Vought F8U-1E (F-8B) Crusader

Last revised January 9, 2000




The next production version of the Crusader was the F8U-1E, where the E suffix stood for "electronic equipment". The F8U-1E differed from the F8U-1 primarily in having an AN/APS-67 radar which replaced the F8U-1's APG-30 ranging radar. This new radar had a small scanner in a plastic nose cone and gave the F8U-1E some all-weather capability, although this capability was quite limited. The F8U-1E retained the -1's armament, including the ventral rocket pack, although most squadrons operating the F8U-1E flew with the pack unloaded and sealed. The engine was the J57-P-4A, the same engine which powered the F8U-1 and F8U-1P.

The first F8U-1E (a converted F8U-1) flew on September 3, 1958. A total of 130 F8U-1Es were built.

In September of 1962, the F8U-1E was redesignated F-8B in accordance with the Defense Department's new Tri-Service unified designation scheme.

Serials of the F8U-1E (F-8B) were as follows:

145416/145545	Vought F8U-1E Crusader - redesignated F-8B in 1962

Sources:


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

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

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

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

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

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