Vought Vought is the name of several related 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 the current 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 fighter planes and other 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 . Ling - Temco - Vought bought Vought in 1961 , and while designing and producing a variety of planes and missiles throughout the Cold War , suffered numerous reorganizations . 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 , and continues aerospace work today , with headquarters in Dallas , Texas . History . The Chance Vought years 1917 – 1928 . The Lewis and Vought Corporation was founded in 1917 and was soon succeeded by the Chance Vought Corporation in 1922 when Birdseye Lewis retired . A former chief engineer of the Wright Company , Chance M . Vought founded the company to take advantage of the growing field of military and civilian aviation after World War I . Operations began in Astoria , New York and in 1919 were moved to Long Island City , New York . Vought died from septicemia in 1930 , but in that short time period succeeded in producing a variety of fighters , trainers , flying boat s , and surveillance aircraft for the United States Navy and the United States Army Air Service . Vought made history in 1922 when their Vought VE - 7 trainer made the first takeoff from the decks of the USS " Langley " , the first American aircraft carrier . Following this success came the VE - 11 naval fighter and the Vought O2U Corsair , the first of the Corsair aircraft . In 1928 , the company was acquired by United Aircraft and Transport Corporation , but stayed its own separate division among the likes of Pratt & Whitney and Boeing . 1930s – 1960 . Despite the Great Depression , Vought continued to design and manufacture aircraft at a growing pace . Soon after Chance Vought ' s death in 1930 , the company moved its operations to East Hartford , Connecticut . Under the Air Mail Act of 1934 , United Aircraft and Transportation Corp . was forced by law to divide its businesses , resulting in Boeing Aircraft , United Airlines , and the United Aircraft Corp , of which Vought was a part . In 1939 United Aircraft moved Vought to Stratford , Connecticut where their Sikorsky division was located and renamed the entire division Vought - Sikorsky Aircraft . Chief Engineer Rex Beisel began in 1938 to develop the XF4U , recognized by its distinctly inverted gull wings . After a maiden flight in 1940 , thousands of F4U Corsair s were produced for the Navy and Marines in World War II . By the end of its production in 1952 , Vought , Goodyear , and Brewster had all produced the aircraft at one point or another . Vought was reestablished as a separate division in United Aircraft in 1942 . In postwar 1949 , Vought moved operations to Dallas , Texas where the former North American " B " plant was located . Initiated by the Navy , who feared having their two main aircraft manufacturers located on the East Coast posed an unnecessary risk , Vought moved 27 million pounds of equipment and 1300 employees in 14 months , a record breaking industrial move at the time . In 1954 , the company fully separated from United Aircraft and became the independent Chance Vought Aircraft Inc . Vought began manufacture of its F - 8 Crusader for the US Navy in 1957 , one of the first Navy fighters capable of supersonic flight and the Navy ' s last all - gun fighter . The same basic design was later heavily revised and shortened to produce Vought ' s A - 7 Corsair II , a carrier - borne close air support and attack plane in 1965 , an aircraft which would become heavily engaged in a variety of close support and strike missions during the Vietnam War , beginning in 1967 . The A - 7 has also participated in the US invasion of Grenada in 1983 ; a punitive raid on Syrian missile sites , in 1983 ; reprisal raids against Libya during Operation El Dorado Canyon , in 1986 ; strikes against Iranian coastal platforms and naval forces during Operation Praying Mantis , in 1988 ; support of the 1989 invasion of Panama ; and throughout operations during Desert Storm in 1991 . The A - 7A and A - 7E served with the US Navy while the A - 7D was purchased by the US Air Force and Air National Guard . Two - seat models known as the TA - 7C / E served with the US Navy while the US Air Force purchased the TA - 7K . The A - 7 still serves in limited numbers with three foreign air forces , including Greece ( A - 7H / TA - 7H ) , Portugal ( A - 7P / TA - 7P ) and Thailand ( ex - USN A - 7E / TA - 7E ) . LTV acquisition 1960 – 1990 . Vought was bought by James Ling in 1962 , forming the new conglomerate Ling - Temco - Vought ( LTV ) . Yet despite the buyout , Vought Aeronautics and Vought Missiles and Space continued to develop and produce for the Air Force and Navy under the umbrella of LTV Aerospace . By the early 1980s , LTV was struggling , and Vought suffered heavy layoffs . The first of two decades of reorganizations began in 1972 with the creation of Vought Systems by the merging of the Vought Missiles and Space and Aeronautics divisions . All of LTV Aerospace was renamed the Vought Corporation in 1976 , but by 1983 the Vought company was again split along aeronautic and missile lines under LTV Aerospace and Defense . 1992 proved the end of Vought ' s relationship with LTV . In mid - year the aircraft division was purchased by Northrop and the Carlyle Group , each owning roughly 50 % of the company . Additionally , the entire missile division was sold to the Loral Corporation , and is currently a part of Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control . 1990s to today . Northrop Grumman , the successor to Northrop and Grumman , respectively , bought out the Carlyle Group ' s share of Vought for $ 130 million in 1994 . The Carlyle Group then purchased the entire company from Northrop Grumman in 2000 , establishing Vought Aircraft Industries , Inc . , the current incarnation . It is now primarily an aerostructure s subcontractor . Vought is heavily involved in the Boeing 747 , Boeing 787 aircraft as well as supplying parts for the F - 22 Raptor and F - 35 Lightning II and the V - 22 Osprey . In July 2003 , the Aerostructures Corp . , owned by the Carlyle Group and based in Nashville , Tennessee , merged with Vought . Vought ' s Nashville site supplies wing components for Airbus A319 , A320 , A330 , and A340 . Boeing announced in July 2009 that it had agreed to acquire the North Charleston , South Carolina facility of Vought Aircraft Industries , where Vought builds sections 47 and 48 of the aft fuselage for Boeing ' s 787 Dreamliner . Boeing agreed to pay $ 580 million for the facility . A selloff that aided the current hi - ups short term bonus payouts but not good for the longevity of the company as the 787 will be in production for many many years . In June 2010 , the Carlyle Group sold Vought to the Triumph Group , an aerospace component manufacturer . The Vought acquisitions now operate as Triumph Aerostructures - Vought Aircraft Division .