{"id":1823,"date":"2024-01-20T17:25:58","date_gmt":"2024-01-20T17:25:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gunowner-news.com\/?p=1823"},"modified":"2024-01-20T17:25:58","modified_gmt":"2024-01-20T17:25:58","slug":"vought-f-8-crusader-last-of-the-gunfighters","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gunowner-news.com\/?p=1823","title":{"rendered":"Vought F-8 Crusader: Last of the Gunfighters"},"content":{"rendered":"


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By Will Dabbs, MD<\/a><\/p>\n

T<\/span>he Vought F-8 Crusader was a single-engine, supersonic, carrier-based, high-performance jet fighter that first flew in 1955, a mere decade after the end of World War II. The Crusader was the first American fighter to break 1,000 miles per hour.<\/p>\n

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A U.S. Marine Corps F-8E Crusader launches on a March 10, 1967 scramble mission in support of ground forces 17 miles south of Da Nang, Vietnam. Image:\u00a0U.S.M.C.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

That it enjoyed such rarefied performance a short 10 years after the conclusion of WWII speaks to the tremendous strides made in aviation technology in the first few years of the Cold War.<\/p>\n

Well Armed Warrior<\/h2>\n

The F-8 earned its testosterone-besotted moniker because of its primary armament. Where subsequent fighter planes were designed around missile engagements, the Crusader was first and foremost a gun platform.<\/p>\n

\"In\n<\/picture>
An ordnance-laden F-8E Crusader of Marine All-Weather Fighter Squadron 232 (VMF (AW)-232) stands ready on the flight line. Image:\u00a0T. J. Mercurio\/U.S.M.C.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The F-8 carried four Mk 12 20mm autocannons in the lower fuselage packing 125 rounds apiece. Each gas-operated gun weighed 101 lbs. and cycled at 1,000 rounds per minute. This gave the Crusader a sum total of 7.5 seconds\u2019 worth of fire for combat engagements.<\/p>\n

\"In\n<\/picture>
Flight deck boatswain signals mule driver to tow F-8 Crusader fighter aircraft to respot position aboard the attack aircraft carrier USS\u00a0Bon Homme Richard<\/em>\u00a0(CVA-31). Image:\u00a0R.D. Moeser\/U.S. Navy<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Additionally, the F-8 could carry four AIM-9 Sidewinder air-to-air missiles on side-mounted fuselage pylons. There was also a retractable rocket tray in the belly that could carry 32 unguided 2.75-inch Mk4\/Mk 40 FFAR (Folding-Fin Aerial Rockets). Uncle Sam called these nasty rascals the Mighty Mouse.<\/p>\n

\"In\n<\/picture>
Marine Aircraft Group 11 ordnance men make last minute checks and arm the bombs and rockets on an F-8 Crusader fighter jet prior to its takeoff on a mission in Vietnam. Image:\u00a0U.S.M.C.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

One of the biggest challenges in designing a carrier fighter plane was combining rugged landing gear capable of handling the punishment of repeated violent carrier landings with ample power in a machine offering adequate forward visibility. The previous WWII-vintage Chance-Vought F4U Corsair, magnificent plane that it was, well and truly sucked in this regard.<\/p>\n

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The Corsair\u2019s combination of a massive Pratt and Whitney R-2800 Double Wasp radial engine and a huge fuel tank mounted in front of the cockpit made for an ample snout. This made carrier landings, particularly in rough seas or periods of limited visibility, terribly hazardous. The designers of the Crusader set out to rectify that.<\/p>\n

\"In\n<\/picture>
An F-8 Crusader fighter intercepts a Soviet TU-95 Bear-A\/B aircraft near the aircraft carrier USS\u00a0Oriskany<\/em>\u00a0(CVA-34) on May 25, 1974. Image:\u00a0NARA<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

For starters, the narrow-track landing gear on the Crusader was mounted centrally to the fuselage rather than the wings. Like that of most modern fighters (think F-16 and F-18), this design allows the rigorous stresses of landing to be transmitted directly into the airframe rather than into the more fragile wing structure. Additionally, the cockpit was mounted well forward to afford superlative visibility on landing. Lastly, the F-8 was equipped with a most remarkable wing.<\/p>\n

\"In\n<\/picture>
An F-8 Crusader lands on the attack aircraft carrier USS\u00a0Hancock<\/em>\u00a0(CVA-19) in the Gulf of Tonkin during the Vietnam War. Image:\u00a0U.S. Navy<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Fast planes are more challenging to land than slow ones. Whether it is an F-22<\/a> or a Cessna 150, a slower approach speed equates to more time to react to unforeseen hazards during the landing sequence. In the case of the F-8 Crusader, the Navy stipulated a 100 mph approach speed. To coax a sleek swept-wing fighter like the F-8 into such glacial performance required a pretty radical rethink of the way folks had previously made airplanes. The solution was a weird variable incidence wing structure.<\/p>\n

\"In\n<\/picture>
An F-8 Crusader, with afterburner aglow, is catapulted from the deck of USS\u00a0Enterprise<\/em>\u00a0(CVN-65), during an air-power demonstration for President John F. Kennedy on April 14, 1962. Image:\u00a0NARA<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

For takeoff and landing, the entire wing assembly pivoted upward seven degrees. This feature combined with leading edge flaps that deployed through 25 degrees and inboard flaps that described a 30-degree arc profoundly increased the camber of the wing and improved its subsequent low-speed maneuvering characteristics. With all this stuff cleaned up after takeoff, the plane was trim, slick, and fast. It really was an inspired solution. The wingtips also folded for storage aboard ship.<\/p>\n

\"Shown\n<\/picture>
The crew of the USS\u00a0Midway<\/em>\u00a0(CVA-41) prepare to launch a pair of F-8 Crusader fighters, during carrier qualifications in 1963. Image:\u00a0U.S. Navy<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In addition, the Crusader employed one-piece stabilators in lieu of a conventional horizontal stabilizer with separate control surfaces. Most all modern fighter aircraft have since followed this design path. Dog-tooth notches in the wing roots improved yaw characteristics, while the generous use of titanium in its construction helped keep weight down.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Operational Performance of the Crusader<\/h2>\n

The Crusader really made its mark during the Cuban Missile Crisis. RF-8A photoreconnaissance Crusaders lacked armament but carried powerful cameras that could be used to gather photographic intelligence. The Crusader\u2019s high speed and exceptional maneuverability helped the type to survive fast runs through contested airspace.<\/p>\n

\"In\n<\/picture>
An RF-8G Crusader from Light Photographic Squadron 63 (CFP-63,) based aboard attack aircraft carrier USS\u00a0Oriskany<\/em>\u00a0(CVA-34), rolls in for a photo run over South Vietnam in July 1966.\u00a0Image:\u00a0U.S. Navy<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

During the six weeks of the crisis, RF-8A Crusaders flew two missions per day over Cuba documenting communist missile deployment activities. These overflights produced some 160,000 images that substantively shaped national policy during this most critical time. After each successful recon mission, Navy crews stenciled the small image of a dead chicken on the side of the airplane.<\/p>\n

\"In\n<\/picture>
A Soviet-built TU-16 Badger of the Egyptian Air Force watches a NATO exercise in the Mediterranean Sea in 1969. It is escorted by an F-8 Crusader from the USS\u00a0Shangri-La<\/em>\u00a0(CVS-38). Image:\u00a0U.S. Navy<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In action, the Crusader\u2019s guns were not terribly reliable. Of the 19 MiGs downed by Crusader pilots during the Vietnam War, four fell to cannon fire. The rest were downed using AIM-9 Sidewinder heat-seeking air-to-air missiles. By the end of the conflict, the Crusader had a 19:3 kill ratio, the best of any American jet fighter of the war.<\/p>\n

Ruminations on the Vought F-8<\/h2>\n

However, the F-8 Crusader was nonetheless an exceptionally dangerous airplane to fly. At the time of its introduction, jet propulsion was still in its relative infancy. Additionally, these planes were routinely flying in excess of 1,000 miles per hour a mere 60 years after the Wright Brothers\u2019 first flight at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. Regardless, the Crusader did some amazing things.<\/p>\n

\"In\n<\/picture>
Maj. John H. Glenn, Jr., U.S.M.C., received the Distinguished Flying Cross from the Secretary of the Navy. Glenn used the F-8 to become the first person to cross the continent faster than the speed of sound.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

There were several instances wherein pilots inadvertently launched with their wings folded. On 23 August 1960, a Crusader pilot forgot to deploy his wings before launch and survived to tell the tale. He jettisoned his external stores and climbed to 5,000 feet on full afterburner before returning to land at the Italian Napoli Capodichino airport.<\/p>\n

\"A\n<\/picture>
A left-side view of an F-8B Crusader of Fighter Wing 62 in flight on November 30, 1965. Image:\u00a0Lt. j.g. Kay\/U.S. Navy<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

This absentminded jet jockey later reported that the controls were a bit thicker than usual, but the plane remained nonetheless flyable in this configuration. Such performance speaks to the exceptional design of the Crusader and the innate foolishness of young military pilots.<\/p>\n

\"The\n<\/picture>
The pilot of an F-8 Crusader salutes, signaling he is ready to launch from the USS\u00a0Hancock<\/em>\u00a0(CVA-19) during operations in the South China Sea. Image:\u00a0Chief Journalist R.D. Moeser\/U.S. Navy<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Some 1,261 Crusaders were produced over its 30-year service life. By the time the plane was ultimately retired in 1987, some 1,106 of these had been involved in mishaps. Despite such ghastly operational numbers, the Crusader was nonetheless a seminal steppingstone to even greater things to come.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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