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The F-8 Crusader began life as the XF8U-1,
selected from among eight designs for a Navy supersonic,
air-superiority fighter in 1953. The F-8's shark-like appearance
suited its performance as the first U.S. airplane to exceed
1,000 mph (in August 1956). The following March, the initial
service model, the F8U-1 (F-8A), entered VF-32 and made its
first deployment on the USS Saratoga later that year. The F-8
features a two-position variable-incidence wing which ensures
good pilot visibility by allowing the fuselage to remain level
though the wing assumes a high angle of attack for landing and
takeoff. The Crusader was originally armed with four 20mm guns
and 32 folding-fin 2.75 rockets, carried internally, plus two
externally mounted Sidewinders.
The F-8A was soon followed by the F-8B which featured an
improved fire control radar. Another version appeared in 1956,
the RF-8A (F8U-1P) with six aerial cameras in its modified
fuselage and a photo recon mission
In 1959, the F-8C (F8U-2) entered active service, distinguished
from previous models by ventral tail fins and an improved engine
which gave it higher performance characteristics. The F-8C added
two more Sidewinders to its armament. The next variation, the
F-8D (F8U-2N), in addition to better radar, an infrared sensor
and increased fuel capacity, featured a new engine giving it
near Mach-2 speed with afterburner. The belly-rocket pack was
deleted in the F-8D flown by the Marines and the Navy.
Next came the F-8E with two underwing pylons adaptable to a
variety of bombs and missiles plus a more powerful radar
requiring a new, larger nose. In 1964 the French Navy purchased
42 Crusaders (F-8E(FN), equipped with J-57-P20A engines, to
replace their F4U-7 Corsairs.
Production of F-8s ended in early 1965. From 1966 to 1970,
earlier versions were modernized with improved radar, fire
control systems and beefed-up landing gear, and redesignated as
F-8H, F-8J, F-8K, F-8L and RF-8G. A total of 1,261 F-8s were
built and 446 were remanufactured giving the Crusader more than
two decades of service life to the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps. |
