"Charles Talleyrand" wrote in message
...
What's the best naval fighter of 1963? The mission is pure air defense,
with not a pound for air to ground.

Not suprisingly, most web sites talk about modern planes and don't
describe the tactics and equipment of this era.

Going strictly on how things were in 1963 the best fighter at the time was
the F-8. The F-4 which became a great fighter in its own right wasn't one at
that time. The F-4 was an interceptor which is not the same as a fighter.
The F-8 community practiced fighter tactics from missile range down to knife
fighting range. The F-4 practiced radar intercepts and firing BVR.

A good example was how the F-4's and F-8's greeted the Bears in the North
Atlantic. F-4's would approach from behind and slide into position on the
bears wing. The F-8 would announce their presence with a vertical pass (aka
thumping).

Top Gun was started because the "powers-that-be" finally realized that F-4's
couldn't shoot down a MiG-17, if they couldn't get it off their tail. A
little while latter the Air Force also recognized they had the same problem.

Red