F8 Jet Fighter - Every fighter pilot just wants to fly a plane so bad that nobody dares to fly it (or them by extension). But there is a secret part of her that hungers for the fight her jet was built for. Naval aviators privileged to fly the F-8 Crusader got a pretty badass jet, albeit one with a surprisingly high failure rate. By the end of production, 1,261 F-8s were rolled off the line, and all but 155 were involved in some accident, varying in severity. To be fair, the F-8 entered service at a time when the Navy (and Marine Corps) was still learning to have jets as their primary air/strike fighters instead of piston-driven propeller aircraft. Civil defense contractors were still in their infancy with jet production and design, so it would not be wrong to expect that aircraft produced during that period in history would be defective in some way, but all because of the learning process.
In all fairness, although it was anything but easy to fly, the Crusader was actually a very popular fighter. It was fast, agile and extremely versatile, able to function as both an air-to-air fighter and a bomb truck to suit the needs of the Navy and Marine Corps, especially during the Vietnam years. Not to mention, it came with an awesome Sergio Leone-esque moniker, "the last of the gunfighters," due to the fact that it was the last American fighter in history to be built with guns (four 20mm guns, specifically) as its primary armament via missiles. And come Vietnam, the Crusader proved more than a worthy opponent for the North Vietnamese Air Force's export of MiG fighters. By 1975, when the US fully withdrew from Vietnam, it had the highest kill ratio of any American fighter involved in the conflict: an astonishing 19:3, meaning that for 19 Vietnamese MiGs downed, only 3 Crusaders were lost. The North Vietnamese were particularly aware of the capabilities of the F-8 as a dog fighter, and were therefore somewhat hesitant to throw down the gauntlet against such aircraft when approaching. The last F-8 kill of the war, which occurred on May 23, 1972, was probably the best example of that attitude for the Crusader.
F8 Jet Fighter
A U.S. Navy pilot of a Vought F-8H Crusader from Fighter Squadron VF-211 "Checkmates" greets the catapult crew before takeoff from the aircraft carrier USS Hancock (CVA-19). VF-211 was assigned to Carrier Air Wing 21 (CVW-21) for a deployment to Vietnam from 18 July 1968 to 3 March 1969. (US Navy archive photo/released)
Vought F 8 Crusader
VF-211, officially called "The Fighting Checkmates," was one of the Navy's most successful cruiser squadrons during the Vietnam era with eight confirmed kills to its name. Flying out of NAS Miramar in California, they became better known in the Navy as "The MiG Killers" because of their performance over seven deployments to Vietnam. Lieutenant Junior Grade Gerald "Jerry" Tucker, an F-8J pilot, was aboard the USS John Hancock (CVA-19), where he and the rest of VF -211 would see bombs and fire falling. Rockets on North Vietnamese terrain positions in support of embattled US and South Vietnamese forces. This was more than likely not what Tucker and his fellow Checkmates thought they were in for when they were notified by the Navy that they would be flying Crusaders, but things were about to change for their middle commitment.
The last MiG kill VF-211 was officially claimed was in July 1967, when LCDR Ray Hubbard Jr. took down a MiG-17 with some Zuni missiles after forcing the MiG pilot to oversteer with some very difficult flying. VF-211's next kill would be claimed by Jerry Tucker, but significantly less violent than Hubbard's. In late May, Tucker and his wingman, LCDR Frank Bachman, flew a Target Combat Air Patrol (TARCAP), screening for an alpha strike from an aircraft parked off the Vietnamese coast. The strike birds would hit predetermined targets on and around Vinh Airport, and so they carried out their mission quickly and efficiently without air response from the NVAF. Bachman and Tucker were very bored at the time and probably itching for a fight. Their radios came alive, and it looked like they might be getting the dogfight they were hoping for.
As it turned out, a lone MiG-17 was foot wet (meaning it had transitioned from flight over land to flight over water) and turned to the returning Alpha Strike flight, presumably in response to the earlier ground attacks that that they had just made at the airport. North Vietnamese targets. The Red Crown crew observed the Positive Identification Radar Advisory Zone to the carrier battle group off the coast called two VF-161 Chargers F-4 Phantom IIs to engage the MiG, although they quickly called back, finding that they were lost in ' e bel (ie they were confused). Red Crown sent the Phantoms back to "Mother" (the carrier they originated from), and Tucker took the opportunity to enter the fray by calling out to Red Crown in his position, saying that he and Bachman were armed and ready to rock. Since they were the closest to the NVAF jet, they were vectored to the plane and Tucker took the lead.
The MiG's pilot maintained a low altitude, and Tucker readied his AIM-9C Sidewinder for a shot. The instrumentation in the cockpit indicated that the missile was already searching for its prey, and within seconds it would be ready to send to its hapless target. But Tucker would never get that chance to shoot, as suddenly the MiG canopy flew off and drifted away, while a flash of lightning indicated that the NVAF pilot had chosen to shoot Tucker out instead. Understandably overwhelmed by the fact that he had come so close to engaging an enemy fighter but was unable to, Tucker pulled back on the throttle and made several passes of the visibly frightened MiG driver, who was now gently moving towards the earth descended under the Parachute fleets.
Chance Vought F 8 Crusader
Although we don't know what his reasons for ejecting were, many former F-8 pilots are fond of saying that he probably would have stayed in his cockpit if he had faced the Phantoms instead of the Crusaders. What proves this is the fact that after most NVAF pilots engage Crusaders head-on, they generally try to leave the fight after F-8 pilots fire a burst from their cannons. This would put them in fixed positions for a missile defense system to kill the F-8s. Although there was a noticeable trend, the number of pilots who stayed in the furball with American Jets was generally marginally more than the number who left immediately. The Navy initially refused to count it as a kill for Tucker, although historians and fellow Navy aviators argued in his favor. It's kind of a stretch, but I'd imagine it was a very reassuring feeling for Tucker, Bachman and the rest of VF-211 to be flying jets so scared that the NVAF pilots would rather shoot them out than keep them in the air to get. - Air combat.
VF-211 pilots from their cruise in 1972. Jerry Tucker is fourth from the left, kneeling down. Second from the right is Frank Bachman, who is also on his knees. (U.S. Navy archive photo/released)
Ian is the editor-in-chief of. You can find his work on Military Times, Business Insider, We Are The Mighty, Real Clear Defense, and more. View all posts by Ian D'Costa If things had gone differently, the US Navy's top Cold War fighter might have been the F-8 Crusader instead of the F-4 Phantom.
But not the legendary Crusader that won MiGs over North Vietnam. Instead, it would have been the XF8U-3, called the Crusader III or the "Super Crusader," a bigger, badder version of the F8U Crusader that the Navy flew in the 1950s and early 1960s.
Chance Vought Rf 8g \
The Crusader III was developed by manufacturer Chance Vought at the same time as it developed the Crusader I and II models used by the Navy. Despite similar names, the Crusader III was a larger aircraft that didn't actually share many parts with its sibling.
The Super Crusader made its debut flight in June 1958. "The overall performance of the Dash III was outstanding," says aviation writer Steve Pace in his history of the Crusader. "Officially the Dash III had a recorded top speed of Mach 2.39, officially Mach 2.6 was predicted. Some proponents felt that Mach 3 was not out of the question. The Super Crusader was capable of further Mach 2.2 speeds at 68,000 feet. Demonstrated 6-G capability and further 51/2-G turns at Mach 2.2 At the time, the -3 was the only single-engine fighter in the world capable of reaching Mach 2.4 speeds.
The Super Crusader differed from the Crusader I and II in several areas. It had a more powerful JT-4 turbojet engine instead of a JT-3, which helped give the Crusader III a higher speed, rate of climb and maximum ceiling. It also has all weather capabilities, longer range, more advanced flight controls, better
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