F-8E Crusader - hobby model

[hyair]

The F-8 Crusader was one of the few american fighters that could handle the mig 21.
In 1966 the NV were supplied with the type and dogfights between the two were possible.
The Crusader operated from NAVY carriers in the Tonkin bay - so as the mig 21it was used in limited numbers.
In terms of performance here is a compare between the two :
Top speed- the mig is a bit faster mach 2.0 vs 1.8
Operational cieling 55000 feet in both
Rate of climb is the same- 25000 feet per min.
The mig is much lighter and had better acceleration
Range- the Crusader combat radius is twice bigger- 700 km
Armament- the Crusader could carry 4 sidewinders and the Fishbed 2 attol IR missiles.
The Crusader had 4× 20 mm guns and the mig 1×23 mm gun.
The Crusader was credited with 3 confirmed mig 21 kills and some 16 mig 17's and was nicknamed the " mig master ".

Yair

[hyair]

The first batch of mig -21 arrived in mid 1966 and was from the F-13 type. This version was
the main export version at the time as many Arab airforces , Cuba , Eastren European countries also recieved it from 1963 and on.
The first kill of Vietnemese mig 21F by F-8 Crusader was in late 1966 by IR sidewinder missile.

Here are some pics of the two rivals.

Yair

[talls6]

Very well done Yair. Great information on this whole thread. Great builds and a fantastic subject. I admit my wheelhouse is WW2 but seeing your builds makes me want to put one of these on the list.
Darren

[hyair]

Thanks Darren ! - ww2 is a great subject with endless types.
As for me I confined myself to the golden jet fighters era which was also
characterized by endless types of all kind - American , Russian , French and English.
Of course the Israeli air force is getting strong residency in the threads that I posted here because the IAF gained a lot of combat experience and victories while fighting with the Arab neighbors.

Yair

[hyair]

The A-7 Corsair II was developed from the F-8 Crusader with some modifications. The fuselage was shortened and the engine was without an afterburner. Also the swing wing was removed to save weight. The fuselage was strengthed to withstand heavier loads of bombs at low level flying. The speed was subsonic but a supersonic speed is not needed for an attack aircraft used mostly for attacking ground targets.

Some pics of the two one beside the other for comparetion purpose.

Yair

[hyair]

The F-7U-3M Cutlass entered service in 1955. The F-8E Crusader in 1964. The A-7D Corsair II in 1972. They represent the Vought aviation jet fighter era at it's peak.

Attached are pics of the trio on the jacks.

Yair

[hyair]

In 1958 the Skyray established 5 world records of climb to height. As both types served in the marine corps someone suggested to try a competition of climb up to 32000 feet
between the Skyray and Crusader.
The day of the competition arrived and many spectators gathered down below to see the
event. The climb of the two planes was more or less the same - the Skyray with 18000 and the
F8U with 21000 per minute - initial climb rate. However the tactics used by the two was
different. The Skyray pilot came as fast as he can in full AB and raised the nose in 70 degrees
up to the sky while from the other side the Crusader pilot choosed a different tactic of going
supersonic on the deck for some seconds more and then raised the nose vertically taking
advantage of the Crusader better speed. The fight was close but the Crusader wone by a
small margin. Both types used the same engine (J57 ) with almost the same thrust but the
thick Skyray wing created more drag from the sleek F8U thin wing .
Therefore the first Crusader types were able to reach mach 1.6 while the Skyray was struggle to achieve mach 1.1 in a level flight.
The maneuverability of the two was about the same but the Skyray was less friendly in tight
maneuvers. One department that the Skyray was limited was the fuel cspacity which was small in compare to the F8U. Add to this the drag of the skyray and you can be sure that the Crusader range was almost doubled. Therfore the Skyray always carried two 1300 liter tanks under the wings.

Yair

[hyair]

The Vietnemese main fighter throughout the Vietnam war was the mig -17. The type was old by any standard by then but it suited very well to the Vietnemese needs. It was simple to maintain and had extremely good manuverability in a dogfight. It was able to turn on a coin as the pilots used to say. The American pilots who first encountered with the mig 17 soon learned not to engage it a tight turns dogfight and to depend opon in the speed advantage of the Phantoms , Crusaders and Thuds
In the NAVY the Crusader was named the mig master and had the best kill ratio of 1 : 6 against the mig 17. In 1972 there was an incident during operation linebaker where a Vietnemese mig 17 pilot saw a shark tooth mouth Crusader closing on bim from behind over the gulf of Tonkin . The Vietnemese pilot choosed to eject the mig 17 instead of fighting against the Crusader. The pilotless mig 17 continued his flight and crashed after loosing control.
This was a testimony for the fear of the Vietnemese pilots from the "mig master ".

Yair

[hyair]

Some pics of the two opponents.

Yair

[hyair]

Both fighters participated in Vietnam war. The F-8 Crusader
with the NAVY and MSC and the F-104 Starfighter with the USAF. The main use for the F-104 was to escort the B-52 during the carpet bombing missions over south Vietnam. So the chance to meet migs was slim. The F-8 Crusader was used as a cap escort interceptor for the A-4 Skyhawk and A-6 Intruder over north Vietnam.
The Crusader had 16 kills of mig 17 and 3 kills of mig 21 and was rightly called the " mig master " and " mig slayer " . The F-104 was not credited with any kill. Looking at the two we can see that the Crusader wings are much bigger and gave it better manuverability which was
so important during dogfights.

Attached are pics of the two side by side. The Starfighter is from Wilhelmshavener and was released in the mid 60's.

Yair