Navy personnel referred to the F-8 as "Vought's Last Chance," since the Vought company's last iteration, the F-7, was a miserable piece of gear.
Vought hit a home run though, producing a fighter jet that stayed in active service longer than all other fighters up till that point. It's longevity though, put it in some odd situations.
From gunfights in the sky, to fly-by-wire space technology, to, of all things, surveillance, the F-8's career was a strange journey through the annals of history.
In 1952, fraught with issues with their current fighters, the Navy put in a request for a fighter that could top Mach 1.2.
It also had to have a climb rate of 25,000 feet per minute.
Lessons learned in the Korean War prompted Naval planners to adjust the specs for flight speed, armament, and landing speed.
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