RF-8 Crusader Units over Cuba and Vietnam

Follows the service of the Crusader from its launch in 1957, throughout the Cuban missile crisis and the Vietnam War. The comprehensive text includes pilots explainng the tactics used in fighter, bomber and recce sorties and there are detailed spreads on uniforms worn by RF-8 pilots.

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Although the Crusader was built first and foremost as a Navy interceptor, as has often been the tradition with US fighters, a photo-reconnaissance variant was also produced by Vought. The photo-bird's first operational test came in the autumn of 1962 when its overflights of Cuba alerted the world to the likely presence of medium-range ballistic missiles on the Caribbean island. The recce Crusader's next action came during the long years of the Vietnam War. This volume is the second of two in the Combat Aircraft series devoted to the Crusader, the first title (again by Peter Mersky) having covered the F-8 fighter variants, and their MiG-killing exploits, during the Vietnam War.