The Vought F-8 Crusader was an american embarked interceptor developped in 1955, it entered in service in the USN in Mars 1957, in 1964 in the French Naval Air Service and in 1978 in the Philipine Air Force. With two years of difference with the F-100, the F-8 showed its superiority with this last, it was faster, the prototype break the sound barrer at the inaugural flight the 25 March 1955.
It was equipped by 4 canons of 20mm and could carry until 2 tons of war charges, as this photo shows, it could be refuelled in flight thanks to a foldable refueling pole behind the canopy.

The Philipin Air Force bought 35 F-8 that they stocked from 1988 before to officialy reform them in 1991. It was reformed of the USN in 1976 and of the Aéronavale in 1999 for be replace by the Dassault Rafale.

They were used by the US Navy in the Cuban missiles crisis for the reconnaissance, the RF-8A, and in the Vietnam War where it served for air to air missions, it shot down 19 MIG and 3 of them were shot down before to be replaced in this role by the F-4 Phantom II but it still serve as a ground attack aircraft or as a reconnaissance aircraft.

The entrance in service of the Crusader in the Aéronavale was very controversial in France, from one side, the Amiral Georges Cabanier, Chief of staff of the French Navy, and from the other Pierre Messmer, French Minister of Defense, Marcel Dassault, French aeronautic industrial, the French Air Force Head Quarter and the Général Charles Ailleret, Chief of Staff of the French Armies, who is not sure of the effectivity of the aircraft carrier in the modern wars. The affair went until the palace of the Elysée and the Général De Gaulle, French president at this time, decided to ask at the sailor in who he had the most of confidence, his son. Finally, the Crusader was adopted in France and one the fregates that the French Navy commanded was cancelled.
Because of the French aircraft carriers Clémenceau and Foch which were smaller than the Americans aircraft carriers, Vought Aircraft Industries had to build a new version which could be able to take off and to land on a smaller distance, it was the F-8E(FN) which was re-equipped in 1990 for serve for 9 years more.
The French Navy used the "Crouze", as it was called by the French pilots, in the Flotilles 12F and 14F and served mainly in security missions in the Indian ocean, in the Pacific and around the Mediterranean sea. It did some dogfights, its first one was with two F-8E(FN) based on the Clémenceau against two MIG-25 South-Yemeni, the order of opening the fire was turned down by the French Administration so none of the aircrafts were shot down, the Crusader should have been in training with some F-100 Super Sabre from the "Jura" and they saw that they were Yemeni when the leader called his wingman to the rescue.
A row opposed a Crouze of the Flotille 12F based on the Foch to two Libyan Mirage 5 during the Operation Mirmillon in the Golf of Syrte the 15 October 1984.


This F-8P, the modernized version of the F-8E(FN), came by the road from Landivisau, a French Navy air base, in 2002 at the Ailes Anciennes of Toulouse where it was restored and repaint for be now exhibited at the Air Museum of Toulouse, it's the n°19 which served in the Flotille 12F flown by the Enseigne de Vaisseau Puren.