In this May 1, 2011 file photo, Denny Baker, who piloted a Vought RF-8 Crusader, over North Vietnam in 1972, stands by Castle Air Museum's recently restored model. The aircraft, which was flown during ...

ATWATER — As a restoration team towed Castle Air Museum's recently refurbished RF-8 Crusader out of its hangar, Navy veteran Denny Baker stood by and watched, wearing his flight jacket with a patch on ...

The RF-8 Crusader flew at 600 knots and 5,000 feet over Cuba during the 1962 Missile Crisis, capturing the 160,000 photos that confirmed Soviet nuclear sites. Pilots risked SAMs and MiGs with no ...

Had things gone differently, the U.S. Navy’s top Cold War fighter jet could have been the F-8 Crusader instead of the F-4 Phantom. But not the legendary Crusader that bested MiGs over North Vietnam.

Key point: The F-4 was so remarkably adaptable and tough that the last U.S. military Phantom wasn’t retired until December 2016. Had things gone differently, the U.S. Navy’s top Cold War fighter jet ...