The Vought F-8 Crusader (originally F8U) is a single-engine, supersonic,
carrier-based air superiority jet aircraft built by
Vought
Vought was the name of several related American 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 Vought Ai ...
for the
United States Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...
and
United States Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through combi ...
(replacing the
Vought F7U Cutlass
The Vought F7U Cutlass is a United States Navy carrier-based jet fighter and fighter-bomber of the early Cold War era. It was a tailless aircraft for which aerodynamic data from projects of the German Arado and Messerschmitt companies, obtaine ...
), and for the
French Navy
The French Navy (french: Marine nationale, lit=National Navy), informally , is the maritime arm of the French Armed Forces and one of the five military service branches of France. It is among the largest and most powerful naval forces in t ...
. The first F-8
prototype was ready for flight in February 1955. The F-8 served principally in the
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War (also known by other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vietnam a ...
. The Crusader was the last American fighter with guns as the primary weapon, earning it the title "The Last of the Gunfighters".
[ Tillman 1990]
The RF-8 Crusader was a
photo-reconnaissance
Aerial reconnaissance is reconnaissance for a military or strategic purpose that is conducted using reconnaissance aircraft. The role of reconnaissance can fulfil a variety of requirements including artillery spotting, the collection of imagery ...
development and operated longer in U.S. service than any of the fighter versions. RF-8s played a crucial role in the
Cuban Missile Crisis, providing essential low-level photographs impossible to acquire by other means.
United States Navy Reserve
The United States Navy Reserve (USNR), known as the United States Naval Reserve from 1915 to 2005, is the Reserve Component (RC) of the United States Navy. Members of the Navy Reserve, called Reservists, are categorized as being in either the Se ...
units continued to operate the RF-8 until 1987.
Design and development
![Outof f8](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ac/Outof_f8.gif)
In September 1952, the
United States Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...
announced a requirement for a new fighter. It was to have a top speed of
Mach 1.2 at with a climb rate of , and a landing speed of no more than .
[Goebel, Greg]
"The Vought F-8 Crusader."
''Air Vectors''. Retrieved: 7 March 2006. Korean War
, date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...
experience had demonstrated that .50 caliber (12.7 mm) machine guns were no longer sufficient and as a result the new fighter was to carry a 20 mm (0.79 in) cannon. 4x20 mm had become Navy standard prior to the Korean war: F2H, F9F, F3D and also the F7U and F4D, among others, preceded the F8U. In response, the Vought team led by John Russell Clark, created the V-383. Unusual for a fighter, the aircraft had a high-mounted wing which necessitated the use of a fuselage-mounted short and light landing gear. The major contribution to the short main gear, however, was the variable incidence wing that meant the plane did not take off and land extremely nose up, which was a characteristic of swept and low aspect ratio winged fighters.
The Crusader was powered by a Pratt and Whitney J57 turbojet engine. The engine was equipped with an afterburner which, on the initial production F8U-1 aircraft, increased the thrust of the engine from 10,200 lb to 16,000 lb, but, unlike later engines, had no intermediate thrust settings. The Crusader was the first jet fighter in US service to reach 1,000 mph; U.S. Navy pilot R.W. Windsor reached 1,015 mph on a flight in 1956.
The most innovative aspect of the design was the
variable-incidence wing
A variable-incidence wing has an adjustable angle of incidence relative to its fuselage. This allows the wing to operate at a high angle of attack for take-off and landing while allowing the fuselage to remain close to horizontal.
The pivot mech ...
which pivoted by 7° out of the fuselage on takeoff and landing (not to be confused with
variable-sweep wing
A variable-sweep wing, colloquially known as a "swing wing", is an airplane wing, or set of wings, that may be swept back and then returned to its original straight position during flight. It allows the aircraft's shape to be modified in fli ...
). This allowed a greater
angle of attack, increasing lift without compromising forward visibility.
This innovation helped the F-8's development team win the
Collier Trophy in 1956.
[Bjorkman, Eileen. Gunfighters. Air & Space, November 2015. p. 62.] Simultaneously, the lift was augmented by leading-edge flaps drooping by 25° and inboard flaps extending to 30°. The rest of the aircraft took advantage of contemporary aerodynamic innovations with
area-ruled fuselage, all-moving
stabilators, dog-tooth notching at the wing folds for improved yaw stability, and liberal use of
titanium
Titanium is a chemical element with the Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ti and atomic number 22. Found in nature only as an oxide, it can be reduced to produce a lustrous transition metal with a silver color, low density, and high strength, resista ...
in the airframe. The armament, as specified by the Navy, consisted primarily of four 20 mm (.79 in) autocannons; the Crusader happened to be the last U.S. fighter designed with guns as its primary weapon.
They were supplemented with a retractable tray with 32 unguided
Mk 4/Mk 40 Folding-Fin Aerial Rocket
The Mk 4 Folding-Fin Aerial Rocket (FFAR), also known as "Mighty Mouse", was an unguided rocket used by United States military aircraft. It was 2.75 inches (70 mm) in diameter. Designed as an air-to-air weapon for interceptor aircraft to ...
(Mighty Mouse FFARs), and cheek pylons for two guided
AIM-9 Sidewinder
The AIM-9 Sidewinder (where "AIM" stands for "Air Intercept Missile") is a short-range air-to-air missile which entered service with the US Navy in 1956 and subsequently was adopted by the US Air Force in 1964. Since then the Sidewinder has prove ...
air-to-air missiles.
In practice, AIM-9 Sidewinder missiles were the F-8's primary weapon; the 20mm guns were "generally unreliable". Moreover, it achieved nearly all of its kills with Sidewinders. Vought also presented a tactical reconnaissance version of the aircraft called the V-392.
Major competition came from the
Grumman F-11 Tiger
The Grumman F11F/F-11 Tiger is a supersonic, single-seat carrier-based United States Navy fighter aircraft in operation during the 1950s and 1960s. Originally designated the F11F Tiger in April 1955 under the pre-1962 Navy designation system, i ...
, the upgraded twin-engine
McDonnell F3H Demon
The McDonnell F3H Demon is a subsonic swept-wing United States Navy carrier-based jet fighter aircraft. The successor to the F2H Banshee, the Demon was originally designed to use the Westinghouse J40 engine, but had to be redesigned to acc ...
(which would eventually become the
McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II
The McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II is an American tandem two-seat, twin-engine, all-weather, long-range supersonic jet interceptor and fighter-bomber originally developed by McDonnell Aircraft for the United States Navy.Swanborough and B ...
), and lastly, the
North American F-100 Super Sabre
The North American F-100 Super Sabre is an American supersonic jet fighter aircraft that served with the United States Air Force (USAF) from 1954 to 1971 and with the Air National Guard (ANG) until 1979. The first of the Century Series of ...
hastily adapted to carrier use and dubbed the "Super Fury".
In May 1953, the Vought design was declared a winner and in June, Vought received an order for three XF8U-1 prototypes (after adoption of the
unified designation system in September 1962, the F8U became the F-8). The first prototype flew on 25 March 1955 with John Konrad at the controls. The aircraft exceeded the speed of sound during its maiden flight.
The development was so trouble free that the second prototype, along with the first production F8U-1, flew on the same day, 30 September 1955. On 4 April 1956, the F8U-1 performed its first catapult launch from .
Crusader III
In parallel with the F8U-1s and -2s, the Crusader design team was also working on a larger aircraft with even greater performance, internally designated as the V-401. Although the
Vought XF8U-3 Crusader III was externally similar to the Crusader and sharing with it such design elements as the variable incidence wing, the new fighter was larger and shared few components.
Operational history
![USS Midway (CVA-41) launches Vought F-8 Crusaders in 1963 (NH 97634)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a1/USS_Midway_%28CVA-41%29_launches_Vought_F-8_Crusaders_in_1963_%28NH_97634%29.jpg)
Prototype XF8U-1s were evaluated by
VX-3
Air Development Squadron 3 or VX-3 was a United States Navy air test and evaluation squadron established on 20 November 1948 and disestablished on 1 March 1960.
Operational history
VX-3 was established by the merger of the assets of VA-1L and V ...
beginning in late 1956, with few problems noted. Weapons development was conducted at
Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake and a China Lake F8U-1 set a U.S. National speed record in August 1956. Commander "Duke" Windsor set a new Level Flight Speed Record of on 21 August 1956 beating the previous record of set by a
USAF
The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Aerial warfare, air military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part ...
F-100. (It did not break the
world speed record of , set by the British
Fairey Delta 2
The Fairey Delta 2 or FD2 (internal designation Type V within Fairey) is a British supersonic research aircraft that was produced by the Fairey Aviation Company in response to a specification from the Ministry of Supply for a specialised aircra ...
, on 10 March 1956.)
An early F8U-1 was modified as a photo-reconnaissance aircraft, becoming the first F8U-1P. Subsequently, the RF-8A was equipped with cameras rather than guns and missiles. On 16 July 1957, Major
John H. Glenn
John Herschel Glenn Jr. (July 18, 1921 – December 8, 2016) was an American Marine Corps aviator, engineer, astronaut, businessman, and politician. He was the third American in space, and the first American to orbit the Earth, circling ...
Jr,
USMC
The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through co ...
, completed the first supersonic transcontinental flight in a F8U-1P, flying from
NAS Los Alamitos, California, to
Floyd Bennett Field
Floyd Bennett Field is an airfield in the Marine Park neighborhood of southeast Brooklyn in New York City, along the shore of Jamaica Bay. The airport originally hosted commercial and general aviation traffic before being used as a naval air ...
, New York, in 3 hours, 23 minutes, and 8.3 seconds.
First fleet operators
VX-3 was one of the first units to receive the F8U-1 in December 1956, and was the first to operate the type in April 1957, from . VX-3 was the first unit to qualify for carrier operations but several aircraft were lost in accidents, several of them fatal to their pilots.
The first fleet squadron to fly the Crusader was
VF-32 at
NAS Cecil Field
Naval Air Station Cecil Field or NAS Cecil Field was a United States Navy air base, located in Duval County, Florida. Prior to October 1999, NAS Cecil Field was the largest military base in terms of acreage in the Jacksonville, Florida area.
NA ...
, Florida, in 1957, which deployed to the Mediterranean late that year on . VF-32 renamed the squadron the "Swordsmen" in keeping with the Crusader theme. The Pacific Fleet received the first Crusaders at
NAS Moffett Field
Moffett Federal Airfield , also known as Moffett Field, is a joint civil-military airport located in an unincorporated part of Santa Clara County, California, United States, between northern Mountain View and northern Sunnyvale. On November 10, ...
in northern California and the
VF-154 "Grandslammers" (named in honor of the new 1,000-mph jets and subsequently renamed the "Black Knights") began their F-8 operations. Later in 1957, in San Diego
VMF-122
Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 122 (VMFA-122) is a United States Marine Corps fighter attack squadron flying the F-35B Lightning II. The squadron is based out of Marine Corps Air Station Yuma, AZ and falls under the command of Marine Aircraft Gr ...
accepted the first Marine Corps Crusaders.
In 1962, the Defense Department standardized military aircraft designations generally along Air Force lines. Consequently, the F8U became the F-8, with the original F8U-1 redesignated F-8A.
Fleet service
The Crusader became a "
day fighter A day fighter is a fighter aircraft equipped only to fight during the day. More specifically, it refers to a multi-purpose aircraft that does not include equipment for fighting at night (such as a radar and specialized avionics), although it is some ...
" operating off the aircraft carriers. At the time, U.S. Navy carrier air wings had gone through a series of day and night fighter aircraft due to rapid advances in engines and avionics. Some squadrons operated aircraft for very short periods before being equipped with a newer higher performance aircraft. The Crusader was the first post-Korean War aircraft to have a relatively long tenure with the fleet.
Cuban Missile Crisis
The unarmed RF-8A proved good at getting low-altitude detailed photographs, leading to carrier deployments as detachments from the Navy's
VFP-62
Light Photographic Squadron 62 (VFP-62) was an aviation unit of the United States Navy in service from 1949 to 1968. The squadron provided a detachment of reconnaissance planes for each of the carrier air wings of the U.S. Atlantic Fleet.
History ...
and
VFP-63 squadrons and the Marines'
VMCJ-2
Marine Tactical Electronic Warfare Squadron 2 (VMAQ-2) was a United States Marine Corps electronic warfare squadron in service from 1952 to 2019. It was the last squadron flying the Northrop Grumman EA-6B Prowler.
Mission
Its mission was to su ...
. Beginning on 23 October 1962 during the
Cuban Missile Crisis, RF-8As flew extremely hazardous low-level photo reconnaissance missions over Cuba, the F-8's first true operational flights. Two-ship flights of RF-8As left
Key West twice each day, to fly over Cuba at low level, then return to Jacksonville, where the film was offloaded and developed, to be rushed north to the Pentagon.
These flights confirmed that the Soviet Union was setting up MRBMs in Cuba. The RF-8As also monitored the withdrawal of the Soviet missiles. After each overflight, the aircraft was given a stencil of a dead chicken. The overflights went on for about six weeks and returned a total of 160,000 images. The pilots who flew the missions received
Distinguished Flying Crosses, while VFP-62 and VMCJ-2 received the prestigious U.S.
Navy Unit Commendation.
Mishap rate
![Pilot ejects from RF-8A 1963](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2c/Pilot_ejects_from_RF-8A_1963.jpeg)
The Crusader was not an easy aircraft to fly, and was often unforgiving in carrier landings, where it suffered from poor recovery from high sink rates, and the poorly designed,
caster
A caster (or castor) is an undriven wheel that is designed to be attached to the bottom of a larger object (the "vehicle") to enable that object to be moved.
Casters are used in numerous applications, including shopping carts, office chairs, ...
ing nose undercarriage made it hard to steer on the deck. Safe landings required the carriers to steam at full speed to lower the relative landing speed for Crusader pilots. The stacks of the oil-burning carriers on which the Crusader served belched thick black smoke, sometimes obscuring the flight deck, forcing the Crusader's pilot to rely on the
landing signal officer
A landing signal officer or landing safety officer (LSO), also informally known as paddles (United States Navy) or batsman (Royal Navy), is a naval aviator specially trained to facilitate the "safe and expeditious recovery" of naval aircraft abo ...
's radioed instructions.
It earned a reputation as an "
ensign
An ensign is the national flag flown on a vessel to indicate nationality. The ensign is the largest flag, generally flown at the stern (rear) of the ship while in port. The naval ensign (also known as war ensign), used on warships, may be diffe ...
eliminator" during its early service introduction.
The nozzle and air intake were so low when the aircraft was on the ground or the flight deck that the crews called the aircraft "the Gator". Not surprisingly, the Crusader mishap rate was relatively high compared to its contemporaries, the
Douglas A-4 Skyhawk
The Douglas A-4 Skyhawk is a single-seat subsonic carrier-capable light attack aircraft developed for the United States Navy and United States Marine Corps in the early 1950s. The delta-winged, single turbojet engined Skyhawk was designed a ...
and the
F-4 Phantom II. However, the aircraft did possess a desirable capability, as proved when several Crusader pilots took off with the wings folded and were able to land the aircraft. One of these episodes took place on 23 August 1960; a Crusader with the wings folded took off from
Napoli Capodichino in full afterburner, climbed to and then returned to land successfully. The pilot reported that the control forces were higher than normal. The Crusader was capable of flying in this configuration, though the pilot would be required to reduce aircraft weight by jettisoning stores and dumping fuel before landing.
1,261 Crusaders were built. By the time it was withdrawn from the fleet, 1,106 had been involved in mishaps.
["U.S. Navy's transition to jets."]
''usnwc.edu.'' Retrieved: 23 July 2012.
Vietnam War
![F-8J VF-24 CVA-19](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3c/Vought_F-8J_Crusader_of_VF-24_lands_aboard_USS_Hancock_%28CVA-19%29%2C_in_the_early_1970s.jpg)
When conflict erupted in the skies over North Vietnam, it was US Navy Crusaders from that first tangled with
Vietnam People's Air Force
The Vietnam People's Air Force (VPAF, ), formally refers itself as the Air Defence - Air Force (ADAF, ) or the Vietnamese Air Force (VNAF, ), is the aerial warfare service branch of Vietnam. It is the successor of the former North Vietnamese ...
(the North Vietnamese Air Force)
MiG-17
The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-17 (russian: Микоян и Гуревич МиГ-17; NATO reporting name: Fresco) is a high-subsonic fighter aircraft produced in the Soviet Union from 1952 and was operated by air forces internationally. The MiG-17 w ...
s, on 3 April 1965. The MiGs claimed the downing of a Crusader, and Lt Pham Ngoc Lan's
gun camera
Gun cameras are cameras mounted on a gun, used to photograph or record from its perspective. They are typically used on the weapons of military aircraft and operate either when the gun is fired or at the operator's will. Gun cameras are used for ...
revealed that his
cannons
A cannon is a large- caliber gun classified as a type of artillery, which usually launches a projectile using explosive chemical propellant. Gunpowder ("black powder") was the primary propellant before the invention of smokeless powder dur ...
had set an F-8 ablaze, but
Lieutenant Commander
Lieutenant commander (also hyphenated lieutenant-commander and abbreviated Lt Cdr, LtCdr. or LCDR) is a commissioned officer rank in many navies. The rank is superior to a lieutenant and subordinate to a commander. The corresponding ran ...
Spence Thomas had managed to land his damaged Crusader at
Da Nang Air Base, the remaining F-8s returning safely to their carrier. At the time, the Crusader was the best dogfighter the United States had against the nimble North Vietnamese MiGs. The US Navy had evolved its "night fighter" role in the air wing to an all-weather interceptor, the F-4 Phantom II, equipped to engage incoming bombers at long range with
missile
In military terminology, a missile is a guided airborne ranged weapon capable of self-propelled flight usually by a jet engine or rocket motor. Missiles are thus also called guided missiles or guided rockets (when a previously unguided rocke ...
s such as
AIM-7 Sparrow as their sole air-to-air weapons, and maneuverability was not emphasized in their design. Some experts believed that the era of the dogfight was over as air-to-air missiles would knock down adversaries well before they could get close enough to engage in dogfighting. As aerial combat ensued over North Vietnam from 1965 to 1968, it became apparent that the dogfight was not over and the F-8 Crusader and a community trained to prevail in air-to-air combat was a key ingredient to success. In a pitched air-battle between USN F-8s and VPAF MiG-21s on 01 August 1968,
ace fighter pilot Nguyen Hong Nhi fired a pair
R-3S AAMs at a pair of F-8s, the second R-3S making a successful hit, claiming one F-8 shot-down, and following a brief dogfight with the other F-8, another pair of F-8s entered into the fray and fired two
Sidewinder AAMs at Nguyen Hong Nhi, who was hit, and safely ejected from his stricken MiG-21; the downing of ace fighter pilot Nguyen credited to F-8H pilot Lt. McCoy of
VF-51
VF-51, Fighter Squadron 51 was an aviation unit of the United States Navy known as the "Screaming Eagles". It was originally established as VF-1 on February 1, 1943, redesignated as VF-5 on July 15, 1943, redesignated as VF-5A on November 15, 1946, ...
,
USS ''Bon Homme Richard''.
The Crusader also became a "bomb truck" in war, with both ship-based U.S. Navy units and land-based US Marine Corps squadrons attacking communist forces in both North and South Vietnam.
[Mersky, 1998, p. back, side and table in Appendix B.]
US Marine Crusaders flew only in the south, while Navy Crusaders flew only from the small
''Essex''-class carriers. Marine Crusaders also operated in close air support missions.
Despite the "last gunfighter" moniker, the F-8s achieved only four victories with their cannon; the remainder were accomplished with AIM-9 Sidewinder missiles,
[Grossnick and Armstrong 1997] partly due to the propensity of the 20 mm (.79 in)
Colt Mk 12 cannon
{{Infobox weapon
, name= Colt Mk 12
, image= 20 mm Mk 12 cannon of RNZAF A-4K Skyhawk 1984.jpg
, image_size =
, caption= Mk 12 cannon of a RNZAF Douglas A-4K Skyhawk.
, origin= United States
, type= Autocannon
, is_ranged= yes
, service= 1950 ...
s' feeding mechanism to jam under G-loading during high-speed dogfighting maneuvers. Between June and July 1966, during 12 engagements over North Vietnam, Crusaders claimed four MiG-17s for two losses. Crusader pilots would claim the best kill ratio of any American type in the
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War (also known by other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vietnam a ...
, 19:3.
Of the 19 aircraft claimed during aerial combat, 16 were MiG-17s and three were
MiG-21s.
While VPAF pilots claimed 11 F-8s shot down by MiGs, official US sources indicate that only three F-8s were lost in air combat, all of them during 1966, to cannon fire from opponents in MiG-17s. A total of 170 F-8 Crusaders would be lost to all causes – mostly ground fire and accidents – during the war.
End of service with U.S. Navy
![RF-8Gs VFP-206 in flight 1986](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/97/RF-8Gs_VFP-206_in_flight_1986.JPEG)
LTV built and delivered the 1,219th (and last) U.S. Navy Crusader to
VF-124 at
NAS Miramar
Marine Corps Air Station Miramar (MCAS Miramar) , formerly Naval Auxiliary Air Station (NAAS) Miramar and Naval Air Station (NAS) Miramar, is a United States Marine Corps installation that is home to the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, which is the avi ...
on 3 September 1964.
[''United States Naval Institute Proceedings'', January 1965, p. 136.]
The last active duty Navy Crusader fighter variants were retired from
VF-191
Fighter Squadron 191 (VF-191) was an aviation unit of the United States Navy. It was established in 1943 and disestablished in 1978. The squadron was nicknamed ''Satan's Kittens''. A second VF-191, bearing the same designation and nickname was est ...
and
VF-194 aboard in 1976 after almost two decades of service, setting a first for a Navy fighter.
The photo reconnaissance variant continued to serve in the active duty Navy for yet another 11 years, with VFP-63 flying RF-8Gs up to 1982, and with the Naval Reserve flying their RF-8Gs in two squadrons (VFP-206 and VFP-306) at Naval Air Facility Washington /
Andrews AFB
Andrews Air Force Base (Andrews AFB, AAFB) is the airfield portion of Joint Base Andrews, which is under the jurisdiction of the United States Air Force. In 2009, Andrews Air Force Base merged with Naval Air Facility Washington to form Joint Bas ...
until the disestablishment of
VFP-306 in 1984 and
VFP-206 on 29 March 1987 when the last operational Crusader was turned over to the
National Air and Space Museum.
The F-8 Crusader is the only aircraft to have used the AIM-9C which is a radar-guided variant of the Sidewinder. When the Crusader retired, these missiles were converted to the
AGM-122 Sidearm
The AGM-122 Sidearm was an American air-to-surface anti-radar missile produced between 1986 and 1990. While not as capable as newer anti-radiation missiles, they were cheaper and lighter in weight allowing more versatile deployment.
Developmen ...
anti-radiation missile
An anti-radiation missile (ARM) is a missile designed to detect and home in on an enemy radio emission source. Typically, these are designed for use against an enemy radar, although jammers and even radios used for communications can also be ...
s used by United States attack helicopters against enemy radars.
NASA
![NASA F-8A Crusader Supercritical Wing Aircraft - GPN-2000-002001](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/35/NASA_F-8A_Crusader_Supercritical_Wing_Aircraft_-_GPN-2000-002001.jpg)
Several modified F-8s were used by
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil List of government space agencies, space program ...
in the early 1970s, proving the viability of both
digital fly-by-wire technology (using data-processing equipment adapted from the
Apollo Guidance Computer), as well as
supercritical wing design.
French Navy
![F-8E(FN) catching wire on USS Eisenhower (CVN-69) 1983](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/42/F-8E%28FN%29_catching_wire_on_USS_Eisenhower_%28CVN-69%29_1983.JPEG/1200px-F-8E%28FN%29_catching_wire_on_USS_Eisenhower_%28CVN-69%29_1983.JPEG)
When the French Navy's air arm, the
''Aéronavale'', required a carrier based fighter in the early 1960s to serve aboard the new carriers and , the F-4 Phantom, then entering service with the United States Navy, proved to be too large for the small French ships. Following carrier trials aboard ''Clemenceau'' on 16 March 1962, by two
VF-32 F-8s from the American carrier USS ''Saratoga'', the Crusader was chosen and 42 F-8s were ordered, the last Crusaders produced.
The French Crusaders were based on the F-8E, but were modified in order to allow operations from the small French carriers, with the maximum angle of incidence of the aircraft's wing increased from five to seven degrees and
blown flap
Blown flaps, or jet flaps, are powered aerodynamic high-lift devices used on the wings of certain aircraft to improve their low-speed flight characteristics. They use air blown through nozzles to shape the airflow over the rear edge of the wing, ...
s fitted. The aircraft's weapon system was modified to carry two French Matra
R.530 radar or infra-red missiles as an alternative to Sidewinders, although the ability to carry the American missile was retained.
[Stijger, 1993, p. 192.] Deliveries of the new aircraft, dubbed the F-8E(FN), started in October 1964 and continued until February 1965, with the ''Aéronavale''s first squadron, ''Flotille'' 12F reactivated on 1 October 1964.
To replace the old Corsairs, ''Flotille'' 14.F received its Crusaders on 1 March 1965.
[Stijger, 1993, pp. 192–193.][Rochotte, Léon C., Ramon Josa and Alexandre Gannier]
"Capitaine de Frégate (H): Les Corsair français".
''NetMarine.net'', 1999. Retrieved: 14 July 2009.
In October 1974, (on ''Clemenceau'') and June 1977 (on ''Foch''), Crusaders from 14.F squadron participated in the Saphir missions over
Djibouti
Djibouti, ar, جيبوتي ', french: link=no, Djibouti, so, Jabuuti officially the Republic of Djibouti, is a country in the Horn of Africa, bordered by Somalia to the south, Ethiopia to the southwest, Eritrea in the north, and the Red ...
. On 7 May 1977, two Crusaders went separately on patrol against supposedly French Air Force (4/11 Jura squadron) F-100 Super Sabres stationed at Djibouti. The leader intercepted two fighters and engaged a dogfight (supposed to be a training exercise) but quickly called his wingman for help as he had actually engaged two
Yemeni
Yemen (; ar, ٱلْيَمَن, al-Yaman), officially the Republic of Yemen,, ) is a country in Western Asia. It is situated on the southern end of the Arabian Peninsula, and borders Saudi Arabia to the Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, north and ...
MiG-21s. The two French fighters switched their master armament to "on" but, ultimately, everyone returned to their bases. This was the only combat interception by French Crusaders.
The ''Aéronavale'' Crusaders flew combat missions over Lebanon in 1983 escorting
Dassault-Breguet Super Étendard
The Dassault-Breguet Super Étendard (''Étendard'' is French for " battle flag", cognate to English "standard") is a French carrier-borne strike fighter aircraft designed by Dassault-Breguet for service with the French Navy.
The aircraft is ...
strike aircraft. In October 1984, France sent ''Foch'' for Operation Mirmillon off the coast of Libya, intended to calm
Colonel Gaddafi
Muammar Muhammad Abu Minyar al-Gaddafi, . Due to the lack of standardization of transcribing written and regionally pronounced Arabic, Gaddafi's name has been romanized in various ways. A 1986 column by ''The Straight Dope'' lists 32 spellin ...
down, with 12.F squadron. The escalation of the situation in the Persian Gulf, due to the Iran-Iraq conflict, triggered the deployment of ''Clemenceau'' task force and its air wing, including 12.F squadron. 1993 saw the beginning of the missions over the former
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...
. Crusaders were launched from both carriers cruising in the
Adriatic Sea
The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkan Peninsula. The Adriatic is the northernmost arm of the Mediterranean Sea, extending from the Strait of Otranto (where it connects to the Ionian Sea) to t ...
. These missions ceased in June 1999 with Operation Trident over
Kosovo
Kosovo ( sq, Kosova or ; sr-Cyrl, Косово ), officially the Republic of Kosovo ( sq, Republika e Kosovës, links=no; sr, Република Косово, Republika Kosovo, links=no), is a partially recognised state in Southeast Euro ...
.
The French Crusaders were subject to a series of modifications throughout their life, being fitted with new F-8J-type wings in 1969 and having modified
afterburner
An afterburner (or reheat in British English) is an additional combustion component used on some jet engines, mostly those on military supersonic aircraft. Its purpose is to increase thrust, usually for supersonic flight, takeoff, and co ...
s fitted in 1979.
[Stijgers, 1993, p. 195.] Armament was enhanced by the addition of
R550 Magic
The R.550 Magic (backronym for ''Missile Auto-Guidé Interception et Combat'') is a short-range air-to-air missile designed in 1968 by French company Matra to compete with the American AIM-9 Sidewinder, and it was made backwards compatible with ...
infra-red guided missiles in 1973, with the improved,
all-aspect An all-aspect air-to-air missile can track a target no matter which way the target faces relative to the missile. In other words, an all-aspect missile can be launched against a target not only in a tail-chase engagement, but also in a head-on eng ...
Magic 2 fitted from 1988. The obsolete R.530 was withdrawn from use in 1989, leaving the Crusaders without a radar-guided missile.
[Stijgers, 1993, p. 194.] In 1989, when it was realised that the Crusader would not be replaced for several years due to delays in the development of the Rafale, it was decided to refurbish the Crusaders to extend their operating life. Each aircraft was rewired and had its hydraulic system refurbished, while the airframe was strengthened to extend fatigue life. Avionics were improved, with a modified navigation suite and a new radar-warning receiver.
[Stijgers, 1993, pp. 195–196.][Michell 1993, p. 58.] The 17 refurbished aircraft were redesignated as F-8P (P used for "''Prolongé''" -extended- and not to be confused with the Philippine F-8P).
[Mersky ''Wings of Fame'' 1996, p. 83.] Although the French Navy participated in combat operations in 1991 during
Operation Desert Storm
Operation or Operations may refer to:
Arts, entertainment and media
* ''Operation'' (game), a battery-operated board game that challenges dexterity
* Operation (music), a term used in musical set theory
* ''Operations'' (magazine), Multi-Ma ...
and over
Kosovo
Kosovo ( sq, Kosova or ; sr-Cyrl, Косово ), officially the Republic of Kosovo ( sq, Republika e Kosovës, links=no; sr, Република Косово, Republika Kosovo, links=no), is a partially recognised state in Southeast Euro ...
in 1999, the Crusaders stayed behind and were eventually replaced by the
Dassault Rafale M in 2000 as the last of the type in military service.
Philippine Air Force
![F-8H Crusader of the Philippine Air Force in flight c1978](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e8/F-8H_Crusader_of_the_Philippine_Air_Force_in_flight_c1978.jpeg)
In late 1977, the Philippine government purchased 35 secondhand U.S. Navy F-8Hs that were stored at
Davis-Monthan AFB in Arizona.
["F-8 Crusader".]
''Milavia''. Twenty-five of them were refurbished by Vought and the remaining 10 were used for spare parts.
[ As part of the deal, the U.S. would train Philippine pilots using the TF-8A.][ The Crusaders were manned by the 7th Tactical Fighter Squadron at ]Basa Air Base
Cesar Basa Air Base, or simply Basa Air Base (formerly known as Floridablanca Airfield), is an airbase currently operated by the Philippine Air Force. It is located at Floridablanca, Pampanga about northwest of Metro Manila in the Philippines. ...
and were mostly used for intercepting Soviet bombers.[ But due to lack of spares and the rapid deterioration of the aircraft, the remaining F-8s were grounded in 1988 and left on an open grass field at Basa Air Base. They were finally withdrawn from service in 1991 after they were badly damaged by the Mount Pinatubo eruption, and have since been offered for sale as scrap.
]
Variants
*XF8U-1 (XF-8A) (V-383) – the two original unarmed prototypes.
*F8U-1 (F-8A) – first production version, J57-P-12 engine replaced with more powerful J57-P-4A starting with 31st production aircraft, 318 built.
*YF8U-1 (YF-8A) – one F8U-1 fighter used for development testing.
*YF8U-1E (YF-8B) – one F8U-1 converted to serve as an F8U-1E prototype.
*F8U-1E (F-8B) – added a limited all-weather capability thanks to the AN/APS-67 radar, the unguided rocket tray was sealed shut because it was never used operationally, first flight: 3 September 1958, 130 built.
*XF8U-1T – one XF8U-2NE used for evaluation as a two-seat trainer.
*F8U-1T (TF-8A) (V-408) – two-seat trainer version based on F8U-2NE, fuselage stretched 2 ft (0.61 m), internal armament reduced to two cannon, J57-P-20 engine, first flight 6 February 1962. The Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...
was initially interested in the Rolls-Royce Spey
The Rolls-Royce Spey (company designations RB.163 and RB.168 and RB.183) is a low-bypass turbofan engine originally designed and manufactured by Rolls-Royce that has been in widespread service for over 40 years. A co-development version of th ...
-powered version of TF-8A but chose the Phantom II instead. Only one TF-8A was built, although several retired F-8As were converted to similar two-seat trainers.
*YF8U-2 (YF-8C) – two F8U-1s used for flight testing the J57-P-16 turbojet engine.
*F8U-2 (F-8C) – J57-P-16 engine with 16,900 lbf (75 kN) of afterburning thrust, ventral fins added under the rear fuselage in an attempt to rectify yaw instability, Y-shaped cheek pylons allowing two Sidewinder missiles on each side of the fuselage, AN/APQ-83 radar retrofitted during later upgrades. First flight: 20 August 1957, 187 built. This variant was sometimes referred to as Crusader II.[Pike, J]
"F8U-3 Crusader III."
''GlobalSecurity.org''. Retrieved: 9 July 2009.
*F8U-2N (F-8D) – all-weather version, unguided rocket pack replaced with an additional fuel tank, J57-P-20 engine with 18,000 lbf (80 kN) of afterburning thrust, landing system which automatically maintained present airspeed during approach, incorporation of AN/APQ-83 radar. First flight: 16 February 1960, 152 built.
*YF8U-2N (YF-8D) – one aircraft used in the development of the F8U-2N.
*YF8U-2NE – one F8U-1 converted to serve as an F8U-2NE prototype.
*F8U-2NE (F-8E) – J57-P-20A engine, AN/APQ-94 radar in a larger nose cone, dorsal hump between the wings containing electronics for the AGM-12 Bullpup
The AGM-12 Bullpup is a short-range air-to-ground missile developed by Martin Marietta for the US Navy. It is among the earliest precision guided air-to-ground weapons and the first to be mass produced. It first saw operational use in 1959 on th ...
missile, payload increased to 5,000 lb (2,270 kg), Martin-Baker
Martin-Baker Aircraft Company Limited is a British manufacturer of ejection seats and safety-related equipment for aviation. The company's origins were originally as an aircraft manufacturer before becoming a pioneer in the field of ejection s ...
ejection seat, AN/APQ-94 radar replaced AN/APQ-83 radar in earlier F-8D. IRST
An infrared search and track (IRST) system (sometimes known as infrared sighting and tracking) is a method for detecting and tracking objects which give off infrared radiation, such as the infrared signatures of jet aircraft and helicopters.
IR ...
sensor blister (round ball) was added in front of the canopy. First flight: 30 June 1961, 286 built.
*F-8E(FN) – air superiority fighter version for the French Navy
The French Navy (french: Marine nationale, lit=National Navy), informally , is the maritime arm of the French Armed Forces and one of the five military service branches of France. It is among the largest and most powerful naval forces in t ...
, significantly increased wing lift due to greater slat and flap deflection and the addition of a boundary layer control
Boundary layer control refers to methods of controlling the behaviour of fluid flow boundary layers.
It may be desirable to reduce flow separation on fast vehicles to reduce the size of the wake (streamlining), which may reduce drag. Boundary l ...
system, enlarged stabilators, incorporated AN/APQ-104 radar, an upgraded version of AN/APQ-94. A total of 42 built.
*F-8H – upgraded F-8D with strengthened airframe and landing gear, with AN/APQ-84 radar. A total of 89 rebuilt.
*F-8J – upgraded F-8E, similar to F-8D but with wing modifications and BLC like on F-8E(FN), "wet" pylons for external fuel tanks, J57-P-20A engine, with AN/APQ-124 radar. A total of 136 rebuilt.
*F-8K – upgraded F-8C with Bullpup capability and J57-P-20A engines, with AN/APQ-125 radar. A total of 87 rebuilt.
*F-8L – F-8B upgraded with underwing hardpoints, with AN/APQ-149 radar. A total of 61 rebuilt.
*F-8P – 17 F-8E(FN) of the Aéronavale underwent a significant overhaul at the end of the 1980s to stretch their service life another 10 years. They were retired in 1999.[Winchester 2006, p. 242.]
*F8U-1D (DF-8A) – several retired F-8A modified to controller aircraft for testing of the SSM-N-8 Regulus cruise missile. DF-8A was also modified as drone (F-9 Cougar) control which were used extensively by VC-8, NS Roosevelt Rds, PR; Atlantic Fleet Missile Range.
*DF-8F – retired F-8A modified as controller aircraft for testing of missiles including at the USN facility at China Lake.
*F8U-1KU (QF-8A) – retired F-8A modified into remote-controlled target drones
*YF8U-1P (YRF-8A) – prototypes used in the development of the F8U-1P photo-reconnaissance aircraft – V-392.
*F8U-1P (RF-8A) – unarmed photo-reconnaissance version of F8U-1E, 144 built.
*RF-8G – modernized RF-8As.
*LTV V-100 – revised "low-cost" development based on the earlier F-8 variants, created in 1970 to compete against the F-4E Phantom II
The McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II is an American tandem two-seat, twin-engine, all-weather, long-range supersonic jet interceptor and fighter-bomber originally developed by McDonnell Aircraft for the United States Navy.Swanborough and Bo ...
, Lockheed CL-1200 and F-5-21 in a tender for U.S. Military Assistance Program (MAP) funding. The unsuccessful design was ultimately only a "paper exercise."
* XF8U-3 Crusader III (V-401) – new design loosely based on the earlier F-8 variants, created to compete against the F-4 Phantom II; J75-P-5A engine with 29,500 lbf (131 kN) of afterburning thrust, first flight: 2 June 1958, attained Mach 2.39 in test flights, canceled after five aircraft were constructed because the Phantom II won the Navy contract.
Operators
Former operators
;:
*French Navy
The French Navy (french: Marine nationale, lit=National Navy), informally , is the maritime arm of the French Armed Forces and one of the five military service branches of France. It is among the largest and most powerful naval forces in t ...
( ''Aéronavale'')
;:
* Philippine Air Force
;:
*United States Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...
*United States Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through combi ...
*NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil List of government space agencies, space program ...
Aircraft on display
France
;F-8E(FN)
*151732 (French Navy Side Number 1) – Musee des Avions de Chasse, Beaune
Beaune () is the wine capital of Burgundy in the Côte d'Or department in eastern France. It is located between Lyon and Dijon. Beaune is one of the key wine centers in France, and the center of Burgundy wine production and business. The annua ...
.
*151750 (French Navy Side Number 19) – Musée des Ailes Anciennes, Toulouse
Toulouse ( , ; oc, Tolosa ) is the prefecture of the French department of Haute-Garonne and of the larger region of Occitania. The city is on the banks of the River Garonne, from the Mediterranean Sea, from the Atlantic Ocean and from Pa ...
.
;F-8P
*151733 (French Navy Side Number 3) – Lann Bihoue Airport, Le Meneguen.
*151735 (French Navy Side Number 4) – Musee Europeen de lAviation de Chasse, Montelimar-Ancone.
*151738 (French Navy Side Number 7) – Aeronavale Base, Landivisau.
*151741 (French Navy Side Number 10) – Musee de l air et de l Espace, (The Air and Space Museum), Paris, France
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...
.
*151742 (French Navy Side Number 11) – Musee de l aeronautique navale, Rochefort
Rochefort () may refer to:
Places France
* Rochefort, Charente-Maritime, in the Charente-Maritime department
** Arsenal de Rochefort, a former naval base and dockyard
* Rochefort, Savoie in the Savoie department
* Rochefort-du-Gard, in the Ga ...
.
*151754 (French Navy Side Number 23) – Aeronavale Base, Landivisau.
*151760 (French Navy Side Number 29) – Aeronavale Base, Landivisau.
*151767 (French Navy Side Number 36) – Musee des Avions de Chasse, Beaune
Beaune () is the wine capital of Burgundy in the Côte d'Or department in eastern France. It is located between Lyon and Dijon. Beaune is one of the key wine centers in France, and the center of Burgundy wine production and business. The annua ...
.
*151768 (French Navy Side Number 37) – Airport in Cuers.
*151770 (French Navy Side Number 39) – Aeronavale Base, Landivisau.
Philippines
;F-8H
*147056 – Philippine Air Force Aerospace Museum, Villamor Air Base
Colonel Jesus Villamor Air Base, known simply as Villamor Air Base , is the headquarters of the Philippine Air Force (PAF) and shares runways with Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA). It was formerly known as Nichols Field or Nichols Air ...
, Manila
Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populate ...
.
*147060 - Basa Air Base
Cesar Basa Air Base, or simply Basa Air Base (formerly known as Floridablanca Airfield), is an airbase currently operated by the Philippine Air Force. It is located at Floridablanca, Pampanga about northwest of Metro Manila in the Philippines. ...
, Floridablanca, Pampanga
Floridablanca, officially the Municipality of Floridablanca ( pam, Balen ning Floridablanca; fil, Bayan ng Floridablanca) is a 1st class municipality in the province of Pampanga, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a populatio ...
.
*148661 – Clark Air Base, Angeles City
, anthem = Himno ning Angeles (Angeles Hymn)
, subdivision_type3 = District
, subdivision_name3 =
, established_title = Settled
, established_date = 1796
, established_title1 = Chartere ...
.
*148696 - Fort Del Pilar, Baguio
Baguio ( ,
), officially the City of Baguio ( ilo, Siudad ti Baguio; fil, Lungsod ng Baguio), is a 1st class highly urbanized city in the Cordillera Administrative Region, Philippines. It is known as the "Summer Capital of the Philippines", ...
.
United States
;XF8U-1 (XF-8A)
*138899 – Museum of Flight
The Museum of Flight is a private non-profit air and space museum in the Seattle metropolitan area. It is located at the southern end of King County International Airport (Boeing Field) in the city of Tukwila, immediately south of Seattle. ...
in Seattle, Washington
Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest region ...
.
;XF8U-2 (XF-8C)
*140448 – McAuliffe-Shepard Discovery Center in Concord, New Hampshire.
;F8U-1 (F-8A)
*141351 – NAS Jacksonville
Naval Air Station Jacksonville (NAS Jacksonville) is a large naval air station located approximately eight miles (13 km) south of the central business district of Jacksonville, Florida, United States., effective 2007-10-25
Location
NAS Jack ...
Heritage Park, Naval Air Station Jacksonville
Naval Air Station Jacksonville (NAS Jacksonville) is a large naval air station located approximately eight miles (13 km) south of the central business district of Jacksonville, Florida, United States., effective 2007-10-25
Location
NAS Jac ...
, Florida
Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...
(relocated from former NAS Cecil Field
Naval Air Station Cecil Field or NAS Cecil Field was a United States Navy air base, located in Duval County, Florida. Prior to October 1999, NAS Cecil Field was the largest military base in terms of acreage in the Jacksonville, Florida area.
NA ...
).
*141353 – Edwards AFB
Edwards Air Force Base (AFB) is a United States Air Force installation in California. Most of the base sits in Kern County, but its eastern end is in San Bernardino County and a southern arm is in Los Angeles County. The hub of the base is E ...
, California
California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...
.
*143703 – USS Hornet Museum, former Naval Air Station Alameda
Naval Air Station Alameda (NAS Alameda) was a United States Navy Naval Air Station in Alameda, California, on San Francisco Bay.
NAS Alameda had two runways: 13–31 measuring and 07-25 measuring . Two helicopter pads and a control tower were ...
, Alameda, California
Alameda ( ; ; Spanish for " tree-lined path") is a city in Alameda County, California, located in the East Bay region of the Bay Area. The city is primarily located on Alameda Island, but also spans Bay Farm Island and Coast Guard Island, as we ...
.
*143755 – Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, California
California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...
.
*143806 – Wings of Freedom Aviation Museum
The Wings of Freedom Aviation Museum in Horsham, Pennsylvania is a museum dedicated to preserving the aviation history of the Greater Delaware Valley including NAS Willow Grove and Harold F. Pitcairn. It is owned and operated by the Delaware Val ...
, former Naval Air Station Willow Grove
Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Willow Grove or NASJRB Willow Grove was a Naval Air Station owned by the U.S. Navy and located in Horsham Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United States four miles (6 km) northwest of the cen ...
, Willow Grove, Pennsylvania
Willow Grove is a census-designated place (CDP) in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United States. A community in Philadelphia's northern suburbs, the population was 15,726 at the 2010 census. It is located in Upper Dublin Township, Abington To ...
.
*144427 – Pima Air and Space Museum
The Pima Air & Space Museum, located in Tucson, Arizona, is one of the world's largest non-government funded aerospace museums. The museum features a display of nearly 300 aircraft spread out over 80 acres (320,000 m²) on a campus occ ...
adjacent to Davis-Monthan AFB in Tucson, Arizona
, "(at the) base of the black ill
, nicknames = "The Old Pueblo", "Optics Valley", "America's biggest small town"
, image_map =
, mapsize = 260px
, map_caption = Interactive map ...
.
*145336 – at Chino, California
California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...
.
*145347 – National Naval Aviation Museum
The National Naval Aviation Museum, formerly known as the National Museum of Naval Aviation and the Naval Aviation Museum, is a military and aerospace museum located at Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida.
Founded in 1962 and moved to its cur ...
at Naval Air Station Pensacola
Naval Air Station Pensacola or NAS Pensacola (formerly NAS/KNAS until changed circa 1970 to allow Nassau International Airport, now Lynden Pindling International Airport, to have IATA code NAS), "The Cradle of Naval Aviation", is a United State ...
, Florida
Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...
.
*145349 – Pueblo Weisbrod Aircraft Museum, Pueblo, Colorado
Pueblo () is a home rule municipality that is the county seat and the most populous municipality of Pueblo County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 111,876 at the 2020 United States Census, making Pueblo the ninth most populo ...
.
*145397 – Naval Air Engineering Station Lakehurst
Lakehurst Maxfield Field, formerly known as Naval Air Engineering Station Lakehurst (NAES Lakehurst), is the naval component of Joint Base McGuire–Dix–Lakehurst (JB MDL), a United States Air Force-managed joint base headquartered approximately ...
, Lakehurst, New Jersey
Lakehurst is a borough in Ocean County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough's population was 2,654,[Seattle, Washington
Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest region ...]
,
*145546 – Edwards AFB
Edwards Air Force Base (AFB) is a United States Air Force installation in California. Most of the base sits in Kern County, but its eastern end is in San Bernardino County and a southern arm is in Los Angeles County. The hub of the base is E ...
, California
California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...
.
*145592 - under restoration to airworthiness by a private owner in Seattle, Washington
Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest region ...
,
*146963 – Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort
Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort or MCAS Beaufort is a United States Marine Corps (USMC) air base located northwest of the central business district of Beaufort, a city in Beaufort County, South Carolina, United States. About 4,700 personnel s ...
, South Carolina
)'' Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no)
, anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind"
, Former = Province of South Carolina
, seat = Columbia
, LargestCity = Charleston
, LargestMetro = ...
.
*146973 – Marine Corps Air Station Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii
Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only state ...
*147034 – (nose section only) USS Hornet Museum, former NAS Alameda
Naval Air Station Alameda (NAS Alameda) was a United States Navy Naval Air Station in Alameda, California, on San Francisco Bay.
NAS Alameda had two runways: 13–31 measuring and 07-25 measuring . Two helicopter pads and a control tower were ...
, Alameda, California
Alameda ( ; ; Spanish for " tree-lined path") is a city in Alameda County, California, located in the East Bay region of the Bay Area. The city is primarily located on Alameda Island, but also spans Bay Farm Island and Coast Guard Island, as we ...
.
*149150 – NAS Oceana Aviation Heritage Park, Naval Air Station Oceana
Naval Air Station (NAS) Oceana or NAS Oceana is a United States Navy Naval Air Station located in Virginia Beach, Virginia.
Nowadays, the station is located on 23.9 km2. It has total of 250 aircraft deployed and buildings valued at $800 mil ...
, Virginia
Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...
.
;F8U-2N (F-8D)
*148693 – Mid America Air Museum in Liberal, Kansas
Liberal is the county seat of Seward County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 19,825. Liberal is home of Seward County Community College.
History
Early settler S. S. Rogers built the first hous ...
.
F8U-2NE (F-8E)
* 150920 – Flying Leatherneck Aviation Museum
The Flying Leatherneck Aviation Museum is a United States Marine Corps aviation museum currently located at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, San Diego, California. The museum contains exhibits and artifacts relating to the history and legacy of ...
at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, California
California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...
["F8U Crusader/150920"](_blank)
''Flying Leatherneck Aviation Museum and Historical Foundation.'' Retrieved: 22 January 2015.
F-8E(FN)
* 151765 – under restoration to airworthiness by a private owner in Fort Myers, Florida
;F8U-1P (RF-8G)
*144617 – Flying Leatherneck Aviation Museum
The Flying Leatherneck Aviation Museum is a United States Marine Corps aviation museum currently located at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, San Diego, California. The museum contains exhibits and artifacts relating to the history and legacy of ...
at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, California
California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...
*144618 – Celebrity Row, Davis-Monthan AFB (North Side), Tucson, Arizona
, "(at the) base of the black ill
, nicknames = "The Old Pueblo", "Optics Valley", "America's biggest small town"
, image_map =
, mapsize = 260px
, map_caption = Interactive map ...
.
*145607 – Castle Air Museum
Castle Air Museum is a military aviation museum located in Atwater, California, United States adjacent to Castle Airport, a former United States Air Force Strategic Air Command base which was closed in 1995, after the end of the Cold War. It ...
(former Castle AFB
Castle Air Force Base (Castle AFB, 1941–1995) is a former United States Air Force Strategic Air Command base in California, located northeast of Atwater, northwest of Merced, and about south of Sacramento.
The Central Valley base in unin ...
), Atwater, California
Atwater is a city on State Route 99 in Merced County, California, United States. Atwater is west-northwest of Merced, at an elevation of . The population as of the 2020 census was 31,970, up from 28,168 in 2010.
Geography
Atwater is in northe ...
.
*145608 – (nose section only) Pacific Coast Air Museum
The Pacific Coast Air Museum, in Santa Rosa, California, is a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting and preserving aviation history through the acquisition, restoration, and display of historic aircraft. The museum displays a varied collec ...
, Santa Rosa, California
Santa Rosa ( Spanish for " Saint Rose") is a city and the county seat of Sonoma County, in the North Bay region of the Bay Area in California. Its estimated 2019 population was 178,127. It is the largest city in California's Wine Country and ...
.
*145609 – National Museum of Naval Aviation
The National Naval Aviation Museum, formerly known as the National Museum of Naval Aviation and the Naval Aviation Museum, is a military and aerospace museum located at Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida.
Founded in 1962 and moved to its curr ...
, Naval Air Station Pensacola
Naval Air Station Pensacola or NAS Pensacola (formerly NAS/KNAS until changed circa 1970 to allow Nassau International Airport, now Lynden Pindling International Airport, to have IATA code NAS), "The Cradle of Naval Aviation", is a United State ...
, Pensacola, Florida.
*145645 – USS Alabama Battleship Memorial Park
Battleship Memorial Park is a military history park and museum on the western shore of Mobile Bay in Mobile, Alabama. It has a collection of notable aircraft and museum ships including the and . USS ''Alabama'' and USS ''Drum'' are both Nation ...
, Mobile, Alabama.
*146860 – Smithsonian Institution
The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums and education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Founded ...
's National Air and Space Museum Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Virginia
Chantilly is a census-designated place (CDP) in western Fairfax County, Virginia, Fairfax County, Virginia. The population was 24,301 as of the 2020 census. Chantilly is named after an early-19th-century mansion and farm, which in turn took the ...
, adjacent to Dulles International Airport
Washington Dulles International Airport , typically referred to as Dulles International Airport, Dulles Airport, Washington Dulles, or simply Dulles ( ), is an international airport in the Eastern United States, located in Loudoun County and F ...
.
*146858 – in storage at Flying Leatherneck Aviation Museum
The Flying Leatherneck Aviation Museum is a United States Marine Corps aviation museum currently located at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, San Diego, California. The museum contains exhibits and artifacts relating to the history and legacy of ...
at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, California
California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...
*146882 – Frontiers of Flight Museum in Dallas, Texas
Dallas () is the third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 million people. It is the largest city in and seat of Dallas County ...
.
*146898 – Fort Worth Aviation Museum in Fort Worth, Texas
Fort Worth is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Texas and the 13th-largest city in the United States. It is the county seat of Tarrant County, covering nearly into four other counties: Denton, Johnson, Parker, and Wise. Accord ...
.
;F-8H
*147909 – NAD Soroptimist Park, Kitsap Lake, Bremerton, Washington
Bremerton is a city in Kitsap County, Washington. The population was 37,729 at the 2010 census and an estimated 41,405 in 2019, making it the largest city on the Kitsap Peninsula. Bremerton is home to Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and the Bremer ...
, about 1 mile away from Naval Hospital Bremerton. Aircraft is on loan from the National Naval Aviation Museum
The National Naval Aviation Museum, formerly known as the National Museum of Naval Aviation and the Naval Aviation Museum, is a military and aerospace museum located at Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida.
Founded in 1962 and moved to its cur ...
, Pensacola, Florida.
;F-8J
*150904 – Air Zoo in Kalamazoo, Michigan.
;F8U-2 (F-8K)
*145550 – USS Intrepid Museum in New York City, New York
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
.
*146931 – Estrella Warbirds Museum
The Estrella Warbirds Museum is an aviation museum dedicated to the restoration and preservation of military aircraft, vehicles, and memorabilia. The museum is located at Paso Robles Municipal Airport in central California and is named after Est ...
in Paso Robles, California
Paso Robles ( ), officially El Paso de Robles (Spanish for "The Pass of Oaks"), is a city in San Luis Obispo County, California, United States. Located on the Salinas River approximately north of San Luis Obispo, the city is known for its hot ...
.
*146939 – Patriots Point
Patriots Point Naval & Maritime Museum is located in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, at the mouth of the Cooper River on the Charleston Harbor, across from Charleston.
Museum ships and exhibits
Patriots Point is home to two museum ships:
* , ...
Naval & Maritime Museum aboard ex-USS Yorktown (CV-10)
USS ''Yorktown'' (CV/CVA/CVS-10) is one of 24 s built during World War II for the United States Navy. Initially to have been named ''Bonhomme Richard'', she was renamed ''Yorktown'' while still under construction, after the , which was sunk ...
, Mount Pleasant, South Carolina
Mount Pleasant is a large suburban town in Charleston County, South Carolina, United States. In the Low Country, it is the fourth largest municipality and largest town in South Carolina, and for several years was one of the state's fastest-growin ...
.
*146983 – Marine Corps Air Station Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii
Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only state ...
.
*146985 – Valiant Air Command Warbird Museum
The Valiant Air Command, Inc. Warbird Museum (VAC) is located at the Space Coast Regional Airport in Brevard County, just south of Titusville, Florida. The VAC contains vintage aircraft and a hangar with a restoration area. The VAC also has a M ...
at Space Coast Regional Airport
Space is the boundless three-dimensional extent in which objects and events have relative position and direction. In classical physics, physical space is often conceived in three linear dimensions, although modern physicists usually conside ...
in Titusville, Florida
Titusville is a city in eastern Florida and the county seat of Brevard County, Florida, United States. The city's population was 43,761 as of the 2010 United States Census.
Titusville is located along the Indian River, west of Merritt Island and ...
*146995 – Pacific Coast Air Museum
The Pacific Coast Air Museum, in Santa Rosa, California, is a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting and preserving aviation history through the acquisition, restoration, and display of historic aircraft. The museum displays a varied collec ...
, adjacent to the Sonoma County Airport
Sonoma may refer to:
* ''Sonoma'' (beetle), a genus of beetles
* Sonoma County, California, a county in northern California in the United States
** Sonoma, California, the city for which the county is named
** Sonoma Valley, the region in Sonoma ...
in Santa Rosa, California
Santa Rosa ( Spanish for " Saint Rose") is a city and the county seat of Sonoma County, in the North Bay region of the Bay Area in California. Its estimated 2019 population was 178,127. It is the largest city in California's Wine Country and ...
*147030 – USS Midway Museum in San Diego, California
San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United Stat ...
.
;F-8L
*145449 – Naval Air Station Fallon
Naval Air Station Fallon or NAS Fallon is the United States Navy's premier air-to-air and air-to-ground training facility. It is located southeast of the city of Fallon, east of Reno in western Nevada. Since 1996, it has been home to the U.S. Na ...
, Fallon, Nevada
Fallon is a city in Churchill County in the U.S. state of Nevada. The population was 9,327 at time of the 2020 census. Fallon is the county seat of Churchill County and is located in the Lahontan Valley.
History
The community was first populat ...
."F8U Crusader/145449."
''aerialvisuals.ca'' Retrieved: 23 June 2015.
;F8U Cockpit
*145399 – Under restoration a
Moffett Historical Museum
Moffett Federal Airfield, California
Specifications (F-8E)
See also
References
Notes
Bibliography
*Anderton, David A. ''North American F-100 Super Sabre''. London: Osprey Publishing Limited, 1987. .
*Glenn, John and Nick Taylor. ''John Glenn: A Memoir''. New York: Bantam, 2000. .
*Grant, Zalin. ''Over the Beach: The Air War in Vietnam''. New York: Pocket Books, 1988. .
*Grossnick, Roy A. and William J. Armstrong. ''United States Naval Aviation, 1910–1995''. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Historical Center, 1997. .
*Hobson, Chris. ''Vietnam Air Losses, USAF, USN, USMC, Fixed-Wing Aircraft Losses In Southeast Asia 1961–1973''. North Branch, Minnesota: Specialty Press, 2001. .
*McCarthy, Donald J., Jr. ''MiG Killers, A Chronology of U.S. Air Victories in Vietnam 1965–1973''. North Branch, Minnesota: Specialty Press, 2009. .
*Mersky, Peter. ''F-8 Crusader Units of the Vietnam War (Osprey Combat Aircraft #7)''. Oxford, UK: Osprey Publishing Limited, 1998. .
*Mersky, Peter. ''RF-8 Crusader Units over Cuba and Vietnam (Osprey Combat Aircraft #12)''. Oxford, UK: Osprey Publishing Limited, 1999. .
*Mersky, Peter B. ''Vought F-8 Crusader'' (Osprey Air Combat). Oxford, UK: Osprey Publishing Limited, 1986. .
*Mersky, Peter B. ''Vought F-8 Crusader: MiG-Master''. ''Wings of Fame'', Volume 5, 1996, pp. 32–95. London: Aerospace Publishing. . .
*Michel III, Marshall L. ''Clashes: Air Combat Over North Vietnam 1965–1972''. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press, 2007, First edition 1997. .
*Moise, Edwin E. ''Tonkin Gulf and the Escalation of the Vietnam War''. Chapel Hill, North Carolina: The University of North Carolina Press, 1996. .
*Stijger, Eric. ''Aéronavale Crusaders''. '' Air International'', Vol. 45, No. 4, October 1993, pp. 192–196. .
* Tillman, Barrett. ''MiG Master: Story of the F-8 Crusader (second edition)''. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press, 1990. .
*Toperczer, István. ''MiG-17 And MiG-19 Units of the Vietnam War (Osprey Combat Aircraft #25)''. Oxford, UK: Osprey Publishing Limited, 2001. .
*.
*Weaver, Michael E. "An Examination of the F-8 Crusader through Archival Sources." Journal of Aeronautical History, 2018. https://www.aerosociety.com/media/8037/an-examination-of-the-f-8-crusader-through-archival-sources.pdf
*Wilson, Stewart. ''Combat Aircraft since 1945''. Fyshwick, Australia: Aerospace Publications, 2000. .
*Winchester, Jim, ed. ''Vought F-8 Crusader''. ''Military Aircraft of the Cold War'' (The Aviation Factfile). London: Grange Books plc, 2006. .
External links
F-8 Crusader factsheet on GlobalSecurity.org
*
(1968) NAVAIR 01-45HHB-1 NATOPS Flight Manual Navy Model F-8D, F-8E Aircraft
(1978) NAVAIR 01-45HHB-1 NATOPS Flight Manual Navy Model RF-8G Aircraft
{{Authority control
F-008 Crusader
Vought F-08 Crusader
Single-engined jet aircraft
High-wing aircraft
Variable-incidence-wing aircraft
Carrier-based aircraft
Aircraft first flown in 1955
Second-generation jet fighters