Chance-Vought RF-8G Crusader

The F8U Crusader was the first carrier-based jet fighter to exceed 1,600 kilometers (1,000 miles) per hour. Its variable-incidence wing, which could elevate up to seven degrees in the front while rotating about its rear spar, helped improve the aircraft's flight characteristics at slow speeds and increase pilot visibility for takeoff and landing. Its folding outer wing tips facilitated storage on aircraft carriers. Improvements were made to the engines and radar, and ventral fins were added under the tail for increased directional stability. Of the 1,261 Crusaders built, 73 were modified as RF-8G reconnaissance models.This RF-8G was the last operational Navy F-8. Delivered as an F8U-1P, it spent its first seven years with the Marine Corps and flew 400 combat hours in Southeast Asia. Its career total of 7,475.2 flight hours is the most of any U.S. Navy Crusader built.