Subject: Vought F-8 Crusader (1 of 18)

From: [email-masked] (joseph.f.baugher)
Date: 29 Aug 94 00:22:49 GMT

In September of 1952, the Navy issued a Request For Proposals for a new 
carrier-based day fighter capable of Mach 1.2 at 30,000 feet and Mach 
0.9 at sea level, an initial climb rate of 25,000 feet per minute, and 
a landing speed of only 100 knots.  The RFP was issued to McDonnell, 
North American, Douglas, Convair, Lockheed, Grumman, Vought, and 
Republic.  

The Chance Vought company of Dallas, Texas went to work on their 
proposal.  At that time, Chance Vought was a part of the United 
Aircraft Corporation.  Vought engineer John Russell Clark led the 
design team.  He had worked on the F6U Pirate and the F7U Cutlass.  

A total of 21 proposals were submitted from eight different aircraft 
companies.  The most viable proposals were deemed by the Navy to be 
the Grumman XF11F-2 (a version of the F11F Tiger powered by the 
General Electric J79), the McDonnell F3H-G (a twin-engined adaptation 
of the F3H Demon), and the North American "Super Fury" (a navalized 
F-100), plus the Vought submission, which was given the company 
designation V-383.  

In May of 1953, the Navy selected the Vought V-383 as the winner of 
the competition.  The Navy at that time ordered several mockups and 
wind tunnel test models.  The designation XF8U-1 was assigned.  At the 
same time, the reconnaissance version, V-392, was also ordered under 
the designation F8U-1P.  

The Vought proposal was designed around the Pratt & Whitney J57-P-11 
axial flow turbojet, which offered 10,900 lb.s.t. dry and 14,500 
lb.s.t. with afterburning.  The most unusual feature of the Vought 
design was the use of a high-mounted swept wing whose angle of 
incidence could be varied in flight.  During takeoff or landing, the 
angle of incidence could be increased by seven degrees, which enabled 
the wing to retain a high-angle of attack during takeoff and landing, 
and yet enabled the fuselage to remain fairly level for better forward 
visibility.  The variable-incidence wing was operated by positioning 
and locking handles inside the cockpit.  When the wing is raised, the 
center section protrudes into the airstream, thereby acting as a large 
speed brake.  The ailerons and the entire wing leading edge surfaces 
were interconnected and were automatically lowered to 25 degrees when 
the wing was raised.  Inboard of the ailerons were a pair of small 
landing flaps which extended about five degrees more than the ailerons.  

The wing had a sweepback of 42 degrees at one-quarter chord and a 
total area of 350 square feet.  The anhedral was five degrees.  The 
outer wing panels fold vertically upward for carrier stowage and carry 
no control surfaces.  However, they still have the drooping leading 
edge, providing a characteristic "dog-tooth", a chord-wise outer wing 
extension to decrease instability when approaching the stall and to 
minimize pitch-up tendency at high speeds.  

The fuselage conformed to the Area Rule, in which the cross-section of 
the fuselage was narrowed in the region of the wing.  Extensive use 
was made of titanium, with the rear fuselage around the afterburner 
being constructed of this metal, plus extensive parts of the central 
structure.  The extreme nose housed the fire control radar, and the 
J57 engine was fed by a oval chin-type intake located underneath the 
radome.  The all-flying tailplane was mounted low on the rear fuselage 
and had a slight dihedral.  

The variable-incidence wing obviated the need for a stalky forward 
landing gear leg to keep the nose up during takeoff and landing, which 
in turn kept the gear relatively strong and of low weight.  The main 
landing gear members retracted forward into bays in the lower 
fuselage.  The nose landing gear member was fully steerable and 
retracted rearwards into the fuselage.  

A ram-air turbine was installed on a hinged panel in the right side of 
the forward fuselage.  When extended into the airstream, it could 
provide emergency hydraulic and electrical power.  

The planned armament was four 20-mm Mk 12 cannon, two on each side of 
the forward fuselage, with 144 rounds per gun.  In addition, there was 
to be provision for cheek rails immediately aft of the cockpit for a 
single Sidewinder air-to-air missile, one on each side.  A retractable 
rocket pack housing 32 2.75-inch unguided rocket was to be installed 
in the fuselage belly just underneath the air brake.  

In June of 1953, the Navy ordered three prototypes under the 
designation XF8U-1.  Bureau of Aeronautics serial numbers were 138899 
through 138901.  Only two of these prototypes were actually built, 
138901 being cancelled before it could be built.  

The first prototype (BuNo 138899) was ready for its first flight in 
February of 1955.  It was trucked out to Edwards AFB for its first 
flight.  It took off on its maiden flight on March 25, 1955, Vought 
chief test pilot John Konrad being at the controls.  It went 
supersonic on its first flight.  

The second prototype (138900) flew for the first time on September 30, 
1955.  It was essentially identical to the first.  

138899 made 508 flights during its five years of testing.  In 1960, it 
was donated to the Smithsonian Institution in Washington.  It is 
currently in storage at the Smithsonian's Silver Hill facility in 
Suitland, Maryland.  The second prototype (138900) was scrapped after 
460 flights.  

138899/138901 	Chance Vought XF8U-1 Crusader (138901 cancelled) 

Sources:

    Vought F-8 Crusader, Peter Mersky, Osprey, 1981.

    The Aircraft of the World, William Green and Gerald Pollinger,
    Doubleday, 1965.

    The American Fighter, Enzo Angelucci and Peter Bowers, Orion, 1987.

    United States Navy Aircraft Since 1911, Gordon Swanborough and
    Peter M. Bowers, Smithsonian, 1989.

    Ray Wagner, American Combat Planes, Third Enlarged Edition,
    Doubleday, 1982.

    The World's Fighting Planes, William Green, Doubleday, 1968.

    The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft Armament, Bill Gunston,
    Orion, 1988.

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