F-8 Crusader Units of the Vietnam War (Osprey Combat Aircraft 7)

Osprey's study of the role played by F-8 Crusader Units in the Vietnam War (1955-1975). Known to its pilots as the 'last of the gunfighters' due to its quartet of Colt-Browning Mk 12 20 mm cannon, the F-8 Crusader was numerically the most populous fighter in the US Navy at the start of America's involvement in the Vietnam conflict in 1964 – some 482 F-8C/D/Es equipped 17 frontline units. It enjoyed great success against North Vietnamese Mig-17s and Mig-21s during the Rolling Thunder campaign of 1965-68, officially downing 18 jets, which represented 53 per cent of all Mig claims lodged by Navy squadrons during this period. Known by its pilots as the "last of the gunfighters" due to its four 20mm Colt cannons, the F-8 Crusader enjoyed much success against North Vietnamese MiG-17s and -21s in the late 1960s. This volume includes interviews with many F-8 pilots of this period. First engagement -- Setting things up -- Making a war -- Action in the Tonkin Gulf -- War begins in ernest -- MiG killers -- Assessing the enemy -- Beyond the MiGs -- 'Leatherneck' crusaders, 1965-68 -- Final word When the French left their former colonies in Indochina in the late 1950s, the US stepped in to support the regimes that continued fighting a communist take-over. Beretter om amerikanske F-8 Crusader enheder og deres indsats under Vietnamkrigen