The Last Gunfighter
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A PAIR OF AMERICA’S MOST-SIGNIFICANT COLD WAR Disassembled Crusader N37TB. (Courtesy) GunfighterTh eLa s t FIGHTERS ARE BEING OFFERED FOR SALE BY MICHAEL O’LEARY aving been fortunate enough to partic- ipate in American military exercises during the 1970s/1980s, one of my favorite memories is of the Chance HVought F-8 Crusader. Witnessing the Crusader coming in low and fast for ground attack prac- tice, I was extremely impressed by the speed of the F-8. The plane came in on the edge of the speed of sound and the pilot managed to plant a load of 20mm shells in and around the target. Given the speed, this must have been extremely War fighter to have a long tenure with the Fleet (previous fighters were However, the Crusader’s service was far from over and the photo- hard to achieve and probably says a lot about Ready for its next flight, Crusader N19TB was photographed on the ramp with N37TB quickly eclipsed by advances in aerodynamics and engines) and the F-8 recon RF-8Gs would operate for another eleven-years. The Fleet’s VFP-63 that particular aviator’s skills. on the left. (Alpha Archive) could possibly have stayed operational for a longer period if not for loss- would fly until 1982 but the Naval Reserve’s VFP-206 and VFP-306 would While this article is in no way a complete history of this fabulous fight- came up with a variable-incidence wing for the Model V-383 (company es during the Vietnam War. operate until 29 March 1987, at which time the last operational Crusader er aircraft (that will be featured in upcoming issues of Air Classics), we designation) that could pivot up from the fuselage by seven-degrees. This Production of the F8U-1 phased into the improved F8U-2 and during was handed over to the National Air and Space Museum. should take a look at the design and its importance to the world of US design feature allowed a greater angle of attack and increased lift without the Vietnam War, the Crusader became known as a real dogfighter that Foreign air forces also took great interest in the Crusader. When Navy aviation. compromising forward visibility by the pilot having to raise the nose. could take on the highly maneuverable and well armed MiG 17. The France’s Aeronavale was preparing to go aboard the new carriers The F8U, as the type was originally designated, came about from a Also, leading-edge slats could droop 25-degrees and this augmented lift Crusader would claim a 19:3 victory ratio — the best of any American Clemenceau and Foch, the French government considered the new F-4 1952 Navy requirement for a single-seat fighter that could hit Mach 1.2 at while inboard trailing-edge flaps extended to 30-degrees. type. Of the 19 aircraft claimed by Crusader pilots, 16 were MiG 17s and Phantom II but that plane was too large. Accordingly, two USN F-8 30,000-feet and have a climb rate of 25,000-fpm, with a landing speed of Vought engineers took advantage of every aerodynamic advance of three were MiG 21s. During the Vietnam War, some 170 Crusaders would Crusaders were tested and found to the liking of the French and this no more than 100-mph. These were not easy requirements — also con- the time period. The fuselage was area-ruled, the wing was dog toothed be lost to all causes — the majority to anti-aircraft fire and accidents. resulted in orders for 42 aircraft — the last Crusaders built. These aircraft sider the fact that the Korean War was going on and much of the fighting at the fold for improved yaw stability, and the fighter had all-moving sta- Vought delivered the last of 1219 Crusaders on 3 September 1964 served the French long and well and actually replaced an earlier Vought was being undertaken by WWII vintage machines such as the F-51D, bilators. The resulting XF8U-1 (remarkably, this prototype has survived with that aircraft going to VF-124 at NAS Miramar. The last active duty product — the F4U-7 Corsair! The French aircraft were constantly B-29, A-26, AD Skyraider, and Vought Corsair. Also, combat reports were and has recently received a complete restoration and is on display at the Crusader day fighters with VF-191 and VF-194 aboard USS Oriskany upgraded throughout their service life and this meant the Aeronavale had showing MiG 15s with heavy cannon armament were doing a great deal Museum of Flight in Seattle) was a somewhat strange, but not unattrac- stood down in 1976. The Crusader had operated for almost two-decades a very potent weapon. In 1989, plans were afoot to retire the type but the of damage and the Navy specification required the new fighter carry tive aircraft. John Konrad took it aloft for its maiden flight on 25 March and that, at the time, was a record. new Dassault Rafale was behind schedule and would not be ready on 20mm cannon rather than the more standard .50-caliber Browning 1955 — illustrating just how quickly American industry could get some- machine gun armament. thing done during that time period. Although not realized at the time, Crusader N19TB with its refueling probe To achieve some of the performance requirements, Vought engineers when the XF8U-1 (with the September 1962 tri-service redesignation pol- extended. (Courtesy) icy, the type became the F-8) flew it would become the last American fighter designed with just gun armament. Test flying with the first three prototypes was relatively trouble-free and the Crusader, as it was named, quickly began to set records. On 21 August 1956, Cmdr. Duke Windsor hit 1015.428-mph for a new American level flight speed record. Vought also designed a photo- recon variant for the Navy, initially designated F8U-1P, and on 16 July 1957 USMC Maj. John Glenn completed the first transcontinental supersonic flight in an F8U-1P by going from NAS Los Alamitos, California, to Floyd Bennett Field, New York, in a stunning three-hours, 23- minutes, and 8.3-seconds. The F8U-1 went into squadron service with VF- 32 during 1957 and the plane immediately became a strong deterrent to possible communist With its 25,000-fpm+ rate of climb, the Crusader was ideal for defending the Fleet aggression. The powerful Pratt & Whitney J57 tur- against incoming Soviet bombers. This F-8J from VF-194 aboard from the USS Oriskany bojet engine meant that a clean and lightly loaded (in the background) has intercepted a prowling Bear bomber. With advances in technology, later Crusaders were modified to carry four Sidewinders on fuselage pylons. Crusader could climb vertically towards its target. (Alpha Archive) The Crusader became the first post-Korean 50 AIR CLASSICS/July 2018 airclassicsnow.com 51.