Subject: Vought F-8 Crusader (5 of 18)

From: [email-masked] (joseph.f.baugher)
Date: 5 Sep 94 02:40:58 GMT

The F8U-2 was the first true fleet Crusader fighter.  The YF8U-2 
prototype flew for the first time on August 20, 1957.  It was powered 
by a new and more powerful engine, a J57-P-16 rated at 10,700 lb.s.t.  
dry and 16,900 lb.s.t. with afterburner.  The increased thrust 
offered by the P-16 made it necessary to provide additional cooling 
for the afterburner.  This was provided by the addition two air scoops 
mounted on the upper part of the tail cone just aft of the vertical 
tail.  A pair of ventral strakes were added to the lower rear fuselage 
to improve directional stability at high altitudes.  A Y-shaped 
missile rack was added to each side of the fuselage, making it 
possible for the Crusader to carry four Sidewinders rather than just 
two.  However, the four-missile armament was only very rarely carried 
in combat, since pilots felt that the extra weight and reduction in 
fuel load was not worth the two extra missiles.  

A second prototype, more representative of the production model, flew 
in January of 1958.  The first true production F8U-2 flew on August 
20, 1958.  A total of 187 F8U-2s were delivered to the Navy between 
January of 1959 and September of 1960.  The first unit to use the 
F8U-2 was VF-84, entering service in January of 1959.  It later joined 
VF-24, VF-103, VF-194, and VF-211, and served with the Marine Corps 
squadrons VMF-212, VMF-232, VMF-235, and VMF-333.  

The performance of the F8U-2 was impressive, having an initial climb 
rate of more than 25,000 feet per minute and a maximum speed of Mach 
1.7.  

The F8U-2 was redesignated F-8C in September of 1962 in accordance 
with the new Tri-Service designation scheme.  

Serials of the F8U-2 (F-8C):

145546/145603	Vought F8U-2 Crusader - redesignated F-8C in 1962
146906/146999	Vought F8U-2 Crusader - redesignated F-8C in 1962
147000/147034	Vought F8U-2 Crusader - redesignated F-8C in 1962.

Specification of Chance Vought F8U-2 (F-8C) Crusader: 

One Pratt & Whitney J57-P-16 turbojet, 10,700 lb.st dry, 16,900 lb.s.t 
with afterburning.  Maximum speed: 1105 mph (Mach 1.67) at 35,000 
feet, 733 mph at sea level.  1062 mph (Mach 1.60) at altitude with two 
Sidewinders.  Cruising speed 570 mph.  Stalling speed 157 mph.  
Service ceiling 41,700 feet.  Combat celling 52,000 feet.  Initial 
climb rate 21,700 feet per minute Combat radius 368 miles, maximum 
range 1490 miles (1375 miles with Sidewinders) .  Internal fuel 
capacity 1273 US gallons.  Dimensions: wingspan 35 feet 8 inches, 
length 54 feet 3 inches, height 15 feet 9 inches, wing area 375 square 
feet.  Weights: 16,483 pounds empty, 24,347 pounds combat, 27,810 
pounds gross, 27,938 pounds maximum takeoff.  Armed with four 20-mm 
cannon in the fuselage.  Two AIM-9 Sidewinder missiles could be 
carried on rails attached to the side of the fuselage.  32 2.75-inch 
unguided rockets could be carried in a pack that was lowered from the 
airbrake, although this pack was rarely actually carried.  

Sources:

    Vought F-8 Crusader, Peter Mersky, Osprey, 1981.

    The Aircraft of the World, William Green and Gerald Pollinger,
    Doubleday, 1965.

    The American Fighter, Enzo Angelucci and Peter Bowers, Orion, 1987.

    United States Navy Aircraft Since 1911, Gordon Swanborough and
    Peter M. Bowers, Smithsonian, 1989.

    Ray Wagner, American Combat Planes, Third Enlarged Edition,
    Doubleday, 1982.

    The World's Fighting Planes, William Green, Doubleday, 1968.

Joe Baugher			**************************************
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