(ed: BTW, huge props to Vought for their heritage site from
whence most of these photos were sourced and double props since
they are refurbishing the V-173 at the Vought facility in Gran
Prarie, Tx. (Thanks for the heads-up Tommy!) ) June, 1947. Navy
Day. Bathers along the beaches lining Long Island Sound look
aloft to an incredulous sight – a silver and yellow disc that is
speeding along, looking unlike any other flying object seen in
the area. They didn’t know it at the time, but those folks were
witnesses to the one and only public flight of the Vought
V-137/XF5U, nicknamed the “Flying Flapjack.” At onetime a
cutting edge aerodynamic design, it was now not much more than a
curiosity as the age of the jet was ascendant. Soon, it would be
sent to the breakers to be broken up along with the one and only
prototype and assume its place in the annals of aeronautical
fantastical or just plain weird designs. During the war years,
considerable energy was expended in making fighters go faster
(“speed is life” didn’t