On March 28, 1940, the French government placed an order for an additional 50 V-156-F’s, with deliveries to begin during early 1941.  Due to the production of the SB2U-3 for the Marine Corps, it became necessary for Vought to sub-contract many of the V-156-F subassemblies. As a result of this delay, the second production batch of V-156-F’s was not ready for delivery before France fell, and the contract was taken over by the British, with the V-156-F’s being re-designated as the V156-B1.

To meet British requirements the throttle arrangement was returned to the original design (forward to increase power). The Vought bomb displacement gear was reinstalled. The larger fuel tanks of the SB2U-3 were incorporated and armor protection for the crew and fuel tanks was provided.  Also, the forward-firing armament was increased to four wing mounted .30-caliber machine guns instead of the single gun used on the SB2U-2. The fence-type wing dive brakes were deleted.  Installation of a British tail hook was considered, but this is not known to have actually occurred. It is believed all V-156-B1’s retained the U.S. Navy tail hook.

The aircraft was given the name “Chesapeake” in British service and were assigned the serial numbers AL908 to AL957.  The first Chesapeake flew on February 26, 1941, and by the end of March, the British had accepted the V-156-B1.  In spite of the aircraft’s overall poor performance in areas vital to carrier operations, some British officials considered using the aircraft as a defensive weapon for seaborne operations from escort carriers.  Tests soon revealed that the added weight of fuel, armor and armament made the takeoff run (some 1,700 feet) far too long for carrier operations from British aircraft carriers. Despite this, shipments of the new aircraft to England began during the summer of 1941.

The first aircraft to arrive at Liverpool were trucked to the aircraft repair depot at Burtonwood.  After re-assembly and testing, the aircraft were assigned to various Fleet Air Arm squadrons. The first unit to receive the Chesapeake was Squadron No. 778, which conducted tests with the aircraft beginning in June of 1941. The unit was stationed at RNAS Arbroath and operated as a Service Trials Unit, with one or two assigned aircraft for short periods of time until December 1941.

Late in June, Squadron No. 786 received a few V156B1’s for test and evaluation during July.

Squadron No. 811 based at RNAS Lee-on-Solent was the only squadron to receive enough Chesapeakes for operational service.  The Squadron received a total of 14 aircraft during July of 1941. The aircraft remained on duty for only five months, being replaced by Fairey Swordfish aircraft in November.

As the war progressed, Squadron No. 771 at Twatt, Squadron No. 770 at Crail, Squadron No. 772 at Machrisanish, and Squadron No. 776 at Speke all used a number of Chesapeakes for target-towing duties. During June of 1942, Squadron No. 784 was formed and this unit used a few V156B1’s for night-fighter training.  Squadron No. 77 was based at Lee-on-Solent until October of 1942, then moved on to Drem.  By August of 1943, the Squadron had retired all of the V1561B’s.  By May of 1944, the last Chesapeake was withdrawn from Fleet Air Arm (FAA) service when Squadron No. 770 retired their last target-towing aircraft.