An illustrated combat history of the 'last of the gunfighters', due to its quartet of Colt-Browning Mk 12 20 mm cannons.

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.

This book explores the history of this fighter and its pilots during the Vietnam War, alongside an array of contemporary photographs.

Peter Mersky is a former US Navy commander who won the highest naval award for journalism following the publication of this book and Combat Aircraft 12: RF-8 Crusader Units over Korea and Vietnam. He was the assistant editor, then editor, of Approach, the Navy and Marine Corps aviation safety magazine, for 16 years, and he has also reviewed more than 400 books on military aviation. Peter has now retired from service and is a full time aviation writer.

First Engagement
Setting Things Up
Making a War
Action in the Tonkin Gulf
War Begins in Ernest
MiG Killer
Assessing the Enemy
Beyond the MiGs
'Leatherneck' Crusaders, 1965-68
Final Word