"Tell the Vietnamese they've got to draw in their horns or we're going to bomb them back into the Stone Age. And we would shove them back into the Stone Age with Air power or Naval power - not with ground forces."
- General Curtis LeMay, May 1964

The Vought F-8 Crusader (originally F8U under the 1922 designation system) is a retired single-engine, supersonic, carrier-based air superiority jet powered aircraft designed and produced by the American aircraft manufacturer Vought. It was the last American fighter that had guns as the primary weapon, earning it the title "The Last of the Gunfighters".

Development of the F-8 commenced after release of the requirement for a new fighter by the United States Navy in September 1952. Vought's design team, led by John Russell Clark, produced the V-383, a relatively unorthodox fighter that possessed an innovative high-mounted variable-incidence wing, an area-ruled fuselage, all-moving stabilators, dog-tooth notching at the wing folds for improved yaw stability, and liberal use of titanium throughout the airframe. During June 1953, Vought received an initial order to produce three XF8U-1 prototypes of its design. On March 25th, 1955, the first prototype performed its maiden flight. Flight testing proved the aircraft to be relatively problem-free. On August 21st, 1956, U.S. Navy pilot R.W. Windsor attained a top speed of 1,015 mph; in doing so, the F-8 became the first jet fighter in American service to reach 1,000 mph.

During March 1957, the F-8 was introduced into regular operations with the US Navy. In addition to the Navy, the type was also operated by the United States Marine Corps (replacing the Vought F7U Cutlass), the French Navy, and the Philippine Air Force. Early on, the type experienced an above-average mishap rate, being somewhat difficult to pilot. American F-8s saw active combat during the Vietnam War, engaging in multiple dogfights with MiG-17s of the Vietnam People's Air Force as well as performing ground attack missions in the theatre. The RF-8 Crusader was a photo-reconnaissance model. It played a crucial role in the Cuban Missile Crisis, providing essential low-level photographs of Soviet medium range ballistic missiles (MRBMs) in Cuba that were impossible to acquire by other means at that time.Several modified F-8s were used by NASA for experimental flights, including the testing of digital fly-by-wire technology and supercritical wing design. The RF-8 operated in U.S. service longer than any of the fighter versions; the United States Navy Reserve withdrew its remaining aircraft during 1987.

Pictured here is a 1:72 scale rendition of a US Navy Vought F-8E Crusader air superiority aircraft that was embarked upon the USS Ticonderoga (CV-14) during 1967. First in the series! Pre-order! Ship Date: December 2026.

Dimensions:
Wingspan: 12-1/4-inches
Length: 10-1/2-inches

Release Date: ?

Historical Account: "Happenstance" - The Crusader was difficult to fly, and was often unforgiving in carrier landings, where it suffered poor recovery from high sink rates, and the poorly designed, castering nose undercarriage made it hard to steer on the deck. Safe landings required the carriers to steam at full speed to offset the relatively high landing speed of the Crusader. 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's radioed instructions. Early on, pilots were encouraged to only keep a minimum level of fuel remaining onboard prior to landing. The adoption of the more powerful J57-P420 engine improved the situation. It earned a reputation as an "ensign 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 and the McDonnell Douglas 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 August 23rd, 1960; a Crusader with the wings folded took off from Napoli Capodichino in full afterburner, climbed to 5,000 ft (1,500 m) 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. Of the 1,261 Crusaders built, 1,106 had been involved in mishaps by the time of its withdrawal from the fleet.