2007-08-11, Dogfights: F-8 Crusader F-8十字军战斗机

The F-8 Crusader was designed by Vought in response to a US navy requirement for a carrier-based supersonic fighter. It became apparent in the early 50s that, that the navy needed this capability¹. The air force was ahead of the navy in that regard with their airplanes having gotten several supersonic airplanes out there, and it became obvious that that was the way to go.

On March 25th 1955, the prototype Crusader first took flight and Mach one was exceeded. The single-seat fighter featured a variable incidence wing, that could be pivoted² up seven degrees and acted as a speed brake to reduce landing speed. It was equipped with a push button autopilot and a search and fire-control radar³ system for enhanced all-weather operation. Armament consisted of four twenty-millimeter cannon⁴ and four Sidewinder air-to-air missiles.

On July 16th, 1957, Major John Glenn set a coast-to-coast speed record of 3 hours and 23 minutes in a Crusader, making it the first nonstop transcontinental flight to average supersonic speed.

In 1962, it was the Crusader that went in low and fast to photograph the Cuban missile sites during the crisis. The Crusader was used by both US marines and US navy during the Vietnam War, and had a kill ratio of 19 to 3, the best of any American fighter during the war. A patch was issued to commemorate⁵ this great plane.

You are looking right at the pilot, and the inscription⁶ on it is "when you're out of F-8's, you are out of fighters." And the guy's got a tear in his eye, and, and so that was kind of our feeling. The Crusader was the last American fighter with guns as the primary weapon and served as a front-line fighter and photo-recon aircraft for over 30 years.

1 capability   

n.能力；才能；(pl)可发展的能力或特性等

参考例句：

• She has the capability to become a very fine actress.她有潜力成为杰出演员。
• Organizing a whole department is beyond his capability.组织整个部门是他能力以外的事。

2 pivoted   

adj.转动的，回转的，装在枢轴上的v.（似）在枢轴上转动( pivot的过去式和过去分词 )；把…放在枢轴上；以…为核心，围绕（主旨）展开

参考例句：

• His old legs and shoulders pivoted with the swinging of the pulling. 他一把把地拉着，两条老迈的腿儿和肩膀跟着转动。 来自英汉文学 - 老人与海
• When air is moving, the metal is pivoted on the hinge. 当空气流动时，金属板在铰链上转动。 来自辞典例句

3 radar   

n.雷达，无线电探测器

参考例句：

• They are following the flight of an aircraft by radar.他们正在用雷达追踪一架飞机的飞行。
• Enemy ships were detected on the radar.敌舰的影像已显现在雷达上。

4 cannon   

n.大炮，火炮；飞机上的机关炮

参考例句：

• The soldiers fired the cannon.士兵们开炮。
• The cannon thundered in the hills.大炮在山间轰鸣。

5 commemorate   

vt.纪念，庆祝

参考例句：

• This building was built to commemorate the Fire of London.这栋大楼是为纪念“伦敦大火”而兴建的。
• We commemorate the founding of our nation with a public holiday.我们放假一日以庆祝国庆。

6 inscription   

n.（尤指石块上的）刻印文字，铭文，碑文

参考例句：

• The inscription has worn away and can no longer be read.铭文已磨损，无法辨认了。
• He chiselled an inscription on the marble.他在大理石上刻碑文。