F 8 Crusader | The Last American Gunfighter | Supersonic, Air Superiority Jet Aircraft

The Vought F-8 Crusader (originally F8U) is a single-engine, supersonic, carrier-based air superiority jet aircraft built by Vought for the United States Navy and United States Marine Corps (replacing the Vought F7U Cutlass), and for the French Navy. The first F-8 prototype was ready for flight in February 1955. The F-8 served principally in the Vietnam War. The Crusader was the last American fighter with guns as the primary weapon, earning it the title "The Last of the Gunfighters".
The RF-8 Crusader was a photo-reconnaissance development and operated longer in U.S. service than any of the fighter versions. RF-8s played a crucial role in the Cuban Missile Crisis, providing essential low-level photographs impossible to acquire by other means. United States Navy Reserve units continued to operate the RF-8 until 1987.
In September 1952, the United States Navy announced a requirement for a new fighter. It was to have a top speed of Mach 1.2 at 30,000 ft (9,144.0 m) with a climb rate of 25,000 ft/min (127.0 m/s), and a landing speed of no more than 100 mph (160 km/h). Korean War experience had demonstrated that .50 caliber (12.7 mm) machine guns were no longer sufficient and as a result the new fighter was to carry a 20 mm (0.79 in) cannon. 4x20 mm had become Navy standard prior to the Korean war: F2H, F9F, F3D and also the F7U and F4D, among others, preceded the F8U. In response, the Vought team led by John Russell Clark, created the V-383. Unusual for a fighter, the aircraft had a high-mounted wing which necessitated the use of a fuselage-mounted short and light landing gear. The major contribution to the short main gear, however, was the variable incidence wing that meant the plane did not take off and land extremely nose up, which was a characteristic of swept and low aspect ratio winged fighters.
The Crusader was powered by a Pratt and Whitney J57 turbojet engine. The engine was equipped with an afterburner which, on the initial production F8U-1 aircraft, increased the thrust of the engine from 10,200 lb to 16,000 lb, but, unlike later engines, had no intermediate thrust settings. The Crusader was the first jet fighter in US service to reach 1,000 mph; U.S. Navy pilot R.W. Windsor reached 1,015 mph on a flight in 1956.
The most innovative aspect of the design was the variable-incidence wing which pivoted by 7° out of the fuselage on takeoff and landing (not to be confused with variable-sweep wing). This allowed a greater angle of attack, increasing lift without compromising forward visibility. This innovation helped the F-8's development team win the Collier Trophy in 1956. Simultaneously, the lift was augmented by leading-edge flaps drooping by 25° and inboard flaps extending to 30°. The rest of the aircraft took advantage of contemporary aerodynamic innovations with area-ruled fuselage, all-moving stabilators, dog-tooth notching at the wing folds for improved yaw stability, and liberal use of titanium in the airframe.
General characteristics
Crew: 1
Length: 55 ft 11.6 in (17.059 m)
Wingspan: 35 ft 8 in (10.87 m)
Height: 15 ft 9.1 in (4.803 m)
Wing area: 375 sq ft (34.8 m2)
Aspect ratio: 3.4
Airfoil: root: NACA 65A006 mod; tip: NACA 65A005 mod
Zero-lift drag coefficient: CD0.0133
Drag area: 5.0 sq ft (0.46 m2)
Empty weight: 18,800 lb (8,528 kg)
Gross weight: 29,000 lb (13,154 kg)
Max takeoff weight: 34,000 lb (15,422 kg)
Fuel capacity: 1,348 US gal (1,122.4 imp gal; 5,102.7 L)
Powerplant: 1 × Pratt & Whitney J57-P-20A afterburning turbojet engine, 11,400 lbf (51 kN) thrust dry, 18,000 lbf (80 kN) with afterburner
Performance
Maximum speed: 1,066 kn (1,227 mph, 1,974 km/h) at 36,000 ft (10,973 m)
Maximum speed: Mach 1.8
Cruise speed: 268 kn (308 mph, 496 km/h)
Stall speed: 135 kn (155 mph, 250 km/h)
Never exceed speed: 775 kn (892 mph, 1,435 km/h)
Combat range: 394 nmi (453 mi, 730 km)
Ferry range: 1,507 nmi (1,734 mi, 2,791 km) with external fuel
Service ceiling: 58,000 ft (18,000 m)
Lift-to-drag: 12.8
Wing loading: 77.3 lb/sq ft (377 kg/m2)
Thrust/weight: 0.62
Armament
Guns: 4× 20 mm (0.79 in) Colt Mk 12 cannons in lower fuselage, 125 rpg
Hardpoints: 2× side fuselage mounted Y-pylons (for mounting AIM-9 Sidewinders and Zuni rockets) and 2× underwing pylon stations with a capacity of 4,000 lb (2,000 kg), with provisions to carry combinations of:
Rockets: 2× LAU-10 rocket pods (each with 4× 5 inch (127mm) Zuni rockets)
Missiles:
4× AIM-9 Sidewinder or Matra Magic (French Navy only) air-to-air missiles
2× AGM-12 Bullpup air-to-surface missiles
Bombs:
8× 250 lb (113 kg) Mark 81 bombs or
8× 500 lb (227 kg) Mark 82 bombs or
2× 1,000 lb (454 kg) Mark 83 bombs or
2× 2,000 lb (907 kg) Mark 84 bombs
Avionics
Magnavox AN/APQ-84 or AN/APQ-94 Fire-control radar
#gunfighter #crusader #F8

[@Dronescapes]

Click the link to watch more aircraft, heroes and their stories, missions: www.youtube.com/@Dronescapes

[@elijahhodges4405]

F-8 Crusader was unbeatable. We never lost one on the USS Ranger while I was there. They always landed perfectly aboard. They never dipped toward the ocean when launching. I loved the F-8 until I rode in the back seat of an F-14 Tomcat.

[@richardparker644]

My dad did 374 combat missions into north Vietnam, in a F-8 Crusader, with 3 confirmed mig kills, air to air. Over 3000 hours in that plane. Last of the " GUN FIGHTERS" and LAST of the True " BADASSES" dad's call sign, "COBRA" DAMN I MISS MY DAD!!!

[@Dronescapes]

Thank you for your dad's service Richard

[@shawnradcliffe701]

​@@Dronescapes Thank you for your father's service I s

[@shenmisheshou7002]

I doubt that your dad's kills were done with guns. During Vietnam, the F8 only scored two victories using guns. All of the rest were Sidewinder kills. The F8 was not designed to be a "Gunfighter," it was designed to use missiles as the primary armament and as the combat record shows, it only used guns successfully twice, and one of those was a bit of luck, where the pilot happen to find himself behind a MIG that did not realize the F8 was even there. Not to take away from your Dad's record, but the point is that the F8 was not really a gunfighter. It was a modern fighter that happened to have a gun as its secondary weapon.

[@richardparker644]

@@shenmisheshou7002 and your dad spent the war in Canada?? My Dad did 3 combat tours, and was an instructor at TOP GUN. So , your hate , cuz you're not proud of your dad, huh, means absolutely nothing to me. As for the rest of my family, we made it possible for you to be a Douche Bag. Have a nice fucking day

[@grayharker6271]

In 1980 I had the "Door" position jumping in to Ft Polk with the 82nd abn. When they opened the door of the 141 starlifter I was on, just off our wing tip was a crusader escorting us.The pilot gave me a thumbs up, the green light came on and I jumped!

[@warshipsdd-2142]

The opening shot shows a RF-8P, the photo recon version of the Crusader. Worthy of note about this bird- 1) It was an unarmed aircraft designed for photo missions. 2) It was used by USMC Col John Glenn when he set the trans-continental speed record, and 3) Navy and Marine pilots (from my squadron VMCJ-2) flew them over CUBA in the 1960s to locate Russian Missiles. A little over a year later the RF-4B started replacing the RF-8--we flew both birds for a while after that alond with the EA-5B and the aged EF-10B.

[@weavethehawk]

The Crusader F8 is my favourite aircraft to watch.That rising wing is incredible.

[@terryboyer1342]

I've heard many F-8 pilots say that in the air the wing doesn't raise but rather the fuselage is lowered.

[@Not_A_Cat]

The carrier pilots in 'Nam used to say "when your out of F8s, you're out of fighters." It was also "the last gunfighter," as F4 didn't have a gun originally.

[@Mysucculentchinesemeal]

That officer in the video described the military in wartime perfectly.

[@Me2Lancer]

Early in 1968 I worked at LTV Aerospace, the successor of Chance Vought. While serving in the Navy I worked on electronic measures systems. At the time, LTV had a contract to refurbish F-8 Crusaders. These aircraft had a sizeable number of ECM systems, so I was hired to repair and replace the electronic counter measure systems. The F8 was an amazing and powerful aircraft.

[@joemoore4027]

We had RF-8's on the USS Constellation back in the 1970's ( VFP-63 ) and our shop was just below the catapult and when they called out "launching RF8 " we would hold onto our coffee cups because when the plane lit it's single stage afterburner it was like a cannon going off. It was a very fast aircraft and once in awhile would do high speed runs past the carrier. it would outrun our F-14's with no trouble. Beautiful aircraft to see flying.

[@Idahoguy10157]

Knew a navy pilot who flew the F-8 Crusader. But his favorite was the A-4 Skyhawk. Got the impression he didn’t like flying the F-8

[@tnesp]

17:03 The F7U Cutlass had a surprisingly modern profile for the time.

[@dennyliegerot4021]

It's a shame the F7U never received the engines it was designed to have.... Not being afraid to try something different was a cool aspect of Vought.

[@duartesimoes508]

The most beautiful aircraft ever made! Now, one question: we all know that there were cases of Crusaders being launched with their wings folded. In every case I know, the pilot managed to maintain the aircraft airborne and identify the situation. What I never found out was what happened later. The wings could not be extended in flight. Were these pilots able to land with wings folded, at an obscene airspeed, or in every case they had to eject? The outcome is never told...

[@duartesimoes508]

...and I had the privilege of seating on one of them! As student from the French School Charles Lepierre in Lisbon, I visited the French carrier Clemenceau that at the time - 1979 - was equipped with beautiful light grey and white - much later overall dark blue - F-8E (FN) Crusaders, brand new Super Etendard, Etendard IV M, Super Alizée and All III. But the Crusader was by far the largest and most impressive. Apart from his fixed armament she carried a pair of MATRA 530 air to air missiles, where normally the sidewinders would be hung. But the AIM-9 was known to be a better missile. In 1981 the Portuguese Air Force started receiving the Vought A-7P Corsair II, also a beautiful, impressive and very effective aircraft that everybody loved. The last were phased out in 1999. The Alpha Jets in 2018. Nowadays we just have a small number of F-16, little more than 20, 20 others were sold to Romania...

[@rogerrinkavage]

The f8 was my favorite fighter growing up and i couldn't remember why. Thanks! I'm a big fan of the channel

[@garyleibitzke4166]

We used to jokingly refer to the F-8 as a "Lowrider A-7".

[@Dronescapes]

🙂

[@narusawa74]

So how much of engineering is similar between the corsair 1 and 2 and the crusader? They are made by Vaught, looks the same and use the same rising wing. In your Corsair video I don't remember you mentioning an evolution of it to the Crusader. And the Corsair 2 didn't keep the special wing. So 2 different planes or the A8 is the replacement of the F7?

[@goldenshark3182]

@@narusawa74F-4U Corsair was a carrier prop fighter designed in the 1940’s. F-8 Crusader was a carrier jet fighter designed in the 1950’s. A-7 Corsair II was a carrier attack jet designed in the 1960’s and based off the F-8 Crusader’s design, but was much slower and fatter than the sleeker F-8 which had an afterburner.

[@CynthiaSchoenbauer]

Is this related to the F86 that my father used to fly out of cadet school in the US Air Force?? I think he was flying in 1955 when my older brother was born. This takes me right back into my personal history!

[@Dronescapes]

Dear Kitty, there are many differences. For example: In training sessions the F-86 regularly beat the F-8 Crusader in dogfighting practices. The F-86 was made by North American and the F-8 by Vought, a different manufacturer. the F-8 was supersonic, the F-86 was not. Their first flight was 10 year apart (F-86 was in 1947). There are many, many other differences between the two aircraft. This said, thank you for sharing your memories and thank you for your father's service.

[@davidkoloc1313]

Hi Kitty, The USAF F-86 Saber preceded the F-8 Crusader by several years, having been used very successfully during the Korean War. The Navy flew a carrier based version of the F-86 which it designated the FJ-4 Fury but it’s tenure as a fleet based aircraft was rather short lived. If your dad was learning to fly USAF jets in 1955, It’s likely his primary flight (propeller) training was in some of the last T-6 Texans used and his jet training was in the 2 seat version of Lockheed ‘s F-80 Shooting Star known as the T-33. I’m curious where you were living when your dad was learning to fly jets?

[@crusader5989]

I asked for this. Thanks a lot!👍🏻

[@tkskagen]

Most beautiful aircraft of the 1960's! Too bad that this Aircraft is forgotten/dismissed...

[@Mysucculentchinesemeal]

I didn’t realize these were so huge! That thing looks bigger than a Tomcat.

[@Jason_The_Man]

Great airplane! Great story.

[@Dronescapes]

It sure is!

[@321-Gone]

I'd love to see a video on the history of (machine) obsolescence in warfare. i.e.- Battleships, gun fighters in the air, Manned recon flights , ect...

[@signorpippistrello]

2:45 Hey, there’s John McCaine!

[@krugmeister7301]

The F8 cousin A7 CORSAIR was the REAL DEAL..

[@JorgeReyGMartinez]

40:27 Looks like one of 35 aircrafts for delivery the to the Philippine Air Force. The Philippine government purchased 35 secondhand U.S. Navy F-8Hs that had been stored at Davis-Monthan AFB in Arizona. 25 of them were refurbished by Vought while the remaining ten were used for spare parts It was July 1978, when 18 pilots from the PAF 5th fighter wing started their training in Vought Corp Dallas Texas. Aircraft deliveries began by 1978 and was completed by 1979. The Crusaders were manned by the 7th Tactical Fighter Squadron stationed at Basa Air Base and were mostly employed for intercepting Soviet bombers. The F-8H Crusaders was in operation with the PAF for for about 10 years. By 1987, its operational/availability rate had plummeted to only twelve (12) airframes, where eight (8) are fully mission capable at any time, and the others are set aside for spare parts. By January 1988, the F-8Hs were grounded and then decomisioned after the 1991 Mt. Pinatubo erruption irreparably damaged the remaining operational air frames while in open air storage in a grassy field at Basa Air Force Base. Subsequently, some of the airframes were sold and refurbished for use as props in the 2000 movie "Thirteen Days", a dramatization of the Cuban Missile Crisis, to depict the real-life RF-8As involved in the low-level photo reconnaissance missions that obtained photos of Soviet ballistic missiles in Cuba.

[@JimAllen-Persona]

Not quite the “shoulders” of the F-14 but a hell of a bird.

[@J_Myers837]

I didn't even know it was a fighter I thought it was an attack bomber or something like the A10 warthog I didn't even know it had a full after burner I didn't know they called it a fighter

[@curtekstrom9531]

The F-8 could out perform the F-14 in several ways.

[@JimAllen-Persona]

@@curtekstrom9531 No doubt. All I said was it didn’t have the “shoulders” of an F-14.

[@taiwandxt6493]

The F-8 made the F-14 what it was.

[@tkskagen]

Such a "Beautifully Simple" Bada@@ (sensored) Fighter long forgotten by most!

[@user-rf7ox2co4s]

Realmente en su tiempo el F-8 fue un caza con muy buenas posibilidades durante el combate aereo, y así lo demostró durante el conflicto en Viet Nam. 👍🛩️

[@thomasharroun8068]

On November 19, 1964, A black triangle shaped UFO left US fighter jet ‘hopelessly outclassed: Lieutenant Kyle H. Woodbury, spotted the mysterious black triangle in his F8 . He then flew his F-8 Crusader at airspeeds of about 1,200mph in an attempt to intercept. The object then accelerated to more than 4000 mph and outclassed the F8. True Story

[@Dronescapes]

Probably some experiment by skunk Works :) The confirmed speed was around 1700 mhp and reports of 3,800 mph were never officially confirmed. It could have been something similar to a Lockheed D-21 drone.

[@davidkoloc1313]

Doesn’t surprise me one bit. Especially given NAVY/USMC new alerts and directives around such phenomena. They’ve obviously known about such craft for about a century now. My dad, Cdr. Bohumil Koloc was a career Naval aviator (30 years/3 wars). He, two other Naval Officers and 5 Marines witnessed/experienced an UFO during an impromptu cross country jaunt between NAS Quonset Point and NAS Twin Cities. It was 1964 and I remember it being this exact time of year as one of the reasons for the jaunt was to bring back several tins of live lobster for Thanksgiving dinners. They were in a (7E) Lockheed P2V Neptune, at night, about 4,000 feet above Lake Michigan when the encounter occurred. Their radio went dead as did their radar and all navigational and surveillance gear aboard. The object maintained a static distance directly above them, perpendicularly relative to the horizontal plane of the Neptunes’s wing regardless of the (slow, meandering, overt) maneuvers, changes in attitude or flight path which were executed to better determine the craft’s identity, capabilities or intent. The whole while, brilliant light emitted from the object obscured it’s shape. This continued for several minutes until the craft disappeared instantly 90 degrees to the north and over the horizon. My dad and his co-pilot both had mild ‘sunburns’ on exposed areas of skin from the light this craft projected into the Lockheed’s cockpit. This despite being cast through the inch and a half thick, green, (essentially welding grade) protective glass of the convex, overhead observation ports above each ‘place’ in the cockpit. It created quite a buzz around the base for a time but all involved were simply instructed to avoid discussing the event publicly.

[@researcher4good]

Thank you for making this video. :)

[@Dronescapes]

♥️🙏

[@Ratkwad]

That vet pilot seems like a total badass

[@shenmisheshou7002]

*The F8 only shot down two planes using guns* . All of the rest of the kills were done with AIM-9 Sidewinders. The plane was always intended to use missiles as the primary weapon and the 20mm cannon a secondary weapon. The 20mm cannon was notorious for jamming at anything over 1g. The F8 wasn't a gunfighter, it was a fighter that was designed for ariel combat using missiles, and all but two of its kills in Vietnam were Sidewinder kills. It had a gun, but that does not make it a "Gunfighter."

[@donf3877]

The politicians did not learn their lesson in Korea. The politicians did not learn their lesson in Vietnam. And, after another 20 fricking year long "conflict", they STILL have not learned their lesson. The "lesson" being... it is IMPOSSIBLE to win a LIMITED war. So... EVERY soldier, sailor, airman, and marine; that has died in combat since World War II... has been for NOTHING. Either give them twice the personnel they need, and three times the equipment they need, to go ALL IN AND WIN... or keep them the hell HOME. Signed... ten year vet of the Air Force.

[@Dronescapes]

Wow. Thanks for your service Don

[@MililaniJag]

@02:45 Sen. John McCain lower right. Cheers!

[@michaeldenesyk3195]

Ironically, the majority of its MiG kills were made with its sidewinder missiles, this was because the ammunition feed mechanism for the 20 mm guns would break.

[@taiwandxt6493]

the guns were susceptible to high g maneuvers which dominated the dogfights over Vietnam, hence the tendency of jamming.

[@oldmike7239]

When I was in, way back when, this plane was known as an “Ensign Eater”; very difficult to land on a rolling deck. But then, anyone trying to land on a rolling deck would find it difficult.

[@mikeybrant6305]

The french had these on her carriers

[@tkskagen]

I'd like to see a video of the Skyhawk and Avenger within the "constraints" of the Vietnam Conflict...

[@umadbro4886]

looks like john mccaine at @2:44

[@gustavovasconcelos4372]

Yep that's him

[@krugmeister7301]

I DON'T KNOW WHY The NAVY didn't Install A Canon on the PHANTOM...Just like the F8 had..

[@taiwandxt6493]

The F8 was the last fighter that was designed with guns as the primary weapon. The F-4's development came after the F-8 was already beginning its service, and aircraft designers believed that guns would be obsolete as more reliable AAMs began to roll off the assembly line. So they left out a cannon to save on weight. McDonnell Douglass did end up making Phantoms with an internal cannon after they realized that guns still had their place in aerial combat.

[@AlirezaKarfarma-gd4hu]

❤❤❤

[@krugmeister7301]

The F8 LOOKS like A Great White SHARK...Large And A Mouth to suck it UP!!🤯🤯🤗🤗

[@krugmeister7301]

TO me the F4 RULES.!😑😑✊🏻✊🏻

[@welshparamedic]

At 14:50 the narrator states that the WW2 US navy Corsairs had diificulties landing, so much so that it was relegated to operating from Land bases untill the Kamikaze attacks by diving Japanease aircraft made ithe US undertake another attempt at carrier ops as nothing else could catch these kamikazes! Not strictly true. Yes it's true that the US navy/marines did not operate corsairs initially from carriers as that corsair long nose meant visability was very poor when approaching the carrier. The solution to the corsairs landing problems originated from the Brits, they had smaller carriers then the US but were desperate for a true navy fighter, the spitfire although legendary as a fighter was far to frail to take the vigours of a carrier aircraft so when the opportunity came for the Brits to aquire Corsairs via lend lease, the Brits Jumped at the chance. They pioneered a method of landing the corsair which involved a turning (Banking) descent towards the carrier which with carefull timing would be straightened up at the last moment before 'dropping' onto the deck! This offered near full visabilty all the way to the carrier and that proved very successful for the corsaiir operating as the carrier aircraft it was always meant to be.... some Brit flyers demonstrated it to the US who wholehartedly adopted it as the new way to land corsairs it was NOT the result of Kamikaze attacks meaning the US had another attempt at landing corsairs as the above documentary suggests!

[@krugmeister7301]

With ALL RESPECT to the U.S.Navy...I still Say that the Phantom was the REAL Mig Killer...I Find the F-8 LARGE and Cumbersome...Like MASSIVE CADILLAC...

[@krugmeister7301]

If Anything the F14 Is THE TOP DOG FIGHTER..BAR NONE!!💪🏼💪🏼💪🏼✊🏻✊🏻✊🏻😑

[@cristinaenache9648]

Garantat, nu_mi trebuia stea pe frunte sau căcat de alama pe ceafa. Și nici miez de.., prin genunchi

[@lawrencewilliams2911]

NO MISSION'S NO WAR GOT THAT

[@subkommander9007]

I think its ugly..but somehow sexy at the same..

[@billballbuster7186]

Great looking aircraft but a little unfair to compare the Crusader to the Canberra bomber flying at high level, different generations. The early Crusaders were designed as day fighters and even with the later improved radar it was no match for the all-weather capabilities of the F-4 Phantom. Add to this the multi-role capabilities and twin-engine safety, it was the future.

[@gort8203]

I get a kick out of everyone parroting that last gunfighter slogan. The Navy got one fighter without a gun (the F-4), so the F-8 was certainly not the last one with a gun. This was just a catchy slogan the F-8 fighter guys employed to needle the F-4 guys, because there is always strong rivalry in the military, especially within the Navy. And since then generations of fanboys have repeated this slogan as if it has real meaning. BTW, most of the F-8 MiG kills in Vietnam were with the AIM-9 missile. I think only one was with its guns, which tended to jam at high G loads. The F-105 bomber had more MiG kills than the F-8, and almost all F-105 kills were with the gun. It killed more MiGs with the gun than any other aircraft of the war. Not saying the F-8 was a bad airplane, just saying this slogan is meaningless.

[@bestamerica]

' come on american company... american company can make many more better F-8 to YF-23 airplane fighters

[@flyingsword135]

Tokin Gulf was a lie

[@reubendobbs8011]

I really enjoyed that

[@Dronescapes]

👍🙏

[@peasoup2980]

“Has no flaps”. Two seconds later video footage of flaps AND slats.

[@tpobrienjr]

I have a cockpit checklist made in 1968 - lights up red. LAND 1 WHEELS 2 INCIDENCE 3 HOOK 4 SPEED BK 5 HARNESS. From an F-8.

[@Impedancenetwork]

That is an absolutely ugly looking aircraft.

[@jameseast7966]

It was not made to win a beauty contest. It was made to shoot down soviet and other aircraft, it did pretty good at it.