One of the most interesting periods for military aircraft development was the Cold War era.
Aircraft producers continued to push the boundaries in order to maintain their competitiveness
in the face of rising tensions between the West and the Soviet Union.
Even if that push meant there were a few failures along the way, however, the era did generate
some fantastic aircrafts, and the Vought F-8 Crusader feels like one of those.
It was one of the best fighter jets with a carried base to ever come out from the United
States.
It was known as "The Last of the Gunfighters" after its initial flight in March 1955 since
it was the last American fighter designed with guns as its primary weapon.
The need for the F-8 was caused by the demand for a new fighter by the U.S Navy with a top
speed of at least Mach 1.2.
Although guns would still be needed as the main weapon, the Korean War had made Americans
aware that the .50 caliber machine gun would no longer be enough.
As a result, 20 mm cannon would be regarded as the main armament for the new aircraft.
In September 1952, the Navy released specifications for a new carrier-based fighter with the ability
to fly at speeds greater than the speed of sound in normal level flight.
Chance-Vought won the contract with its F8U Crusader design (that later was renamed the
F-8) which retained a 20mm cannon as its main armament.
The F-8 quickly went down in history.
On August 21st, 1956, Commander Robert W. Windsor set a new national speed record by
traveling 15 kilometers at 1,015.428 mph.
In doing so, the F-8 became the first jet aircraft operationally equiped to fly at a
speed more than 1,000 mph.
In addition, Major John H. Glenn, Jr., a future astronaut, flew a photo reconnaissance version
of the aircraft in a record transcontinental flight on July 16th, 1957.
He took off from Los Alamitos, California, and arrived at Floyd Bennett Field, New York,
in 3 hours, 22 minutes, and 50.05 seconds.
In regard to its design and features, the Crusader was powered by a Pratt and Whitney
J57 turbojet, with an afterburner.
Its primary weapons were four 20 mm Colt Mk 12 Cannons with its impressive speed up to
1,227 mph or equals to Mach 1.8.
Additionally, the single-seat Crusader featured a long fuselage with a swept-back high-wing
assembly and single-engine installation.
A single vertical tail fin was fitted over the rear of the fuselage.
The Crusader was incredibly versatile, fast, and agile.
The F-8 was also known as "The MiG Killers" due to its combat proficiency against North
Vietnamese pilots flying their MiG-17 aircraft., the Crusader achieved the best kill ratio
of any aircraft in the battle over Vietnam.
Furthermore, the pilots and their aircrafts were so clearly superior to the MiGs and their
North Vietnamese pilots, making a U.S Navy won a battle without firing a shot.
Talking about its operational history, the Crusader was used as a day fighter from American
Navy carriers.
Interestingly, it would be the Navy's first post-Korean War aircraft that would fly for
a sizable amount of time.
Many post-Korean aircraft only had a limited period of time with the various Naval squadrons
before being replaced.
During the Cuban Missile Crisis in October 1962, Crusaders conducted their first combat
missions by firing cameras instead of weapons as part of the photo reconnaissance flights.
Throughout the Vietnam War, F-8s flew these missions in addition to strike and combat
air patrol flights.
The Crusader pilots are also credited with shooting down 18 hostile MiGs in aerial combat.
The F-8 was finally decommissioned from U.S Navy in 1976 after nearly two decades of service.
The RF-8, the F-8's photo reconnaissance variant, would continue to be used by the Navy for
another 11 years before being retired in 1987.
The F-8 would also be used by other air force.
The French Navy would continue to fly the Crusader right up until the first decade of
the 21st century.
French Crusaders were a specially produced export breed with the designation F-8E(FN).
These aircraft were given blown flaps to help the aircraft land and take off from the shorter
and smaller French-made carriers.
About 42 Crusaders of this type were acquired by the French, and these served until the
beginning of 2000 when the new Dassault "Rafale" 4th Generation fighter began to be replaced.
This retirement marked the last official operational F-8 in service anywhere.
In addition, the Philippine Air Force as the third and last operator of the F-8, also used
them until 1991.
These were second-hand U.S Navy aircraft purchased by the Philippines government when more modern
products proved fiscally elusive.
A total of 35 F-8H models were delivered, and all were scrapped.
Moreover, NASA would also take on some modified F-8s for various research purposes.
Many seniors of U.S officials believed that the development of air-to-air missiles signaled
the era of the dogfight was over.
However, the agility and the fact its guns were ideal for close quarters combat meant
that the era of the dogfighter was definitely not over.
This is when it earned nicknamed as the “Last Gunfighter”.
It is amazing that F-8 Crusader was the last fighter designed with a gun as its main armament.
However, it demonstrates exactly how far weapons has evolved since the Second World War.
The F-8 though, was one of the most well-known aircraft of its time and has served as the
face of the U.S Navy's aviation fleet for over 20 years.
It would go down in history as one of the most successful fighters ever built in America
after it proved its effectiveness on multiple occasions.
That’s all for today.
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