Technically, the F-8B was the last, since from the C variant onwards they all had missiles.
The F-8A even had a special slot for a 32 unguided “Mighty Mouse” rockets, which were so useful and effective, they welded the slot shut on the B. So without rockets and missiles, it was truly the last gunfighter.
You can Google “the battle of Palmdale” for numerous hilarious retellings on the amazing use of the Mighty Mouse rocket. It’s an event where 208 rockets were fired at a runaway radio controlled F6F Hellcat. And they all missed. They did manage to burn down 400 hectares of countryside and struck a nearby town, also without killing anyone thankfully.
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Technically, the F-8B was the last, since from the C variant onwards they all had missiles.
The F-8A even had a special slot for a 32 unguided “Mighty Mouse” rockets, which were so useful and effective, they welded the slot shut on the B. So without rockets and missiles, it was truly the last gunfighter.
You can Google “the battle of Palmdale” for numerous hilarious retellings on the amazing use of the Mighty Mouse rocket. It’s an event where 208 rockets were fired at a runaway radio controlled F6F Hellcat. And they all missed. They did manage to burn down 400 hectares of countryside and struck a nearby town, also without killing anyone thankfully.