Vought OS2U-3 Kingfisher

Originally designed to provide enhanced fire-direction for U.S. Navy Battleships, the Kingfisher could handle many tasks, from reconnaissance to search-and-rescue. Although the type has now slipped into obscurity, it was one of WWII’s great un-sung heroes.

The Kingfisher pulled off some remarkable feats as a search-and-rescue platform. In November 1942 it was a Kingfisher which plucked America’s top WWI ace, Eddie Rickenbacker, and his crewmates from the Pacific Ocean weeks after they’d ditched in a B-17. An even more audacious rescue in April 1944, saw Lt. John A. Burns use the wings of his Kingfisher to ferry ten downed airmen from within Truk Lagoon – while under enemy fire – to safety aboard the submarine USS Tang. 

With construction number 2475, the Museum’s OS2U initially bore the US Navy Bureau Number 5985, but Vought actually built the aircraft for the Koninklijke Marine (Royal Netherlands Navy). However, when Holland fell to the Nazis, the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) received their allotment of Kingfishers. With a new serial number (A48-2) and the fuselage code JE-B, our Kingfisher entered RAAF service on June 22, 1942. While its service history is still the subject of active research, the project itself has been in storage “down-under” for some time now. Its restoration will be exceedingly complex due to the type’s extreme rarity and the highly-advanced construction techniques which Vought applied to the Kingfisher’s design.