The 5 Worst American Aircraft of All Time

By Blake Stilwell,We Are the Mighty

The U.S. military comes up with some amazing aircraft to meet its battlefield requirements. And American defense contractors are not afraid to think outside the box when it comes to U.S. air superiority.

But not every idea is a hit. No one is 100-percent perfect every time, but sometimes it makes a pilot wonder, “how the hell did this get made?”

5. Vought F7U Cutlass

They should have known there was going to be a problem when the first three prototypes of the “Gutless Cutlass” crashed. To the surprise of nobody, the Navy’s first two delivered F7U also crashed.

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                                   “Look out below! … And above. And probably to the side… you know what, just look out.”

Its biggest issue was its nose-driven, underpowered design, which sounds like it might be a problem for taking off from a carrier — which it was. The Cutlass — aka “The Ensign Eliminator” — went away almost as fast as it appeared.

4. McDonnell XF-85 Goblin