Vought F-8E(FN) Crusader

what is it?

The F-8E(FN) is a variant of the Vought F-8 Crusader operated exclusively by the French Navy's air arm, the Aéronavale, in the fleet air defence role. The aircraft incorporated a number of design changes from the standard F-8E Crusader that were required to allow its operation from France's aircraft carriers. Entering service in 1964, the Crusader underwent a major upgrade in the late 1980s to allow it to remain in service for another decade while a replacement aircraft was under development.

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

base stats

• speed 1,609 km/htop speed
• size 15.4 tmax take-off weight
• built 42made 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 62 years ago, in 1964.
• 🏎️Top speed is 12.4× a car on the Dutch motorway (130 km/h).
• 💥Faster than sound: up to Mach 1.3 (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 1.7× 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

1964

introduced

1964

retired

1999

status

retired

number built

42

role

fleet air defence fighter

origin

🇺🇸 United States

engines

1× Pratt & Whitney J57-20A

crew

1

length

16.6 m

wingspan

10.9 m

height

4.8 m

max take-off weight

15.4 t

top speed

1,609 km/h

range

—

ceiling

15,240 m

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