange. It has long been speculated that the test flight program of the V-173 was responsible for a large surge of UFO sightings across the state of Connecticut at the time and inspired generations of science fiction writers to develop their own stories about visitors from space.
The prototype V-173 made its final flight in 1947, during which it had proved Zimmerman’s theory that vertical take-off and landing was possible. It the meantime, construction had already begun on the real thing.
The Vought-XF5U was the designation given to the new version of the plane, which was built from metal and was five times heavier than its experimental counterpart. The initial characteristics looked promising. The plane was powered by two Pratt-Whitney R-2000-7 engines and was capable of speeds up to a huge 760 km/hour. This initial test version was built without weapons, but the plan was to equip it with a combination of machine guns and cannons under the nose.
Construction on the XF5U-1 prototype was completed, and the first test flight was scheduled for late 1947.
Unfortunately, the test flight never went ahead.
A number of ground runs had taken place, resulting in the plane making short ‘hops’ over the airfield, but these were not true flights as such.
At the start of 1947, the project was already considered to be taking too long and over budget. Meanwhile, rapid development had begun to take place on jet-powered aircraft. The US Navy authorities quickly realised that jet planes were the future and pulled the plug on most propeller-driven projects. In March 1947, the X5FU project was formally scrapped.
The single prototype was destroyed. However, there was one last satisfaction for Charles Zimmerman – the prototype turned out to be so structurally solid, that the only way to destroy it was with the type of wrecking ball normally used to bring down buildings.
Meanwhile, the V-173 prototype was donated to the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum in the USA, where it has been ever since. Earlier this year, it was rolled out in Texas after a long restoration process by retired Vought employees.
In game, the plane is known as the Chance-Vought F5U. It is a Tier VIII fighter belonging to the American Tech Tree. The XF5U-1 configuration is available as one of the presets in-game.
Like all the aircraft in World of Warplanes, the F5U is modelled on the real life version and as such, this innovative aircraft can finally enjoy the life in the skies that it was denied in real life. Enjoy your huge speed and heavy armament, and make believe that you are Charles Lindbergh as you pilot this flying pancake across the maps.
