The Vought F-8 Crusader Was The US Navy’s Last Traditional Dogfighting Jet

Marketed as ‘Last of the Gunfighters’ and nicknamed the ‘Gator’ by ship deck crews, the Vought F-8 Crusader (F8U before 1962) was the US Navy’s first supersonic, carrier based fighter*. Taking advantage of a ‘coke bottle’ fuselage profile typical of late 1950s jet fighters, the Crusader outperformed the US Air Force’s F-100 Super Sabre in almost every respect…