The VOUGHT F-8 CRUSADER: The Last Gunfighter America's

The F-8 Crusader was a carrier-based air superiority jet fighter built by Vought for the United States Navy and Marine Corps. The first F-8's were airborne February 1955, and served principally in the Vietnam War. The F-8 was the last American fighters with guns as the primary weapon, earning it the title "The Last of the Gunfighters". The RF-8 Crusader played a crucial role in the Cuban Missile Crisis, providing essential low-level photographs impossible to acquire by other means. U.S. Naval Reserve units continued to operate the RF-8 until 1987, replaced the the F-18 Hornet.

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_The F8 was designed to use the Sidewinder as its primary weapon and the vast majority of its kills were with the Sidewinder_ . In fact, of all of the F8 kills, *only two were done with the gun and all others were sidewinder kills* . The F105 had far more gun kills than the F8 and in fact had the most gun kills of any US jet in Vietnam. The F-105 is the real "Last Gunfighter." Compared to the two gun kills of the F-8, the F-105 had 25 gun kills in Vietnam.