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      • Chris Hobson
      • Dave Lovelady
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  • Sidelines
    • Background to the Wars in Southeast Asia
    • 1961 to 1964: Civil War in Laos/Early Operations in South Vietnam
    • 1965: Escalation of the War/Start of Rolling Thunder
    • 1966: Rolling Thunder Gets into its Stride
    • 1967: Rolling Thunder - The Peak Year
    • 1968: Tet, Khe Sanh, and the End of Rolling Thunder
    • 1969: Interdiction on the Ho Chi Minh Trail
    • 1970: The Year of Withdrawal
    • 1971: A Much Reduced Presence
    • 1972: The Spring Invasion/Linebacker Campaigns
    • 1973: Winding Up the War
  • Statistics
    • Loss Statistics
    • Losses Due to Air Base Attacks
    • Losses Due to Accidents on the Ground or Aboard Ship
    • US Air Force Loss Statistics
    • US Navy Loss Statistics
    • US Marine Corps Loss Statistics
  • Details
    • Order of Battle
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The US Navy and Marine Corps F-8 Crusader (Jun 1964)

The Navy’s most numerous air superiority fighter of the late 1950s and early 1960s was the F-8 Crusader which saw extensive use in Southeast Asia during the war. The very first Navy aircraft lost during the war was an RF-8A reconnaissance aircraft from VFP-63 which was shot down over Laos on 6 June 1964. By coincidence the last Crusader to be lost during the war, on 13 December 1972, was also from VFP-63.  Nine Navy F-8 fighter squadrons were deployed to Southeast Asia during the war. The Navy F-8s flew MiGCAP and escort duties but also participated in strike missions. The aircraft’s agility and four 20mm cannons gave it an advantage over the Phantom in dogfights against the MiGs although only three of the Crusader’s 19 MiG kills were achieved by cannons as they were not always reliable. From 1966 the makers, LTV, started a remanufacturing programme upgrading the F-8B, F-8C, F-8D, and F-8E models which were redesignated the F-8L, F-8K, F-8H, and F-8J respectively. A total of 116 fighter and 31 reconnaissance Navy Crusaders were lost during the war.

The US Marine Corps deployed five squadrons of its Crusaders to Southeast Asia; four were based at Da Nang (one of them was VMCJ-1 with RF-8 reconnaissance aircraft) and one, VMF(AW)-212, flew from the USS Oriskany from April to December 1965. The carrier-based squadron lost four aircraft; VMCJ-1 lost one aircraft; while the other three squadrons lost 18 aircraft making 23 in all. The Marine Corps Crusaders flew close air support missions in South Vietnam and strike missions in North Vietnam and Laos.

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© Chris Hobson and David Lovelady. All Rights Reserved.
  • Home
  • About
    • About Us
      • Chris Hobson
      • Dave Lovelady
    • About the Book
    • About the Data
    • About this Site
  • Sidelines
    • Background to the Wars in Southeast Asia
    • 1961 to 1964: Civil War in Laos/Early Operations in South Vietnam
    • 1965: Escalation of the War/Start of Rolling Thunder
    • 1966: Rolling Thunder Gets into its Stride
    • 1967: Rolling Thunder - The Peak Year
    • 1968: Tet, Khe Sanh, and the End of Rolling Thunder
    • 1969: Interdiction on the Ho Chi Minh Trail
    • 1970: The Year of Withdrawal
    • 1971: A Much Reduced Presence
    • 1972: The Spring Invasion/Linebacker Campaigns
    • 1973: Winding Up the War
  • Statistics
    • Loss Statistics
    • Losses Due to Air Base Attacks
    • Losses Due to Accidents on the Ground or Aboard Ship
    • US Air Force Loss Statistics
    • US Navy Loss Statistics
    • US Marine Corps Loss Statistics
  • Details
    • Order of Battle
    • Index of Names
    • Abbreviations and Glossary of Operations, Code Names, and Projects
    • Bibliography
  • Searching the Database
    • Hints on How to Search
    • Notes and Caveats
    • Searching for Call Signs
    • Search Forms
  • Photo Gallery
  • Contact Us
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