Vought F-8 Crusader by William D. Spidle

If you're considering buying this book—and you really should if you have any interest in carrier-based airplanes—note the subtitle. It covers the predesign, proposals, engineering design, test (and tragedy), and marketing (think record-setting) of the Crusader and its derivatives from Vought's vision of a true supersonic carrier-based fighter through their retirement. Look elsewhere if you prefer stories beginning "There I was, upside down, in cloud, on fire, nothing on the clock except the maker's name, when suddenly...". There are several available of that genre on the F-8, whereas there are none about it that go into this level of illustrated detail.

Bill Spidle is uniquely qualified to be the author. He had unfettered access to the Vought archives that were maintained by Vought-retiree volunteers and stuffed with documents, pictures, reports, etc. contributed by Vought employees over time. Rare among company archives (some now jealously guarded and almost unavailable to researchers by the company that had absorbed them), Vought's were accessible. In exchange, he helped review and catalogue the material for several years. As a result, his book incorporates pictures, illustrations, and information not only not previously published but which I had not seen before.

Another point to consider is that it is published by Specialty Press, which is once again adding to its sales catalogue of aviation books. As a result, it is a large format (10 inches square) tome with many color and high-resolution photos printed on heavy, glossy paper, a joy to behold and peruse.

One note on the subtitle: The Navy's First Supersonic Jet Fighter. The first ones to reach the fleet were the swept-wing placeholders for those with afterburners that the U.S. Navy had ordered after World War II, the Cutlass, Skyray, Demon, and Jaguar. Like them, however, the F9F Cougar and FJ-2/3 Fury could only break the sound barrier in a dive. And that includes the F4D Skyray, often cited as the first Navy fighter to be supersonic in level flight. It was stubbornly subsonic except in a dive despite Douglas' best efforts to make it otherwise (more on that in another post). Some might argue that Grumman's F11F Tiger was the Navy's first supersonic fighter in terms of level-flight speed since it was on contract and flew before the F8U Crusader did. However, its initial flight test was without an afterburner, whereas Vought test pilot John Konrad took the F8U supersonic on its very first flight. Moreover, F8Us were delivered to Navy development squadron VX-3 in December 1956 whereas the first F11F did not arrive there until February 1957 after a somewhat protracted development required to make it satisfactory for deployment.

Brewster F2A Buffalo

I have a soft spot for unappreciated or much maligned aircraft as you could tell from the subjects of most of my monographs, i.e. soft-cover books (see http://tommythomason.com/). I might have written one about the F2A Buffalo except that it was built in some numbers and saw service use, which requires a lot more research and insuring that the expected "war stories" are accurate and representative.

Fortunately, Captain Dann is more ambitious and industrious than I and Steve Ginter continues to be open to publishing monographs on lesser known aircraft. The result is an excellent history of the Buffalo, both the airplane itself and its service life in not only the U.S. Navy but other countries.

As importantly, they had the full support of Jim Maas, who is the go-to guy for Buffalo pictures, drawings, useage, etc.

The result is the most in-depth and complete book on the F2A that we are likely to ever have. The various types are described in detail with copious pictures and illustrations, including development and proposed modifications/improvements. Their usage is summarized by country and squadron and includes first-person commentary. Regardless of the extent of your knowledge of the type, I can all but guarantee that there will be pictures that you have not seen before and information that you did not know. (I was unaware of the one-off "XF2A-4", for example.)

As is customary in Ginter publications on specific types (see http://www.ginterbooks.com/), it concludes with a summary of model kits available. Note that you can buy them directly from him, which will help keep these histories of esoteric subjects coming.

F8U-3 Auxiliary Rocket Engine

One of the options after World War II that the U.S. Navy considered for the defense of the carrier against incoming bombers was the deck-launched interceptor. The performance priority was on rate of climb, which required the highest possible thrust-to-weight ratio at the expense of endurance. (Another desire was the ability to launch with zero wind-over-deck or even a tailwind so a time-consuming turn into the wind wasn't necessary.)

Adding a rocket engine for auxiliary thrust in the takeoff, climb, and acceleration phases was therefore very attractive because of the rocket's thrust relative to its weight and the oxidizer required. The Navy was already utilizing JATO (Jet Assisted Takeoff) for seaplane operation in rough water and carrier takeoffs without the benefit of a catapult. The A3D was JATO-capable for just that reason, to be launched with an atomic bomb even if the carrier's catapults were out of action.

JATO was actually a solid-fuel rocket that didn't provide thrust for very long. What was needed was a liquid-fuel rocket. The ultimate in this regard was an interceptor that was relied on rocket engines only. See http://thanlont.blogspot.com/2012/11/and-now-for-something-completely.html

While this concept wasn't taken up, the addition of rocket engines was a feature during the competition for the fleet air defense fighter that resulted in the F4H Phantom. In fact, BuAer was planning on buying some F8U-3s with an auxiliary rocket engine. This is a ground test installation in an F8U-1's aft fuselage.

Reaction Motors was originally selected by BuAer to provide the 8,000-lb thrust rocket engine that was to be located in a fairing at the base of the vertical fin. The airplane's jet fuel was mixed with an oxidizer, hydrogen peroxide, to provide the thrust. (Some of the F8U-3's fuel tanks had to be dedicated to the oxidizer, reducing endurance.) Unfortunately, there was a tragic accident during the test of this engine at the Naval Air Rocket Test Station in Dover, New Jersey. Glenn Repp provided this summary report.

Reaction Motors was replaced by Aerojet and design work continued at Vought, but the auxiliary rocket concept was abandoned when the F8U-3 lost the fly-off to the F4H-1.

For much more on the F8U-3 program, see my monograph available from Steve Ginter:
http://www.ginterbooks.com/NAVAL/NF87.htm

Extravagantly Illustrated and Detailed VQ-2 History!

Click on the image to better see the preorder offer for this cradle-to-grave history of one of the earliest and most  used electronic reconnaissance squadrons, which went in harm's way to obtain the intelligence necessary to minimize harm to those that might have to follow.

This collage illustrates the breath and depth of this monograph from noted naval aviation historian, author, and photographer, Angelo Romano and his coauthor, VQ-2's John Herndon:

The Short, Tragic Operation of the F-4 Phantom by the Blue Angels

In the process of doing some fact checking on the operation of the F-4 Phantom by the Blue Angels, I discovered that many of the online articles about it are somewhat incorrect, beginning with the statement that it served with them from 1969 to 1974. In fact, the 1973 season was tragically terminated early and the Blues resumed flight demonstrations in early 1974 flying Douglas A-4 Skyhawks.

In 1968, the Grumman F11F Tigers, which had served the Blues well for a decade, were increasingly hard to campaign with. Various alternatives were evaluated, but by chance the seemingly ideal candidate was the so-called lead-nosed F-4J. The F-4J was succeeding the F-4B on the production line in St. Louis. The major changes were the AWG-10 radar and fire control system and the J79-GE-10 engine (the identical dash numbers were coincidental). As it happened, both were government furnished equipment and deliveries were behind schedule. The Navy agreed to let McDonnell complete and deliver the first of the Js with lead ballast in the nose (hence the nickname) and the B's -8 engines. Otherwise the airplanes were identical to the J configuration: removal of the IR detector under the radome, bulged inner wing for the bigger main landing gear tires introduced with the Air Force F-4C, lift improvements introduced late in F-4B production, etc. (see http://tailspintopics.blogspot.com/2012/12/you-cant-tell-phantoms-without-score.html)

There were 18 of these built, five in production block 26 and 13 in production block 27, BuNos 153071-153088. Although the Navy had other non-deployable uses for them, their assignment to the Blues was logical since neither the lack of a radar (which allowed the nose to be used as a baggage compartment) or the slightly lower engine thrust of the -8 engine was a drawback. The only external difference apparent from a -10 powered J was the visible portion of the afterburner nozzle (also see http://tailspintopics.blogspot.com/2012/12/j79-exhaust-nozzles.html).

The difference between the nozzles was more apparent when the engine was running but not in afterburner because of the different way the reduction in area for "dry" thrust was mechanized.

Many modifications were made to convert most of these Js to the Blue Angels configuration. These included installation of the Air Force anti-skid braking system, additional radio and navigation avionics*, the smoke system, a gaseous oxygen system, etc. The flight control and throttle systems were also modified to provide more precise control in formation and early activation of afterburning. (Joe Debronski, McAir's chief test pilot at the time, flew a formation flight on the wing of the Blues leader at the time, CDR Bill Wheat, in 1968 as the latter put his F11F through the maneuvers required: "(Bill) had requested that I do this to help me understand the need for changes they wanted in the longitudinal control-feel system".)

* For the configuration of the antennas mounted in the rear canopy, click here: http://tailhooktopics.blogspot.com/2022/04/blue-angel-f-4j-rear-canopy-antenna.html

Wheat accepted the first of an initial seven Blues F-4Js on 23 December 1968. Twelve of the lead-nose Js were eventually converted to the Blue Angels configuration and flown by them at air shows. Ten of them, plus one of the two replacement, -10 powered, Js were destroyed:

Half were the result of three midair collisions. Although trading paint was not unknown because of the extremely close formation flying that the Blues were famous for, actual collisions resulting in a crash had been rare up until then. However, up until the last midair only one of the crashes had been fatal.

Some internet articles also incorrectly identify the specific Phantoms operated by the Blue Angels. One of my F-4 subject-matter experts, Peter Greengrass, provided the following list based on F-4 Aircraft History Cards and other sources;

153072: Midair with 153081 26 July 1973, Lakehurst, NJ
153075: Fuel exhaustion near El Paso, TX 6 November 1969
153076: Reassigned 25 September 1973
153078: Midair with 153081 19 September 1969 (081 did not crash)
153079: Midair with 153080 and 083 at El Centro, 8 March 1973
153080: Midair with 153079 and 083 at El Centro, 8 March 1973
153081: Midair with 153072 26 July 1973, Lakehurst, NJ
153082: In-flight fire 4 June 1971 at Quonset, RI
153083: Midair with 153079 and 080 at El Centro, 8 March 1973
153084: Reassigned 25 September 1973
153085: Gear-up landing 30 August 1970 at Cedar Rapids, IA
153086: Crashed 14 February 1972 in Superstition Mountains, AZ
153839: Reassigned 25 September 1973
153876: Crashed 8 July 1973 at Lake Charles, LA

Note that 153077 is not on this list although it is sometimes identified as a former Blue Angels F-4J; Peter wrote that it was assigned for its entire service life to NATC, Patuxent River. There were also only two later Js assigned. In this picture of the two solos in formation, the -10 powered F-4J is inverted and the -8 powered one is right side up.

Peter also identified three F-4Bs that were briefly assigned to the Blues early on for training/proficiency/hack duties: 150996, 152982, and 153068. These were stock and did not sport the Blues livery.

1973 was both a triumph and a tragedy for the Blue Angels. It began ominously with a three-plane collision during training in March at El Centro. All three pilots ejected successfully but leader LCDR Don Bently was injured and had to be replaced by former Blue Angel LCDR Skip Umstead. In June, he led them on a multi-venue European tour including performances at the prestigious Paris Air Show. Tragically, he was killed along with Marine CAPT Mike Murphy and Ronald Thomas, one of the two Petty Officers flying with them when they collided during arrival at Lakehurst, NJ for a show.

That disaster ended the Phantoms use by the Blues and the 1973 season. It also almost resulted in the Blues being disbanded but in part due to the support of the Chief of Naval Operations, the team was reformed that winter with Douglas A-4F "Super Fox" Skyhawks (see http://tailspintopics.blogspot.com/2011/02/super-fox.html) that had been made redundant with the introduction of the Vought A-7 Corsair. A successful 1974 season resulted.

For more information on the F-4 Phantom with the Blue Angels, see the following on Ron Downey's excellent blog:

McAir Flight Test Report

Information and Markings

 In response to the question below about the color of the interior of the landing gear doors:

While this is toward the end of the team's use of the F-4, there is a picture of the 1969 team where it's apparent that the doors were white on the inside.

A Carrier-Based Zipper?

In early 1953, Lockheed proposed its Model L-242 in response to the Navy's requests for proposals meeting its Outline Specification 130.

The design was similar to the Model L-246, which won the USAF competition for an F-100 day fighter replacement and was designated XF-104. Lockheed projected that it would easily meet or even better all of the Navy's requirements, including takeoffs from and landings to an aircraft carrier. With the same wing area (not much) and thickness (three inches) as the Air Force's version.

One reason that this was plausible was that the original XF-104 had a shorter fuselage that the production F-104 overlay shown here in gray, which reduced empty weight.

Another was that what little wing there was had features to maximize lift. Spoilers were the primary roll control with the inboard segment of the full-span flaps doubling as roll trim. A new low-speed lift concept, boundary layer control, was also incorporated to increase trailing-edge flap effectiveness.

Although the proposed design had zero dihedral,  subsequent wind tunnel testing would have resulted in five degrees of anhedral.

It was of course, very unlikely that the Navy would have trusted Lockheed, which had essentially zero carrier-based fighter experience (there was a modified P-80 that was evaluated at-sea*) with a contract for one even if none of its favored suppliers bid. As it happened, Vought won the competition with what was to be the F8U Crusader. And that bet was hedged by contracts to North American for the FJ-4 Fury, Grumman for the F11F Tiger, and Douglas for the F4D-2 (F5D) Skylancer. Only McDonnell was left out, which was worrisome for a time in St. Louis, but the consolation prize led to the F4H Phantom.

One footnote to the Navy Zipper (the sound and impression it made on a low, fast flyby) story was a modeler's April Fools article about the Navy modifying two F-104s for carrier operation, for which photos of two F-104s being used to test the Sidewinder at China Lake (or maybe just to get some flight time in one) added plausibility.

That sucked in more than one publication. For an example: http://www.warbirdsnews.com/warbirds-news/fun-facts/lockheeds-navy-f-104-u-s-navy-markings.html

* See http://thanlont.blogspot.com/2012/02/navy-shooting-stars.html

The Complete and Illustrated LSO Guide and Much More

Once upon a time, I posted a brief summary of the history of Landing Signal Officers here:
http://thanlont.blogspot.com/2012/11/waving-them-aboard-lso.html (also see http://thanlont.blogspot.com/2017/01/1946-royal-navy-deck-landing-training.html).

Boom Powell, Naval Aviator and LSO, has written a much more entertaining and informative book on LSOs, published by Specialty Press:

You can read the rave reviews on Amazon here:
https://www.amazon.com/Wave-Off-History-LSOs-Ship-Board-Landings/dp/1580072356