F-8 Crusader
| F-8 (F8U) Crusader | |
|---|---|
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|
| An F-8E from VMF(AW)-212 in 1965 | |
| Role | Fighter aircraft |
| National origin | United States |
| Manufacturer | Vought |
| First flight | 25 March 1955 |
| Introduction | March 1957 |
| Retired | 1976 (fighter, U.S. Navy) 29 March 1987 (photo reconnaissance, U.S. Naval Reserve) 1991 (Philippines) 19 December 1999 (fighter, France) |
| Status | Retired completely in 2000 |
| Primary users |
United States Navy United States Marine Corps French Navy Philippine Air Force |
| Number built | 1,219 |
| Developed into |
Vought XF8U-3 Crusader III LTV A-7 Corsair II |
The Vought F-8 Crusader (originally F8U) was a single-engine, supersonic, carrier-based air superiority jet aircraft built by Vought for the United States Navy and Marine Corps, replacing the Vought F7U Cutlass, and for the French Navy. The first F-8 prototype was ready for flight in February 1955. The F-8 served principally in the Vietnam War. The Crusader was the last American fighter with guns as the primary weapon, earning it the title "The Last of the Gunfighters".
The RF-8 Crusader was a photo-reconnaissance 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.U.S. Naval Reserve units continued to operate the RF-8 until 1987.
In September 1952, the United States Navy announced a requirement for a new fighter. It was to have a top speed of Mach 1.2 at 30,000 ft (9,144.0 m) with a climb rate of 25,000 ft/min (127.0 m/s), and a landing speed of no more than 100 mph (160 km/h).Korean War experience had demonstrated that 0.50 inch (12.7 mm) machine guns were no longer sufficient and as the result the new fighter was to carry a 20 mm (0.79 in) cannon. 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 Crusader was powered by a Pratt and Whitney J57 turbojet engine. The engine was equipped with an afterburner that, unlike on later engines, was either fully lit, or off (i.e. it did not have "zones"). The engine produced 18,000 lb of thrust at full power, enough to allow the F-8 to climb straight up in clean configuration. 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.
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Wikipedia