RF-8A Crusader VFP-62 USS Enterprise 1964

F8U-1P (RF-8A) BuNo 146889 VFP-62 as AE-908 in 1963-64.

Light Photographic Squadron 62 (VFP-62) received its first Vought F8U-1P Crusader aircraft in 1959, which were redesignated as the RF-8A Crusader in 1962. VFP-62 is best known as the squadron that took the first low-level photos of the Soviet missile bases in Cuba during the Cuban Missile Crisis in October 1962.

The F8U-1P (RF-8A) Crusader was a unarmed photo-reconnaissance version of F8U-1E. All armament and the fire-control system were deleted and replaced by a camera array in the bottom of a redesigned forward fuselage. The reconnaissance camera fit would evolve over time, but the fundamental configuration involved four "stations": "Station 1" was in a blister fitted just forward of the nose gear doors, with a window giving a camera view forward along the aircraft's flight path. "Station 2" was behind the nose gear doors, with camera viewports on the bottom and both sides of the aircraft. "Station 3" and "station 4" were alongside the nose gear doors. A variety of cameras could be fitted. The station 1 blister could accommodate a 16-millimeter movie camera, though this was rarely done in practice, a still camera being a more normal fit. Early camera configurations generally included a three-axis "trimetrogon" camera in the rear station 2 position, plus vertical and oblique cameras in the other stations. The pilot had a moveable "reticule", mounted on a pantograph arm, to allow him to line up shots to the side of the aircraft, and also had a periscope to help him line up shots below the aircraft. The periscope's viewport was in the bottom of the nose cone, just in front of the engine intake. The redesigned forward fuselage was big enough to allow the refueling probe to retract completely into the fuselage, eliminating the blister on the left side. The height of the tailfin was also reduced to increase speed. The first F8U-1P flew on 17 December 1957, and a total of 144 was built into early 1960.