1952, US Navy announced a requirement for a new fighter. The F8 Crusader has a top speed of Mach 1.2 at 30,000 ft, a climb rate of 25,000 ft/min, and a landing speed of no more than 100 mph. It originally was a fast dayfighter, but later models were capable of all-weather operations. The problem of putting a powerful, heavy supersonic fighter on a carrier deck was solved by giving the F-8 a variable incidence wing, and it could operate even from smaller carriers. The Crusaders sold to the French 'Aeronavale' (which were in service well into the 1990's) had further modifications to reduce landing speed. The F-8 enjoyed a long and distinguished career, and was still very effective in Vietnam. There was also an RF-8 reconnaissance version, with a large rectangular fairing under the forward fuselage housing cameras. The F8U-3 was a totally new design, superficially similar, but with large belly fins and different nose contours; it did not enter service. 1305 built.