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as still being in service, are grounded
that
board smaller aircraft earners - would have had difficulty handling bigger Phantoms. With the writing parently on the wall, Crusader pi 0 began referring to their mounts as
Wing 20 (CVWR-20). c
Based at NAF Washington, D- and known as the “Hawkeyes,
206 was manned by two active ^ officers, eight selected reserve o 54 active duty enlisted personne ^on_ 65 selected air reserve enlisted P® j nel. Since it was first establishe fS June 1970, VFP-206 flew 20,10" ^
without a squadron-caused misnsP^ fore finally being disestablished— longest span of mishap-free 0Pcr;'iest in the Naval Reserve and the '°njLuad- on record for an operational F- ron. With some justification,
Hawkeyes billed themselves as Last and Best F-8 Squadron.
As the four Navy LTV RF-8G Crusaders approached the Marine Corps Lockheed KC-130F Hercules air refueling tanker over southern California’s Sierra Nevada Mountains and Mojave Desert, they appeared to represent just another typical, though admittedly graceful, aerial formation. But, on the morning of 19 January 1987, that four-plane formation was not typical. After more than 30 years of outstanding service, the F-8 Crusader was facing imminent retirement from operations with the U. S. Navy, and that flight was to be the last U. S. Crusader four-plane formation flight ever.
In spite of the highly technical nature of modem military aircraft, even trained and disciplined aircrews tend to become emotionally attached to their aircraft and often virtually regard the better designs as living, breathing creatures—practically members of the family. Therefore, when it inevitably becomes time to replace faithful old aircraft with newer designs or tactical concepts, even aircrew members who might realize the validity of the change tend to shed tears over the separation from their “old friends.”
The F-8 Crusader was just such an aircraft. When the prototype XF8U-1 Crusader made its maiden flight on 15 March 1955, it was immediately recognized as an outstanding design. The Crusader was the first operational naval aircraft that could exceed 1,000 miles per hour in level flight and, on 21 August 1956, Commander R. W. Windsor, Jr. took the speed record over a 15-kilometer course up to 1,015 miles per hour in an F8U-1 (F-8 A) at Naval Aircraft Facility (NAF) China Lake, California. On 16 July 1957,
U. S. Marine Corps Major (later astronaut and U. S. Senator) John Glenn set a coast-to-coast record of three hours and 20 minutes at an average speed of 726 miles per hour in an F8U-1P (RF- 8A) reconnaissance Crusader.
Subsequently, the Crusader was awarded the Thompson Trophy for its speed records and the Collier Trophy for design excellence. The aircraft also received the first Bureau of Aeronautics Certificate of Merit.
Originally designed primarily for interceptor and reconnaissance missions, additional ordnance racks were later added to the Crusader to provide an air-to-ground combat capability as well. The aircraft’s basic armament consisted of a built-in quartet of 20-mm. cannon and Sidewinder air-to-air missiles (initially two and later four) mounted on racks at the fuselage sides. Although the first production models also had provision for a retractable pack with unguided 2.75-inch rockets in the belly, most production Crusaders dispensed with the pack in favor of more fuel and internal equipment. High explosive and napalm bombs, rocket pods, and air-to-ground missiles could also be carried on the additional ordnance racks, and it was even possible to fit rocket pods to the fuselage- mounted Sidewinder missile racks. The reconnaissance Crusaders dispensed with all armament in favor of internally mounted cameras.
In total, 1,261 of the fast (the last production models could reach Mach 2) and highly maneuverable Crusaders were manufactured for use by the U. S. Navy and Marine Corps and the French Aeronavale. Later, the Philippine Air Force also acquired a number of surplus U. S. Navy Crusaders for use as land-based fighter-bombers. At present, only the French Crusaders are still operating from aircraft carriers.
The Philippine Crusaders, though listed for the most part with corrosion an other maintenance problems, whic cannot be directly attributed to the ai craft’s design.
By the early 1960s, the U. S. a ’ like many other air arms, had deci that the future of fighter aviation should be entrusted to larger, more sophisticated all missile-armed aircr such as the F-4 Phantom II- Conse quently, at that time, the Crusader seemed destined for a relatively ea^ retirement except for possible use “The Last of the Gunfighters.
However—-as is often the case actual combat experience demonstr
the worth of highly maneuverab e, ^
and missile-armed fighters like t e sader, and the Vietnam War gave aircraft a new lease on life. Alth° t0. Crusaders did not have as many air scoring opportunities as the m^ numerous Phantoms in Vietnam, ^ still managed to account for 14 and four MiG-21 “kills” before 1968 bombing halt. Thus, another
title—“The MiG Master”—was a
to the aircraft’s banner. «
With the basic design concept v dated by combat experience, latcl' ^_ U. S. fighter designs such as the 18 Hornet and the U. S. Air F°r<^ d F-16 Fighting Falcon placed renend tjie emphasis on dogfighting agility a^ gun/missile armament combination- early 1976, however, the RF-8G ypp- naissance Crusaders, flying with 63 at Naval Air Station Miramar j with the Naval Reserve, were the examples of the line still in na'?(^rU. vice. By 1986, only five RF". ypp. saders remained in service with 206 as a part of Reserve Carrier
80
Proceedings
/ August
I9»1
arry Gabler.
as to h ----------------- 6 riiamu
vice h 3Ve rePlaced the Crusader in \/w.UUnng the IQftnc a„„ „r
tyD„. rd theAmerica. Of the two servin:
. day, it was a VFP-206 Crusader
ationaC\/alLy„i°S8ed the last deck oper-
vvrille th ------------ auuauuiw
Paper ConcePt sounds great on vinc ’l 'c^ard Crusader pilots are con- Photo * ■Ut- n°thing will do the Navy
•Cstahr u acjuaurun s lormai
duty u , ment ceremony during the ■ eekend of 28-29 March 1987, sqUadr ° tFat of regular Navy tactical shinh,,°n?' Gn the average, including 206 dp3*] cander qualifications, VFP- ar>nuall^ °^ed as many as five-times Nava) d and most °f the squadron’s f1Ve aeserve pilots spent between Crusad ten days Pcr month flying the
VFP-20b’ , '
Were r0 s ast carrier qualifications
V 0nduc‘ed on board the USS that tip^ (<~y'66) in October 1986. At record. f' dle last seven Crusader pilots loggj 'en traps each. The honor of cat8 h’e last Crusader trap, the last fthou„L aunch, and, not so proudly bolterSomeone had to do it), the last tlarrv n6,nt 10 Gommander-Selectee
°,aiCally- although the F-4 Phantom
yFP-2rv!>1® tdc 1960s, on the day of yP~207 S '3St carr'er qualifications, 20’s | Was also conducting CVWR- i K,.USt. Phantom carrier qualification
that rio.erV'n8 w*th the Naval Reserve that
VF orn u ■ 1
has since reequipped
J. COTTON
with F-14 Tomcats and will assume the CVWR-20 reconnaissance mission with the TARPS system.
The Flawkeyes’ last deployment was to NAS Fallon, Nevada, in January 1987. Being nostalgic about the Crusader, near the end of that deployment, the Flawkeyes decided to record VFP- 206’s last four-plane formation flight by joining up with a Marine Corps KC-130F air refueling tanker, which served as a photo platform for the event. The Hercules had already been tasked to refuel a pair of U. S. Marine Corps RF-4B Phantoms from VMFP-3 over the Sierra Nevada Mountains and Mojave Desert of Southern California.
But before joining up with the Hercules, three of the Crusaders briefly formed up with a pair of vintage Naval “warbirds” from The Air Museum’s “Planes of Fame” collection of historic aircraft near the Chino, California, Airport. While the events were recorded by Lieutenant Commander John Cotton
In the 1960s, people were lining up to say good-bye to the Crusaders, because the Phantom IIs were the future of naval aviation. But, the F-8s flew for 20 more years. Fittingly, one of the last four RF-8Gs snapped some photos of Marine F-4s—the Navy F-4s are now gone—before retiring for good.
with his reconnaissance cameras in Crusader #700, the other two Crusader pilots took turns flying formation with a Grumman G-58 (F8F-1) Bearcat and a Vought F4U-1 Corsair.
When the end of the line finally arrived for VFP-206 and its Crusaders, the Hawkeyes went out in style. The squadron hosted a weekend of events for former Crusader pilots and even managed to get the XF8U-1 Crusader prototype rolled out from the National Air and Space Museum for display alongside RF-8G Crusader #701, the last operational Navy Crusader and the high-time aircraft of its type in the world. At the ceremony, John Konrad, the test pilot who first flew the XF- 8U-1, met Commander Dave Strong who wa- the last pilot to fly #701.
Until that last weekend in March 1987, one of VFP-206’s mottos had been “F-8’s Forever.” However, time has a way of catching up with everything—even Crusaders.