The Vought F-8E Crusader was simply called “The Last Gunfighter,” a good enough nomenclature to sum up the innovative spirit of mid-20th-century military aviation.
The single-engine, carrier-based jet fighter received the designation F8U-2NE for being the ultimate production version of the Crusader series.
An attractive feature of the F-8E was the variable-incidence wing: during takeoff and landing, the whole wing was extended out of the fuselage by 7 degrees to further increase lift at low speeds.
The F-8E was weaponized with four 20mm cannons; the last US fighter was designed around gun armament as the principal weapon.
First flying on March 25, 1955, the F-8E began to become available to its first operational unit, VX-3 in late 1956. With improved APQ-94 radar thus providing all-weather capability, the F-8E was quite an improvement over the day-fighter predecessors of the aircraft. This variant also provided enhanced air-to-ground capability, essential when this variant served in Vietnam.
The F-8E had carrier trials in 1963, and production ended in mid-1964. Vought continued to develop the aircraft to finally turn the F-8E into the F-8J, with an even stronger engine and more powerful radar. Wet pylons were introduced as well. Foreign armed forces that used the Crusaders were the Aéronavale of France.
F-8E performance included a maximum speed of 584 at 10,000 feet with military thrust, a combat ceiling of 52,350 feet, and a Pratt & Whitney J57-P-20 engine driven by 18,000 lbf with afterburner power. Armament: four Colt Mk.12 Mod 3 20mm cannons, plus various bombs, rockets, and missiles, including AIM-9B Sidewinders and Zuni AGMs.
Apart from this development, the decision to adopt the A-7D Corsair II made the Air Force come up with a more powerful engine than what the Navy’s A-7 was designed with- Pratt & Whitney TF-30.
Two major features that were driving the development of choice between the Rolls Royce Spey and the augmented development by the Allison Division of General Motors and Rolls Royce, Ltd were higher production line rates and increased takeoff thrust.
The Spey engine, which was named the Allison TF-41, produced 14,250 pounds of dry thrust against the TF-30’s 10,950 pounds. Such a choice was favored not only in terms of cost and availability but also in production rate, which was earlier and quicker.
A-7D was scheduled to fly in mid-1968; it was to introduce current forces into the mission of close air support and interdiction, and, ultimately phased out F-100 and F-105.
It had hoped to obtain the TF41-A-1 Spey turbofan engine, reportedly good for something like 14,500 pounds of maximum thrust, to offset the limitations the Navy had imposed on its A-7A/A-7B Corsairs to try to control their troublesome TF30 powerplants.
Concerns such as these were already recognized to reduce the appeal of runway takeoffs for combat-loaded aircraft in Southeast Asia.
No doubt, the A-7D wing was positively locked in, unlike the variable-incidence wing of the F-8 Crusader.
Well, along with this downsizing and reduced wing sweepback, some complained that a small amount of money could have produced a supersonic airframe.