Of course we all know that the US Navy and its history of dogfighting which saw its beginning with Wildcats and Hellcats running and gunning against Japanese Zeroes make the stage. Then we saw Sabres and MiGs clash over the skies of Northern Korea. Lastly the “Last Gunfighter” also known as the Vought F- Crusader had its time in the sky over Vietnam. This bird was the quintessential gun fighter and won its acclaim with its aerial prowess and dogfighting abilities.
Tom Cruise Never Flew In the Crusader
America’s US Navy shot down an unprecedented number of MiGs during the Vietnam War and their kill ratio was incredible. They did this because of the pilots, their skills and interceptors like the F-8 Crusader. The damn thing looked dangerous when parked on a Navy carrier. Tom Cruise wishes he had flown a bird like this, but never did.
She packed a punch
With its ability to each Mach 1.8 or roughly 1227 miles per hour she carried 4 20mm cannons and an assortment of missile. She was a gunfighter. As a supersonic, single-engine air superiority aircraft she controlled the skies. Launched for the deck of a United States Navy aircraft carrier she was often coined by her pilots as a joy to fly.
The F-8 Crusader has joined the Cold War Combatants Challenge coin series exclusively offered at Vision-Strike-Coins.Com. Each of these challenge coins features the incredible machines of war found during the Cold War and used by both the United States and their adversary the CCCP or otherwise known as the Soviets and communist Russia. Come take a visit and pick up this US military historical coin and own a piece of the legendary aircraft now professionally presented in coin form.
