Click to go to: Information on the RF-8 Crusader Excel databases by Bureau Number; RF-8s at Davis Monthan Bone Yard; RF8 Specifications; Videos; Source for RF-8G Flight Manual

Click to go to: Crusader Memorabilia Collections, Models, Books, patches/decals and More

Click to go to: RF-8 Crusader Photo Gallery Our best photos of a beautiful jet.

Click to go to: The End Of the Crusader Pilot memories of the conclusion of the Crusader's era

Click to go to: Restorations of Crusaders Information and photos of RF-8 Crusader restorations and exhibits at aviation museums. Pilot memories of the restored Thunderbird Aviation RF-8G

Click to go to: Crusader Accidents & Hostile Losses The Crusader was one of the most dangerous aircraft to fly

Click to go to: External Crusader Links Informational and video links from pilots and Crusader fans

Click to go to: Flying the Crusader Fast Fun stories of pilots loving to fly the Crusader fast. Also, the prototype Crusader, F8U-3, a potential mach 3 fighter

(5/6/23) Click to go to: Photos of RF-8 Crusader Simulator

(5/11/23) CLICK to obtain: RF-8G Flight Manuals via a link on Aviation Archives (https://aviationarchives.blogspot.com/). NOTE: There is a cost to File Factory. Contributed by James Hockenberry

CLICK to see: YouTube video on the development of the Vought F8 Crusader I and II Excellent videos of the technology and development of the Crusader. Also shows the F8U-3 "The Mach 3 Super Sader"

CLICK for: Excel(XLS) Spread sheet listing the - Excel Spread Sheet: Listing the history of each photo Crusader by Bureau Number

CLICK for: Information about the: RF-8 Photo Crusader & Remaining at Davis Monthan (Bone Yard)

• TOPICS INCLUDE:


• B/W video (no sound) of RF-8 night photography.


• Photos of the last RF-8s at Davis Monthan (AMARC) "Bone Yard." Also Google Earth photos of Davis Monthan Crusader and other aircraft Storage


• Outline on the history of the Crusader in the Navy and Marine Corps


• Information on the specifications on the RF-8A
  


• Information on the RF-8 camera bays and photo equipment.

Project Crusader: The Story of RF-8 BuNo 145645:-Marines, VFP-62, VFP-63, Davis Monthan (Bone Yard) & exhibit at Battleship Park, Mobile AL

(1/20/15):Have been working with the Lexington Museum in Corpus. They have agreed to go for an RF8 for display on the boat. They will soon be putting in an official request for the loan of a bird with the powers to be in Pensacola. Assuming it will be approved, I will be meeting with Rusty - the curator of the museum - at D-M, probably some time in March, to pick a bird. Once we have a bird on deck, I will be leading a fund raising effort to help off-set the cost of getting it to Corpus. The most likely date is 21 March, coincides with my trip to Mariner Spring Training.

Scott Ruby (VFP-63 pilot)

Photo Courtesy Don Kuehl
Click on photos to enlarge

RF-8 (BuNo 146898) that had been damaged by hurricane Katrina at Battleship Memorial Park, Mobile, Alabama was returned to the National Museum of Naval Aviation (NMNA) in Pensacola, Florida and was being considered for use as a ground target at Egland AFB. This particular airplane was part of the initial contingent of aircraft to fly over Laos in 1964 with VFP-63. In addition to multiple carrier cruises with the Navy, it also served with Marine squadron VMJ-4 at Navy Dallas from 1969-1971.

[The aircraft went through LTV and received the P-420 engine and some other avionics updates and then continued in service with VFP-306 until September of 1984 when I delivered the plane to the Naval Air Museum in Pensacola. With the P-420 engine the plane would go supersonic in basic engine thrust in straight and level flight.

This plane will arrive in Fort Worth TX on the 29 Dec. '08. It has been loaned to the the Veterans Memorial Air Park at Meacham International Airport. The group will restore 146898 and repair the damage from the storm that hit battleship park in Mobil AL. --Gary Riese]

RF-8 #146898 was built in 1960. This Photo Crusader served with Navy squadrons VCP-63, VFP-63, VFP-306 and Marine squadron VMJ-4. It made cruises aboard the USS Lexington, Hancock, Ranger and possibly others.

Update 2/19/13: Progress on 898 is slow. Other projects for one reason or another have taken precedence but he airplane is near and dear to us all. The folks at the Vought Heritage group gave us a leg up on the restoration and we are planning to put some of the pieces back together. One of our projects was laying a pad for a place to store and work on aircraft. We have made lots of progress the last few months so 898 may be moving up the list before long.

The park is in negotiations for a RF-8 simulator in a 40-foot trailer. Vought Retirees had finished repairing the aft section and it was returned to Fort Worth. --Jim Hodgson

Webmaster: see the simulator on this page. Use page navigation button for quick access

(2/13/13)Here is a couple more pictures of the next RF-8 (146858) that is to be restored. I am working with Pete Clayton to get this done. If everything goes well, it will be put on display on the Hornet in Alameda. Hopefully, it will be moved there on or about December 2012. Will eventually start a fund raising effort to get it done. Got a quote from a trucking company of $3,200 - using two trucks - to move the birdfrom Miramar to Alameda. Only covers travelling expenses. Actual labor costs are donated to the effort. This is the same company that moved the Merced bird from Edwards to Merced. Doing this out of their appreciation for the military. A good company.---Scott Ruby, VFP-63 pilot

Update (Oct 9, 2012): We are making steady progress on 146858. In August and September we concentrated on the fuselage. Most of the loose and damaged paint is gone. There is virtually no corrosion. This is a rock solid aircraft. Both stabs and both outer wing panels have been recovered from UCSD and are in storage.

• Her aircraft history card shows she was aboard FDR in late 1969 thru mid-1970. Then went to Det 1 aboard HANCOCK from 1971 thru 1975 - making four cruises in CV-19; then Det 2 aboard JFK in 1978; then Det 4 aboard AMERICA in 1979; then Det 1 on KITTY HAWK in 1981
  
  
• went to Davis-Monthan in May 1982 with 5975 flight hours and 513 arrested landings. Apparently was stricken in Dec 1985.

Anyone know why it was taken out of service on KITTY HAWK?

Pete Clayton (peteclayton455@aol.com --- modern day Gator fixer)
RANGER CHENG 1989-1992

[Webmaster: Besides VFP-63, this RF-8 served with VMCJ-3 & VC-7]

(1/23/12) EXTERNAL LINK: Information on The First Crusader Being restored at the Museum of Flight, Seattle, WA. Contributed by Scott Ruby, VFP-63

[Update May 18] EXTERNAL LINK to the Boeing Museum of Flight Restoration Facility at Paine Field in Everett, WA, where: The very first Crusader (XF8U-1) is undergoing restoration - courtesy Dave Johnson, F8 pilot

UPDATE (1/20/15)We're nearing the completion of the project at Paine Field and the XF8U-1 is slotted to go to the Museum of Flight's covered air park after its completion. The XF8U-1 Crusader has been on display at one event so far the "Vintage Aircraft Weekend Event" at John Sessions' Historic Flight Museum and in conjunction with Paul Allen's Flying Heritage Museum. The XF8U-1 also made the centerfold of the Aloft Magazine.

Craig C Wall, USAF retired

Update (11/11/13): I'm now a full time employee at the MOF restoration center and I'm full time on the XF8U-1! Finally I'm able to give her 100% full attention! It was on hold because I had other projects going and could only spend my spare time on BUNO 899. The Main Museum wants her, who wouldn't?! So now it's a priority and I'm getting help as well as a budget!

I will keep you up to date on all the progress. It will be accurately restored to its original configuration on its maiden flight!

Please keep all the Crusader guys informed as well I appreciate it. They deserve to see #1 in all her glory! The Last of the Gunfighting Mig Masters will never die!!!

[Webmaster: Here is a contact email to show your appreciation: Craig Wall: USAF retired, Museum of flight structural and design engineer ---Contributed by Dave Johnson]

(10/8/16)YOUTUBE 5-Minute high-quality video of First Crusader XF8U-1 BuNo 138899 Home at Museum of Flight Seattle, WA--Restored First Crusader moved to it's final home.

RF-8G 145607 was moved by road from Edwards AFB to the restoration hangar at Castle Air Museum (CAM), Atwater, CA. A small volunteer crew from the museum dismantled it. The airplane was complete except for the cameras and has very little visible corrosion. The restorers had to look for three new tires as they were completely shot. Click to see: Moving RF-8G to CAM -Contributed by: J.J. McKenna

Click this link to follow : The restoration story of RF-8G 145607

Update: 7/11/10--

The Marine Photo Crusader is on display at the MCAS Miramar museum. It is in rough condition according to LCDR Tad Riley and in need of some TLC. The tail markings indicate it was last attached to VMCJ-3. It was also assigned to NADC and VFP-206.

Update (1/7/14): Vinnie Zabicki provided the above photo with the message: "The photo is of the French F8 which I worked on at Pax river Naval Air Test Center (service test division). Jacob (Willie) Wilson [former VFP-62 electrician] and a crew from VF-174 were sent to France (aboard a French carrier) to help train French sailors."

(7/18/13) Video of: HIGHLY RECOMMENDED! First French Navy Crusader Carrier Ops Interesting views from under the Crusader as it is launched. Also read the history beneath the video. Turn up your speakers!--Via F8 Community Blog

(3/11/20) The Last of the Gunfighters F-8 Crusader Excellent 48 minute documentary on the history and highlights of the Crusader. Lots of air-to-air, combat, John Glenn "Project Bullet" and the Mach 2.6 F8-U3 Super Crusader videos. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

(9/1/14): YouTube VIDEO F-104 & Two French F8s Give an Airshow Very good quality and a good look at two great aircraft.

EXTERNAL (8 minutes)VIDEO LINK: The sole French Naval Aviation fighter for 35 years -- French Navy Carrier ops

(1/22/15) Good (8 minute)YouTube Video French carrier Flight Ops with F8s

Click to read an interesting account describing: Vietnam: The first supersonic war---the RF-4 photo-Phantom and the Crusader --The article describes some of the eight Vietnam-era military aircraft on display at the Steven F Udvar-Hazy Air & Space museum.

(1/29/12): YouTube video..F-8 Crusader vs. F-4 Phantom Dogfight at early Top Gun

Interesting site on F8 flight testing: Crusader High Altitude Tests - -Marines, aircraft, & interesting links and stories. Contributed by Walt Quist

EXTERNAL (1 minute) VIDEO LINK: USS Shangri La CVA 38 Carrier Ops --Contributed: J.J. McKenna

(7/12/23)On June 6, 1957, two F8U Crusaders and two A3D Skywarriors flew non-stop from Bon Homme Richard off the California coast to USS Saratoga (CVA 60) off the east coast of Florida. This, the first carrier-to-carrier transcontinental flight, was completed by the F8U's in 3 hours 28 minutes and by the A3Ds in 4 hours 1 minute

In 1957, before the F8U-1P (later RF-8A)became fleet operational I was part of the team at the Naval Air Test Center, Patuxent River, Maryland which conducted the Board of Inspection and Survey (BIS) trials on the F8U-1P. It was this aircraft which was flown by Maj. John Glenn in "Project Bullet." Maj. Glenn was, at that time assigned at NATC as a test pilot.

His wingman, Cmdr. Charles F. Demmler flew a F-8U-1 (later F8-A) fighter but damaged his fueling probe and had to depart the flight. The flight took off from NAS Los Alamitos in California and landed at Floyd Bennett Field in New York City. Glenn completed the 2,446-mile course averaging 725.5 mph, or Mach 1.1 at 35,000 feet during the flight's duration of 3 hours and 23 minutes breaking the existing speed record.

Some additional info about the BIS Trials of the F8U-1P. Prior to starting the tests the team flew down to Dallas and spent several days at the Chance Vought plant observing many of the manufacturing processes involved in building the Crusader and getting a briefing on the operation of the various aircraft systems. --Provided by Harold (Hap) Murphy PHCS USN(RET)

Webmaster's Note: The F8U-1P Maj. Glenn flew Project Bullet with was lost in an operational accident on 12/13/72 in the South China Sea, from VFP-63 Det. 34 on the USS Oriskany. LT. T. B. Scott was recovered.

As an IP at VF-174 I briefed the speed run many times. As I recall the following procedures were used to get max speed out of the "Gator." This was over 40 years ago so I will tell it like I remember. Corrections are appreciated.

Before the flight we would contact meterology to find out the altitude of isothermal layer on that day. Isothermal process is a change in which the temperature of the system stays constant. It varies from day-to-day but is usually in the 40,000 ft. range. An average reduction value of 3°F per 1000ft is commonly used up to the isothermal layer. For some reason, unknown to me, this was the best altitude to get the highest speed out of the "Gator." And as I recall this altitude was usually between angels 37 to 42 [37000 - 42000 ft] on most days.

The student and instructor would climb to angels 50, cruise droops in, slipping along at .96 M or better. Next procedure was to plug in the stereo [afterburner] and gently "0" g downhill to the isothermal layer altitude. Hopefully, you would accelerate above 1.35 Mach (the high drag area) on the high dive. We would level off at the isothermal layer and start a slow climb (1000 fpm) back up to the mid 40's and leveling off accelerating slowly to max speed. Remember we had a 5 minute max time on the burner.

If you had a clean and powerful bird you could easily reach 1.7 to 1.86 (max speed) on this run which was well above 1000 MPH. If you got less than 1.35M on the downhill run the top speed would be reduced significantly.

We also briefed that at the end of the speed run for the student to come out of burner and apply a 4 g turn. As you will remember there was no buffet at all when pulling g's supersonic in the F-8. However, when the bird went from supersonic to transonic to subsonic the shock wave traveled forward allowing the UHT to become much more effective. This 4 g turn instantly turned into a 6 or 7 g turn and the a/c would normally depart rapidly to the opposite direction of the turn. (Remember the cruise droops were in giving less lift as well.) The student would leave helmet paint on both sides of the canopy after such a rough departure.

Not only was this a max speed run it was also a great demonstration of the high speed departure action of the F-8. Several a/c would accelerate beyond the 1.86 mach but that was not allowed according to the hand book. Of course many went up to the 2.0 M number so I was told. Those were the days my friend!

[Webmaster's note: This was excerpted from the F8 Community web site, where pilot chat frequently brings up these interesting stories]