Despite its designation of F8U-3, the V-401, first flown on 2 June 1958, was a totally new fighter developed in competition with the McDonnell F4H-1 Phantom II. Vought received contracts for 18 F8U-3s, although, in the event, only five were actually built and two of these remained unflown when cancellation of contracts terminated further work. Known to the manufacturer as the Crusader III, the F8U-3 retained some of the features of the original F8U, such as the variable wing incidence, but was a substantially larger, heavier and more powerful single-seat fighter. The F8U-3 was powered by a Pratt & Whitney J75-P-5A engine affording 7484kgp boosted to 13381kgp with afterburning. Provision was made for a 2722kgp Rocketdyne auxiliary rocket motor in the rear fuselage, and the all-missile armament consisted of three beam-riding Sparrow III AAMs. The F8U-3 had a forward-raked, variable-position, chin-type air intake, and a pair of large ventral fins was linked to the undercarriage retraction mechanism, being raised to the horizontal position when the wheels were extended and adopting a near-vertical attitude when the wheels were retracted. The F8U-3 attained 2832km/h, or Mach=2.6, during flight test, but Vought believed that it was capable of Mach=2.9. With selection of the F4H-1 as the US Navy's next generation shipboard fighter, the F8U-3 was cancelled, the three examples flown having accumulated a total of 190 flight tests.

3-View

A three-view drawing (1680 x 1193)