STORY OF THE F-8 CRUSADER – MIG MASTER Second Edition

Like the author's previous books on the Dauntless, Hellcat, Corsair, and Wildcat, this lively biography of the F-8 Crusader has been written for a broad audience and can be enjoyed equally by aviators and casual readers with limited technical knowledge. Barrett Tillman has earned a reputation for bringing legendary aircraft to life, and in MiG Master he fully demonstrates his talent. The book is filled with authentic recreations of Crusader-MiG fights and vivid descriptions of the people and events that are part of the F-8 story.

The U.S. Navy's first supersonic jet, the Crusader retains an honored spot in carrier flying. It is one of the most capable, versatile, and long-lived aircraft in naval aviation history. As a fighter plane armed with 20-millimeter cannons and air-to-air missiles, the F-8 scored the highest kill ratio of any U.S. fighter in the Vietnam War. But before its mastery of MiGs in Southeast Asia, the Crusader was best known for its speed, having been the first production aircraft to exceed 1,000 miles per hour in level flight. Among its many other accomplishments is a world record for crossing the United States in three hours and twenty-three minutes, set by John Glenn in 1957. Before its retirement from the U.S. Navy in 1986, the F-8 was adapted to carry many kinds of armament and perform a variety of duties. Today it serves as a carrier fighter for the French.

Here, Tillman effectively combines an exciting account of the Crusader's operational history with an authoritative explanation of its design, construction, and modifications. He recalls the years of frustration and experimentation spent in refining the aircraft and its gunnery system and then takes the reader through key actions in Vietnam where seasoned Crusader pilots handled their “rambunctious steeds" with scarcely a glance in the cockpit. In the book's extensive appendixes, he provides further details on specifications, squadron deployments, pilots, and much more.

Originally published in limited quantities in 1980, MiG Master has been fully revised and updated for this second edition to include the F-8's entire history, from its years of development in the early 1950s right up to its retirement.

Author:

Barrett Tillman is a well-known aviation historian. He has written four other books for the Naval Institute Press: The Dauntless Dive Bomber of World War II; Hellcat: The F6F in World War Two; Corsair: The F4U in World War II and Korea; and, with John B. Nichols, On Yankee Station: The Naval Air War over Vietnam. He is also the author of Wildcat: The F4F in World War II, Avenger at War, and numerous articles for leading aviation magazines. His writing has won awards from the American Aviation Historical Society and the U.S. Air Force Historical Foundation. The executive secretary of the American Fighter Aces Association, Tillman has served as the managing editor of The Hook and as publisher of the Champlin Fighter Museum in Mesa, Arizona.

A private pilot who comes from a family of aviators, he learned to fly as a teenager in his native state of Oregon, where he now resides. He holds a degree in journalism from the University of Oregon.

Source: Publisher's summary printed on cover