Vought F-8 Crusader

what is it?

The Vought F-8 Crusader (originally F8U under the 1922 designation system) is a retired single-jet engine, supersonic, carrier-based air superiority fighter designed and produced by the American aircraft manufacturer Vought. It was the last American fighter that had guns as the primary weapon, earning it the title "The Last of the Gunfighters". Development of the F-8 commenced after release of the requirement for a new fighter by the United States Navy in September 1952.

🔎How to recognise it: 1 jet engine · shoulder wing · 10.9 m wingspan

base stats

• speed 1,974 km/htop speed
• size 15.4 tmax take-off weight
• built 1,219made in total

Bars compare against all aircraft: 3,500 km/h, 20,000 km, 850 seats; size and number built on a log scale up to 640 t (An-225) and 45,000 built (Cessna 172).

fun facts

• 🎂First flew 71 years ago, in 1955.
• 🏎️Top speed is 15.2× a car on the Dutch motorway (130 km/h).
• 💥Faster than sound: up to Mach 1.6 (sea-level speed of sound ≈ 1,235 km/h).
• 🚗Wingspan of 10.9 m: about 2 cars parked nose to tail.
• 🐘Fully loaded it can weigh as much as 3 African elephants (~6 t each).
• 🏔️Can fly 2.0× higher than Mount Everest (8,849 m).

jet: Gas turbine pushing air out the back (turbofan or turbojet): fast and high-flying.

spec sheet

first flight

1955-03-25

introduced

1957

retired

1999

status

retired

number built

1,219

role

fighter aircraft

origin

🇺🇸 United States

makers

Vought, Ling-Temco-Vought

engines

1× Pratt & Whitney J57-P-20A / J57

crew

1

length

17.1 m

wingspan

10.9 m

height

4.8 m

max take-off weight

15.4 t

top speed

1,974 km/h

cruise speed

496 km/h

range

—

ceiling

17,678 m

wings

shoulder wing

Specs are for the version in the Wikipedia article's specification section. Blank means the sources don't say.