Vought

Vought was the name of several related American aerospace firms. These have included, in the past, Lewis and Vought Corporation, Chance Vought, Vought-Sikorsky, LTV Aerospace (part of Ling-Temco-Vought), Vought Aircraft Companies, and Vought Aircraft Industries. The first incarnation of Vought was established by Chance M. Vought and Birdseye Lewis in 1917. In 1928, it was acquired by United Aircraft and Transport Corporation, which a few years later became United Aircraft Corporation; this was the first of many reorganizations and buyouts. During the 1920s and 1930s, Vought Aircraft and Chance Vought specialized in carrier-based aircraft for the United States Navy, by far its biggest customer. Chance Vought produced thousands of planes during World War II, including the F4U Corsair. Vought became independent again in 1954, and was purchased by Ling-Temco-Vought (LTV) in 1961. The company designed and produced a variety of planes and missiles throughout the Cold War. Vought was sold from LTV and owned in various degrees by the Carlyle Group and Northrop Grumman in the early 1990s. It was then fully bought by Carlyle, renamed Vought Aircraft Industries, with headquarters in Dallas, Texas. In June 2010, the Carlyle Group sold Vought to the Triumph Group. In 1917, the Lewis and Vought Corporation was founded by Lewis and Vaught, a former chief engineer of the Wright Company. They sought to take advantage of the growing field of military and civilian aviation after World War I. Operations began in Astoria, New York; in 1919, they moved to Long Island City, New York. After Lewis retired in 1922, it was renamed the Chance Vought Corporation. Vought made history in 1922 when the Vought VE-7 trainer made the first takeoff from the deck of the USS Langley, the first American aircraft carrier. Later came the VE-11 naval fighter and the Vought O2U Corsair, the first of the Corsair aircraft. In 1928, the company was acquired by the United Aircraft and Transport Corporation, but stayed its own separate division among the lines of Pratt & Whitney and Boeing.