Gaëtan Marie's

VOUGTH

F-8 CrusaderScrapbook

All Material © 2007 Gaëtan Marie

U.S. Navy

F-8J, VF-211, may 1972.jpg F-8J Crusader of VF-211 based on USS Hancock, Vietnam, May 1972. On 23 May 1972, LtCdr FredBachman and Lt Jerry Tucker of VF-211 intercepted a MiG-17 whose pilot ejected when he saw the two American fighters on his tail.

F-8E flown by the CO of VF-162, Miramar, December 1966. This was just a few days after VF-162 returned to California after acombat tour in Vietnam on board USS Oriskany.

F-8E of VF-191 as seen in Miramar on 26 August 1967, after VF-191 "Hell's Kitten" returned from a combat tour in Vietnam onboard USS Ticonderoga from october 1966 to may 1967.

F-8J 150317 of VF-301, NAS Miramar. VF-301 flew the Crusader between October 1970 and June 1974 and became the only USNunit to operate F-8 Crusader with no accident at all. The fact that VF-301 never boarded a carrier probably helped, but a total of14,289 Crusader accident-free flying hours is nonetheless quite an achievement. Notice the stylized ND code on the tail of theaircraft.

F-8J BuNo 150855 of VF-24, seen at Alameda NAS probably after VF-24 returned from a combat tour in Vietnam on USS Hancockfrom November to May 1971. The "Checkerboards" flew F-8J's from 1970 to 1975, when they converted to the F-14 Tomcat.

F-8K 146909 of VC-10, NAS Guantanamo Bay. Also known as VCF-10, the "Challengers" flew the F-8 from 1965 to 1974. F-8K'swere used from 1969 to 1974. Being close to the Cuban "enemy", VC-10 always maintained aircraft on 2-minute alert.

F-8H 147904 of VX-4 "Evaluators" at Point Mugu NMC, 25 october 1971. VX-4 was initially responsible for testing and evaluatingthe Sparrow AAM but rapidly moved on to other weapons programs as well.

F-8J 149177 of VF-53, USS Bonhomme Richard. The Miramar-based "Iron Angels" transitioned to the F-8J on 31 October 1968 andflew two combat tours in Vietnam before being disbanded on 29 January 1979.

F-8C n°146947 of VF-111. Between 1966 and 1970, VF-111 reverted from the F-8E's to F-8C's and operated a detachment fromsmall ASW carriers. One of the Crusaders from this detachment scored a kill on a Vietnamese MiG on 8 February 1969. The rest ofthe squadron, remaining at Miramar NAS, converted to the F-8H in 1968.

F-8J n°150844 of VFP-63, NAS Miramar, April 1975. VFP-63, the "Eyes of the Fleet" were heavily involved in the Vietnam War. BySeptember 1972, however, VFP-63 received another task to fulfill: training new Crusader pilots. For this reason, VFP-63 received F-8J's such as this one and operated them for training purposes until the late 1970's.

F-8E n°147910 of VF-32, USS Saratoga, 1965. First fleet fighter squadron to be equipped with the F8U in 1957, the "Swordsmen"were initially based in NAS Cecil Field, Florida. In August of 1965, the "Swordsmen" moved to NAS Oceana, Virginia, and convertedto the F-4 Phantom II.

F-8H n°147914 of VF-703, NAS Dallas, 1968. The "Hunters" were one of the six Marine Reserve Squadron called to active dutyduring the 1968 Pueblo Crisis. The Reserve units never were deployed however.

F-8J 150654 of VF-302, NAS Miramar, 1971. The "Stallions" were the sister squadron to VF-301 and shared the stylised ND ofReserve Air Wing 30. VF-302 flew Crusaders for only 30 months before converting to the F-4 Phantom II.

Task Force 77, CVW-5. The "Iron Angels" flew four combat tours in Vietnam with the Crusader and were involved in the Gulf ofTonkin incident. Notice the four bomb marks beneath the cockpit.

F-8H n°148643 of VF-162, USS Shangri-La, 1970. The "Hunters" made a last combat tour in Vietnam with the Crusader betweenMarch and November 1970 before being disestablished later that year.

F-8H n°148693, VF-931, NAS Cecil Field, 1968. This was one of the F-8H's received by VF-931 when it was called to active dutyduring the Pueblo crisis in 1968. After its deployment was cancelled, VF-931 went back to NAS Willow Grove, Pennsylvania andreverted to its older F-8A's and F-8B's.

F-8H n°147908, VF-24, USS Hancock, 1968. In 1968, the "Checkertails" received F-8H's in replacements of its F-8C's, with whichthey had downed four enemy MiGs over Vietnam. They were to return to Vietnam on board USS Hancock in August 1968, after aperiod of rest and training.

F-8H n°148677, VF-661, NAS Cecil Field, 1968. The "Firefighters" were one of the six Naval Air Reserve squadrons to receivebrand-new F-8H's in 1968 after the Pueblo Crisis. VF-661 was supposed to embark on the USS Shangri-La but all reserve squadronswere finally sent called back from active duty in September 1968 and returned to their original mounts and home stations.

F-8E n°150923, VF-62, USS Shangri-La, 1966. The "Boomerangs", also known as the "Yellowtails", received the F-8E Crusader inearly 1966. However, like most Atlantic Fleet units, it had to hand them over to Atlantic Fleet units, so that the air-to-groundcapabilities of the E-model Crusader be available for use in Vietnam. VFP-62 reverted to the F-8D and was disestablished inOctober 1969.

F-8J n°150900 of VF-211, USS Hancock, May 1972. This aircraft was assigned to CDR Jim Davis, CO of VF-211, but was flown byJerry Tucker on 23 May 1972. On that day, Tucker was credited with a MiG-17 whose pilot ejected before Tucker even fired a shot.

F-8K n°145575, VC-2 "Blue Tails", NAS Oceana. The Blu Tails flew the K-model from 1969 to 1971.

F-8J n°150898, VF-24, NAS Miramar, February 1974. This was the CAG's aircraft. Notice the red swirl around the radome.

F-8E n°150320 of VF-51 was seen at Andrews AFB in August 1966. Notice the CAG stripes on the tail and the very unusual rednosecone.

F-8C n°146979 of VF-13, NAS Cecil Field, 1967. The "Night Cappers" began flying the F-8E, and then F-8D and even F-8C beforemoving to the F-8H in 1968. Note the unusual Orange radome.

F-8B (F8U-1E) n°145517 of VF-33, USS Independence, 1960. The "Tarsiers" were based in NAS Oceana, Virginia.

F8U-1 (F-81) n°142413 of VF-32, NAS Cecil Field, Florida, 1957. The "Swordsmen" were the first fleet unit to receive the newfighter in December 1956.

F-8A n°143682 of VC-8, NAS Roosevelt Roads. Based in Puerto Rico, the "Red Tails" used the Crusader as a target tug and missilecontroller. This F-8A was converted to QF-8 and painted Dark Blue, Yellow and Red to avoid being shot at.

F-8E n°150869 of VF-191, NAS Lemoore, California, June 1966. This aircraft was assigned to the commander of Carrier Attact AirWing 19 as written under the wing.

U.S. Marine corps

F-8E BuNo 150920 of VMF(AW)-312 as seen at the Flying Leathernecks Museum, NAS Miramar, in 2006. Note the absence of IRST.The "Checkerboards" converted to the F-8E in early 1964. It moved to Da Nang AB in the Republic of Vientam in December 1965before being disestablished on 31 January 1966 to convert to the F-4 Phantim II.

F-8A n°143694 of Marine VMF-215 "Fighting Corsairs". This unit, based at Olathe NAS received F-8A Crusaders in 1964. Thisspecific aircraft appeared to have paint patches of a darker shade than Light Gull Grey applied at different locations. The "7K"tailcode was changed to "5K" in 1968.

F-8K n°145562, Andrews AFB, 13 April 1972. When VMF-321, a Marine Air Reserve unit, converted to the F-8K, it introduced thisflamboyant livery of dark blue with white stars. VMF-321 also changed its name from "Hell's Angels" to "Black Barons" during thatperiod.

F8U-2 (F-8C) n°146965 of VMF-334, MCAS El Toro, September 1961. The "Falcons" were the first West Coast Marine squadron tooperate the Crusader and operated the F8U-2 from 1961 to 1967, when the squadron converted to the Phantom II.

F-8E n°150675 of VMF(AW)-312, Da Nang, 1966. This aircraft was assigned to Col R. F. Conley, commanding officer MAG-11.

F-8H n°148681 of Marine Air Reserve Training Detachment (MARTD) Dallas, attached to VMF-112. The aircraft has light blueventral fins with a white map of Texas and a black star showing the location of Dallas. This aircraft was assigned to the CO ofMarine Air Group 41.

F-8E n°149199 of VMF(AW)-235, Da Nang, 1966-67. This very weathered aircraft was assigned to Captain John Highbee andcarries a Mk 84 bomb under each wing. The "Death Angels" flew two tours of operations from Da Nang.

Philippines

Filipino F-8H as seen in what looked like an aircraft boneyard or storage park. Date and unit unknown. Ex-US Crusaders served inthe PhAF from 1977 to 1988.

France

Crusader # 7 of 12.F wearing the early-style camouflage and carrying a missile launcher rail.

F-8P n°11 of Flottille 12.F received a special livery for the retirement of the type in 1999. Note the Donald Duck painted on theaircraft's back.

F-8E(FN) of Flottille 14.F based at Landivisiau, 1973. The aircraft is painted in the original Light Gull Grey over Insignia WhiteUSN scheme. Stenciling is also the US sort.

Preserved in Savigny-les-Beaune. #35 received special markings before the type was retired. Notice that Donald Duck is hereequipped with a trident instead of the usual shotgun. The sharkmouth is also quite unusual.

F-8E(FN) n°32 was sent by Flotilla 12.F to the Greenham Common Airshow in June 1981 to represent the French Aéronavale.Itfeatures a gull grey camouflage but no white undersurfaces.

F-8E(FN) n°34 of Flottile 12.F carrying two Matra 550 Magic II IR missiles. The "Crouze" could carry AIM-9 Sidewinders orFrench-built Magic I and II. N°34 was refurbished to F-8P standard in August 1993. The F-8P was mostly an overhauled F-8E(FN)with some extra avionics and a RWR installed in the fin.

In June 1994, F-8P n°3 (BuNo 151734) of Flotille 12.F based at Landivisiau NAS received "invasion stripes" to commemorate the50th anniversary of the Normandy landings.

This is F-8P (P stands for Prolongé - extended life) n°10 of Flotille 12.F. This aircraft is preserved in the Le Bourget Air & SpaceMuseum.

Crusader n°30 of Flottille 12.F in May 1982 at Landivisiau NAS. This heavily weathered aircraft had just returned from a firingcampaign, hence the smoke marks around the gun ports. It carries an AIM-9D Sidewinder. The Sidewinder was not used very oftenby the Aéronavale, and was retired in 1986 in favour of the French Magic II.