Saturday, March 28, 2015

XF8U-1 Crusader Rollout at Museum of Flight on March 25th.

On Wednesday 25th March, 2015 the Museum of Flight held a celebration for the 60th anniversary of the first flight of the mighty Vought F8U Crusader at the museum’s restoration center in Everett, Washington. They publicly unveiled their XF8U-1 prototype for the first time following a decades-long restoration effort.

The museum’s XF8U-1 is Bu.No.138899, the very aircraft which made the type’s first flight six decades ago with pilot John Konrad at the helm. This inaugural flight saw the aircraft break the sound barrier, something never before attempted successfully on a jet’s maiden mission.

The type had a relatively trouble-free development, with the second prototype XF8U-1 and the production prototype F8U-1 first flying on the same day in September, 1955. The Crusader was already in carrier trials by early April, 1956 aboard the USS Forrestal, and operational the following year. From first flight to first fleet use in just two years seems incredible in today’s climate, where modern combat aircraft take well over a decade to become operational.

The Crusader received the moniker “Last of the Gunfighters” when introduced due to its internal cannon armament at a time when all other types were moving exclusively to air-to-air missiles. The Crusader was a versatile aircraft though, and got stacked with all sorts of offensive weaponry during its time in the Vietnam War. It was also a highly effective tactical reconnaissance platform, and this was the role it was perhaps most famous for due to the remarkably dangerous but vitally important photo-recon missions flown low and fast over Cuba during the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962.
















http://www.warbirdsnews.com/warbirds-news/xf8u-1-crusader-rollout-museum-flight-march-25th.html

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