Last gunfighter |
Chance Vought F-8E Crusader VF-162 The F-8 Crusader (originally F8U) was a single-engine aircraft carrier based fighter aircraft built by Chance-Vought of Dallas, Texas, It replaced the Vought F-7 Cutlass. The first F-8 prototype was ready for flight in February 1955, and was the last American fighter with guns as the primary weapon. The RF-8 Crusader was a photo recoannaissance 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.Naval 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 (9,150 m) with a climb rate of 25,000 ft/min (127 m/s), and a landing speed of no more than 100 mph (160 km/h). Korean War experience had demonstrated that 0.50 in (12.7 mm) machine guns were no longer sufficient and as the result the new fighter was to carry a 20 mm (0.8 in) cannon. 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 allowed for short and light landing gear. The most innovative aspect of the design was the variable incidence wing which pivoted by 7° out of the fuselage on takeoff and landing. This afforded increased lift due to a greater angle of attack without compromising forward visibility because the fuselage stayed level. Simultaneously, the lift was augmented by leading-edge slats 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. Power came from the Pratt & Whittney J57 afterburning turbojet and the armament, as specified by the Navy, consisted of four 20 mm cannon, a retractable tray with 32 unguided Mighty Mouse FFARs, and cheek pylons for two AIM-9 Sidewinder air-to-air missiles Vought also presented a tactical reconnaissance version of the aircraft called the V-382. The F-8 Crusader would be the last U.S. fighter designed with guns as its primary weapon. Major competition came from Grumman with their General Electric J79-powered F-11 Tiger, McDonnell with upgraded twin-engine F3H Demon (which would eventually become the F-4 Phantom II), and North American with their F-100 Super Sabre adopted for carrier use and dubbed the Super Fury. In May 1953, the Vought design was declared a winner and in June Vought received an order for three XF8U-1 prototypes (after adoption of the unified designation system in September 1962, the F8U became the F-8). The first prototype flew on 25 March 1955 with John Konrad at the controls. The aircraft exceeded the speed of sound during its maiden flight. The development was so trouble-free that the second prototype, along with the first production F8U-1, flew on the same day, 30 September 1955. On 4 April 1956, the F8U-1 performed its first catapult launch from USS Forrestal. An early F8U-1 was modified as a photo-reconnaissance aircraft, becoming the first F8U-1P, subsequently the RF-8A equipped with cameras rather than guns and missiles. When conflict erupted in the skies over North Vietnam, it was U.S. Navy Crusaders that first tangled with VPAF MiGs in April 1965. Although the MiGs claimed the downing of a Crusader, all aircraft returned safely. At the time, the Crusader was the best dogfighter the United States had against the nimble North Vietnamese MiGs. The Navy had evolved its "night fighter" role in the air wing to an all-weather interceptor, the F-4 Phantom II, equipped to engage incoming bombers at long range with missiles such as Sparrow as their sole air-to-air weapons, and maneuverability was not emphasized in their design. Some experts believed that the era of the dogfight was over as air-to-air missiles would knock down adversaries well before they could get close enough to engage in dogfighting. As aerial combat ensued over North Vietnam from 1965 to 1968, it became apparent that the dogfight was not over and the F-8 Crusader and a community trained to prevail in air-to-air combat was a key ingredient to success. Despite the "last gunfighter" moniker, the F-8s achieved only four victories with their cannon — the remainder were accomplished with AIM-9 Sidewinder missiles, partly due to the propensity of the Colt Mark 12 cannons' feeding mechanism to jam under G-loading during high-speed dogfighting maneuvers. Nonetheless, the Crusader would be credited with the best kill ratio of any American type in the Vietnam War, 19:3 Of the 19 shot down aircraft, 16 were MiG-17s and three were MiG-21s.USMC Crusaders flew only in the South, and US Navy Crusaders flew only from the small Essex class carriers; there weren't many F-8s. USMC Crusaders also operated in CAS missions. Crew: 1 Payload: 5,000 lb (2,300 kg) of weapons Length: 54 ft 3 in (16.53 m) Wingspan: 35 ft 8 in (10.87 m) Height: 15 ft 9 in (4.80 m) Wing area: 375 ft² (34.8 m²) Airfoil: NACA 65A006 mod root, NACA 65A005 mod tip Empty weight: 17,541 lb (7,956 kg) Loaded weight: 29,000 lb (13,000 kg) Powerplant: 1× Pratt & Whitney J57-P-20A afterburning turbojet Dry thrust: 10,700 lbf (47.6 kN)Thrust with afterburner: 18,000 lbf (80.1 kN) Zero-lift drag coefficient: 0.0133 Drag area: 5.0 ft² (0.46 m²) Aspect ratio: 3.42 Fuel capacity: 1,325 US gal (5,102 L) Performance Maximum speed: Mach 1.86 (1,225 mph, 1,975 km/h) at 36,000 ft (11,000 m) Cruise speed: 570 mph (495 kn, 915 km/h) Combat radius: 450 mi (730 km) Ferry range: 1,735 mi (2,795 km) with external fuel Service ceiling: 58,000 ft (17,700 m) Rate of climb: 31,950 ft/min (162.3 m/s) Wing loading: 77.3 lb/ft² (377.6 kg/m²) Thrust/weight: 0.62 Lift-to-drag ratio: 12.8 Armament Guns: 4× 20 mm (0.787 in) Colt Mk 12 cannons in lower fuselage, 125 rounds/gun Rockets: 8× Zuni rockets in four twin pods Missiles: 4× AIM-9 Sidewinder air-to-air missiles 2x AGM-12 Bullpup air-to-ground guided missiles Bombs: 12× 250 lb (110 kg) bombs or 4× 1,000 lb (450 kg) bombs or 2× 2,000 lb (900 kg) bombs USN 84 René Hieronymus Scale 1:72 Building time: 29hrs. |