The Vought F-8 Crusader holds a special place in history as the “Last of the Gunfighters,” a nod to American aeronautical power and ingenuity. This Mach 1-plus fighter aircraft was used by the United States Navy from 1957 until 1976 and remains the last American-built fighter capable of carrying out its primary role through guns, hence the famous nickname.
The F-8 Crusader can trace its origins to September 1952 when the U.S. Navy needed a new fighter design that achieved a Mach 1.2 maximum speed, a climb rate of 25,000 feet per minute, and a maximum landing speed of 100 MPH. In addition, the Navy had specified armament with 20 mm cannons in response to the inadequacy of .50-caliber machine guns during the Korean War.
The Vought F-8 Crusader was declared the winner over other entrants, including the Grumman F-11 Tiger and the McDonnell F3H Demon. The first of two prototypes, XF8U-1, made its initial flight on 25 March 1955, and on that first flight, it broke the sound barrier, a budding omen of success.
The unique design of the F-8 featured a single air intake under a pointed nose, high-mounted wings, and short landing gear, which gave it a crouched appearance. Variable incidence wing—that is, the wing pitched up to seven degrees—allowed the aircraft to take off and land at slower speeds without loss of pilot vision. Maintenance of lift at a slower speed by dropping flaps and leading-edge design innovation of an aircraft were other distinct features.
The operational history of the F-8 Crusader is marked by major engagements in areas such as the Cuban Missile Crisis and the Vietnam War. During the Cuban Missile Crisis, unarmed RF-8A variants equipped with cameras flew low-level reconnaissance missions over Cuba, capturing crucial images that confirmed Soviet efforts to install medium-range ballistic missiles.
The real first combat that the F-8 Crusader was exposed to was in the Vietnam War. On 3 April 1965, F-8s from USS Hancock made the first engagement with North Vietnamese MiG-17s in air-to-air combat. While these first encounters proved less than promising, it was not long until the F-8s showed their stuff. At war’s end, the kill total by F-8s stood at 18-19, with most coming by way of Sidewinder missiles. It holds the distinction of having the best kill ratio of any U.S. fighter in the conflict, losing just three planes to enemy fire.
Even though the F-8 Crusader gave an impressive performance, it was not free from problems. The nose design made carrier landings hazardous and hence nicknamed the “Ensign Eliminator.” It created a high rate of accidents due to its demanding flying qualities and hydraulic failures.
Nonetheless, the contributions of the F-8 Crusader to naval aviation cannot be undermined. This was the very first carrier-based fighter that flew faster than 1,000 MPH, and the design propelled later supersonic aircraft. Service for the Crusaders wasn’t restricted to the U.S. Navy alone; even the French Navy used this aircraft until 1999.
The Vought F-8 Crusader retains an almost legendary place in military aviation history, having combined qualities of supersonic speed and power with some very innovative design features for carrier-based fighters. Known colloquially as the “Last of the Gunfighters,” the F-8 Crusader is representative of a nodal era of aviation—if not indeed an epoch—between the gun-armed fighter of yore and the missile-dominated jet age.