Vought F-8E Crusader

[PremiumFuelOnly 1,604]

Aircraft: Vought F-8E Crusader

 

Classification: Single-engine, carrier-based jet fighter

 

Visuals:

 

Spoiler

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Description: The Vought F-8E, also known as the F8U-2NE, was the definitive production variant of the Crusader series of aircraft. Widely known as “The Last Gunfighter”, the Crusader was a highly innovative aircraft for the time in which it was developed, featuring a variable-incidence wing that extended out of the fuselage by 7 degrees during takeoff and landing, allowing for a greater AoA that increased lift at low speeds. The F-8 also featured leading-edge slats, an area-ruled fuselage, an all moving stabilator, dog-tooth wings for increased yaw stability, and of course, four 20mm cannon that earned the Crusader the distinction of being the last US fighter designed around gun armament as the main weapon.

 

The first F-8 Crusader took to the air on March 25th, 1955, with VX-3 being the first unit to receive the type in late ‘56.

 

The F-8E was the final production variant, and differed from previous versions on account of its improved APQ-94 radar that afforded it all-weather capability compared to its mainly day-fighter  only predecessors. The F-8E also offered a greater air-to-ground capability, which was increasingly relevant during its service in Vietnam.

 

Carrier trials of the F-8E occurred in 1963, with production ending in mid-1964. Vought would go on to improve the aircraft during its service life, adapting it to various use cases and military needs, primarily by converting the F-8E into the F-8J via a more powerful engine, wet pylons, and a new radar. The Crusader also saw usage in foreign militaries, especially with the French Aéronavale, who used a slightly modified version of the F-8E to suit their air superiority needs.

 

Fuel and Oil Data:

Internal Fuel Capacity: 1348 gallons (759 gal in fuselage, 589 gal in wing)

Oil Capacity: 8.5 gallons

 

Engine Data:

Manufacturer: Pratt & Whitney

Designation: J57-P-20

Type: axial

Compressor Stages: two-spool, 16-stage

Fuel Grade: JP-5

 

Power Data:

Afterburner Power: 18000 lbf

Military Power: 10700 lbf

Normal Power: 9150 lbf

 

Dimensional Data:

Length: 54 ft, 3.75 in

Height: 15 ft, 9.1 in

Wing Span: 35 ft, 8 in

Wing Area: 375 sq. ft

Wing Loading: 69.6 lbs/sq. ft @ combat weight

 

Weight Data:

Empty Weight: 17836 lbs

Design Weight: 26000 lbs (with no stores)

Combat Weight w/ 4x Sidewinders: 26098 lbs
Maximum Field Takeoff Weight: 34100 lbs

Fuel Weight: 9167 lbs (full tank)

 

General Performance Data (takeoff weight of 29765 lbs, 4x Sidewinders):

Max Speed @ Altitude: 584 knots (1081.6 kph) @ 10,000 ft w/ military thrust

Rate of Climb @ SL:  5590 ft/min (28.4 m/s) w/ military thrust

Power-off, flaps-up Stall Speed: 144.9 knots (268.4 kph)

Takeoff Distance: 7200 ft

Combat Ceiling: 52350 ft (combat weight, afterburning)

 

NOTE: exact speed:altitude figures have limited accuracy (+/- 5 knots) due to SAC graph resolution in some instances.

Maximum Speeds (combat weight of 26098 lbs, 4x Sidewinders, afterburner):

At SL: 651 knots (1205.7 kph)

At 10000 ft: ~657 knots (1216.8 kph)

At 20000 ft: ~708 knots (1311.2 kph)

At 30000 ft: ~870 knots (1611.2 kph)

At 35000 ft: 984 knots (1822.4 kph)

At 40000 ft: ~930 knots (1722.4 kph)

At 50000 ft: ~570 knots (1055.6 kph)

 

NOTE: exact climb:altitude figures have limited accuracy due to SAC graph resolution.

Rate of Climb (combat weight of 26098 lbs, 4x Sidewinders, afterburner):

At SL: 27200 ft/min (138.2 m/s)

At 10000 ft: ~25300 ft/min (128.5 m/s)

At 20000 ft: ~21400 ft/min (108.7 m/s)

At 30000 ft: ~15500 ft/min (78.7 m/s)

At 35000 ft: 11900 ft/min (60.5 m/s)

At 40000 ft: ~8000 ft/min (40.6 m/s)

 

Time to Climb (takeoff weight of 29675 lbs, 4x Sidewinders, military thrust):

From SL to 20K ft: 4.5 min

From SL to 30K ft: 7.9 min

 

Armament:

Guns: 4x Colt Mk.12 Mod 3 20mm cannon (500 rounds total)

Bomb/Rocket/Missile Ordnance:

• 2x AIM-9B Sidewinder missiles
• 4x AIM-9B Sidewinder missiles
• 4x Zuni AGMs
• 8x Zuni AGMs
• 2x AGM-12A
• 2x AGM-12B
• 12x Mk.81 250 lb bombs
• 8x Mk.82 500 lb bombs
• 2x Mk.83 1000 lb bombs
• 2x Mk.84 2000 lb bombs

 

Sources:

[1] Standard Aircraft Characteristics: F-8E Crusader Chance Vought, NAVAIR 00-110AF8-5, 1 July 1967

[2] NATOPS Flight Manual Navy Model F-8D, F-8E Aircraft, NAVWEPS 01-45HHD-1, 1 November 1964, Changed 15 January 1967

Edited January 10, 2019 by Aquilachrysaetos

[Princess_Pinch 5,625]

Open for discussion. 

[joshwagstaff13 410]

In addition to what you have, you might also want to include the burst mass for the Mk 12 cannons (7.333 kg/s).

[Dinosorcerer 0]

I don't see why it shouldn't be added. It was a contemporary of the Super Sabre. I don't think we're going to get it for a little while though. They'd have to add in either Forrestal-class carriers or the refit of the Essex class for this navy jet to really strut its stuff.

If Gaijin is prepared to do this thing any justice, it should be a beast. The Soviets feared it. From MiG Master, by Barrett Tillman: "British aviation writer Bill Gunston remembers 'a typical Russian cocktail party' in Paris about 1962. Gunston doesn’t recall the occasion—possibly a celebration of a Soviet space triumph for the aviation press—but he does remember he was 'amazed to find a few people present who had interesting things to say.' One of them was a high-ranking Soviet officer dressed in civilian clothes. During the conversation, Gunston asked which Western aircraft the Eastern bloc most respected. After a brief pause, the Russian made his choice: Chance Vought’s Crusader. The F8U, he said, was likely to appear at almost any spot on the globe and establish air superiority."

Edited January 11, 2019 by Dinosorcerer

[Trotrodor 2,670]

+1

[swpixy 1,220]

One of my favourites,actually.Very much yes.

 

[dotEXCEL 5,969]

+1

[TyphoonCro 6,833]

"When you're out of F-8's, you're out of fighters"

 

Damn right...

(And supporting this as well)

[Milocat 4,857]

This would be a really good tier 6 jet for the U.S. navy line.  +1!

[Fa11enPhoenix 1,405]

12 hours ago, Milocat said:

This would be a really good tier 6 jet for the U.S. navy line.  +1!

 

And the French line as well with a few minor tweaks to the model 

Viens ici Cruz

 

Its pretty much the closest USN equivalent of the F-100 so why not?

[RanchSauce39 397]

 

 

Yes seems appropriate for the USN

 

Quote

Its pretty much the closest USN equivalent of the F-100 so why not?

 

actually i would the F11F would be better suited as a naval contemporary.

 

The F8 has  higher performance than the F100  :

 

superior top speed of mach 1.8 for F8E, whereas the F100 is mach 1.4.

 

, and superior T/W ratio of 0.62 vs F100s 0.55 

 

Furthermore if you take into consideration that Gajin even said they plan radars for A/C at some point, thats yet another advantage as the F8 crusader has an actual search radar, whilst the F-100 only has a radar ranging unit working with a lead computing gunsight.

Edited February 10, 2019 by RanchSauce39

[PantherAl 4,883]

Yes, please give F8 to the US and French Trees.

 

 

At least the US. 

[Trotrodor 2,670]

who doesn't want it XD

[EpicBlitzkrieg87 8,350]

3 hours ago, PantherAl said:

Yes, please give F8 to the US and French Trees.

 

 

France has a good number of designs for tier 6 though, no need for the F-8E there.

[RanchSauce39 397]

1 hour ago, EpicBlitzkrieg87 said:

 

France has a good number of designs for tier 6 though, no need for the F-8E there.

 

no the F8 crusader will fill the need of a carrier based fighter for tier 6. Deny that to the French tree and then all they have is Naval based attack jets.. Just like IRL the reason why france adopted the crusader was because whilst thy had many light attack jets for thier carriers they lacked a carrier fighter/interceptor for fleet defense.

 

 

F4 was too big for their carriers so the F8 crusader was chosen. Most importantly the French based F8E is not a exact copy paste of the US navy F8E.

 

Differences are it was modified to use blown flaps, and aoa indexer changed from 5 to 7 degrees. Also to note Unlike the American F8E which could only use Sidewinders, the French based Crusaders were modified  could use Radar guided French made R530 missiles as an alternative to Aim9's. Later in its service life further modified with new After burner and modified  with F8J wings, as well  to use French R550  IR missiles within the 1970s. This  French modified F8E was can be followed  in the French tree by F8P Crusader  a 1980s service life  air-frame extension program and modernization which was equipped with all aspect Magic 2 heatseakers. This was Frances Only true Naval Fighter until finally being replaced by the navalized version of the Rafael  ( M model)

Edited February 10, 2019 by RanchSauce39

[EpicBlitzkrieg87 8,350]

5 minutes ago, RanchSauce39 said:

no the F8 crusader will fill the need of a carrier based fighter for tier 6. Deny that to the French tree and then all they have is Naval based attack jets.. Just like IRL the reason why france adopted the crusader was because whilst thy had many light attack jets for thier carriers they lacked a carrier fighter/interceptor for fleet defense.

 

 

Etendard VI second prototype, Etendard IVA, Etendard IVM, Super Etendard?..

 

7 minutes ago, RanchSauce39 said:

Differences are it was modified to use blown flaps, and aoa indexer changed from 5 to 7 degrees. Also to note Unlike the American F8E which could only use Sidewinders, the French based Crusaders were modified  could use Radar guided French made R530 missiles as an alternative to Aim9's.

 

So that's unique, then I don't mind it!

[RanchSauce39 397]

26 minutes ago, EpicBlitzkrieg87 said:

 

Etendard VI second prototype, Etendard IVA, Etendard IVM, Super Etendard?..

 

 

 

 

 

 

I never said they didn't have naval aircraft, i said they lacked  naval Fighter/interceptors. AS the aircraft you mentioned none of those are naval fighter/interceptors,

 

 

all of the above are carrier attack/strike jets. Not to mention they cant reach supersonic speeds in level flight.

 

to quote

 

33 minutes ago, RanchSauce39 said:

 

 the F8 crusader will fill the need of a carrier based fighter for tier 6. Deny that to the French tree and then all they have is Naval based attack jets.. Just like IRL the reason why France adopted the crusader was because whilst thy had  attack jets for their carriers they lacked a carrier fighter/interceptor for fleet defense.

 

 

Edited February 10, 2019 by RanchSauce39

[Fa11enPhoenix 1,405]

On 10/02/2019 at 16:47, RanchSauce39 said:

actually i would the F11F would be better suited as a naval contemporary.

 

The F8 has  higher performance than the F100  :

 

superior top speed of mach 1.8 for F8E, whereas the F100 is mach 1.4.

 

, and superior T/W ratio of 0.62 vs F100s 0.55 

 

Furthermore if you take into consideration that Gajin even said they plan radars for A/C at some point, thats yet another advantage as the F8 crusader has an actual search radar, whilst the F-100 only has a radar ranging unit working with a lead computing gunsight.

 

Yeah fair point actually.

 

F-8E sits somewhere between the F-100 and F-104, much faster than one and much slower than the other. Could maybe get away with an F-8A initially since it had a less powerful engin then the F-8E as the next in tree... less model work than adding the Crusader and Tiger so easier route for Gaijin.... not that I wouldn't like to see the Tiger.

 

For the Radar, I'll have to do more reading but I seem to recall it wasn't particularly well regarded even by the standards of the time, basically just not enough space up front for a decent sized antennae. 

[PaganMin_ 483]

On 10/02/2019 at 15:59, Fa11enPhoenix said:

 

And the French line as well with a few minor tweaks to the model 

Pls no

On 16/02/2019 at 12:50, Fa11enPhoenix said:

 less model work than adding the Crusader and Tiger so easier route for Gaijin....

You mean the Freedom Fighter?

[Fa11enPhoenix 1,405]

On 19/02/2019 at 12:00, DrEvil__ said:

Pls no

You mean the Freedom Fighter?

 

Why not... the French used them far longer as fighters than either the USN or USMC...  the last US fighter F-8's went out in 1976, after that its was only RF-8's whereas the last French birds were still operational in 1999. This was the only fighter the Marine Nationale operated between the 1950's Aquilon and the Rafale M...the Etendard is not and never was a fighter.

 

"Le Crouze" is the only Tier VI+ option available for the naval fighter role on the French tree, so If the Crusader is added France is going to get it, simple as that.

 

And no I did not mean the Freedom Fighter I meant the Tiger, as in Grumman F-11 not Northrop F-5.

Edited February 20, 2019 by Fa11enPhoenix

[ekg98 596]

Hopefully multiple variants get added. Including slower earlier ones. Maybe grouped together. 

[Nicolaser 2,024]

On 10/02/2019 at 21:52, RanchSauce39 said:

 

 

 

I never said they didn't have naval aircraft, i said they lacked  naval Fighter/interceptors. AS the aircraft you mentioned none of those are naval fighter/interceptors,

 

 

all of the above are carrier attack/strike jets. Not to mention they cant reach supersonic speeds in level flight.

Super étendard is supersonics in level flight 

http://www.avialogs.com/viewer/avialogs-documentviewer.php?id=1890

And it is an omnipurpose plane since it can carry some R550 magic which are air to air missile 

 

Quote

to quote

 

 

 

[Fa11enPhoenix 1,405]

7 hours ago, Nicolaser said:

Super étendard is supersonics in level flight 

http://www.avialogs.com/viewer/avialogs-documentviewer.php?id=1890

And it is an omnipurpose plane since it can carry some R550 magic which are air to air missile 

 

 

 

Many attack aircraft such as the Etendard, Jaguar and A-7 carried air to air missiles for self defense... this absolutely does not make them fighters.

 

The Nimrod could carry sidewinders... does that make it a fighter?

[RanchSauce39 397]

8 hours ago, Nicolaser said:

Super étendard is supersonics in level flight 

 

And it is an omnipurpose plane since it can carry some R550 magic which are air to air missile 

 

 

1205 KM/H ( absolute max) is still not Supersonic in level flight. F100 and Mig19 all have top speeds faster than it and those are  actual Supersonic fighters, with a T/W ratio of 0.42, it certainly isn't going to be out-accelerating those 2 planes to respective top speeds.

 

 

 

 

 

1 hour ago, Fa11enPhoenix said:

 

Many attack aircraft such as the Etendard, Jaguar and A-7 carried air to air missiles for self defense... this absolutely does not make them fighters.

 

The Nimrod could carry sidewinders... does that make it a fighter?



 

 

^^^^^^^^

 

Exactly this

 

 

Edited February 23, 2019 by RanchSauce39

[Nicolaser 2,024]

2 hours ago, RanchSauce39 said:

 

 

1205 KM/H ( absolute max) is still not Supersonic in level flight. F100 and Mig19 all have top speeds faster than it and those are  actual Supersonic fighters, with a T/W ratio of 0.42, it certainly isn't going to be out-accelerating those 2 planes to respective top speeds.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

^^^^^^^^

 

Exactly this

 

 

You didn't even read the document that I quote, the maximum speed of the plane in level flight is M 1.3 but the plane can only reach 1205 km/h at low alt

 

 

And the plane has also 100% air to air dedicated configuration

Edited February 23, 2019 by Nicolaser