Tailhook Aviation's Top 10

In recognition of the Centenial of Naval Aviation, The Hook magazine just published a straw poll they conducted to identify the top 10 aircraft in the history of the US Navy.  The judges were primarily people who had either served or were connected in someway to the community (authors, historians, industry insiders, etc.)

The four criteria they used to rank them were:

• Impact
• Combat Record
• Longevity
• Image

The List:

1. SBD Dauntless
2. F6F Hellcat
3. F-4 Phantom II
4. A-4 Skyhawk
5. A-6 Intruder
6. F4U Corsair
7. AD Skyraider
8. F-8 Crusader
9. TBF/TBM Avenger
10. F-14 Tomcat

Receiving Honorable Mention were the  F/A-18 Hornet,  EA-6B Prowler, E-2  Hawkeye, F4F Wildcat & A-3 Skywarrior.

Some special mentions:

Most Beautiful:  RA-5C Vigilante

Most Important Trainer: SNJ Texan

Most Significant Helicopter: H-3 Sea King

Pretty good list.  Personally, I would have rated the Tomcat above the Crusader and found a place in the top 10 for the Wildcat.

Mark

It's hard to argue the list.  And I gotta agree about the F-8 placing higher than the F-14. In air to air the Crusader made more kills than the Tomcat. The F-14 never got the chance to be the dogfighter and Mig killer that the Crusader was. Timing is everything.

What???!!! The Pogo didn't make the list? What is this world coming to?? 

these polls never list the aircraft that the most people got a trap in and/or got a cat shot in

it wasn't the F-4, F-14 or F-18 group either,,,,,,the most those ever carried were 2 people,,,,and most of the time, the same people made the landings or takeoffs each time

TarnShip:

these polls never list the aircraft that the most people got a trap in and/or got a cat shot in

it wasn't the F-4, F-14 or F-18 group either,,,,,,the most those ever carried were 2 people,,,,and most of the time, the same people made the landings or takeoffs each time

Good point. The C-2 should've made the list. The T-2 Buckeye should be there as well, because she trained the majority of the naval pilots in the last 40 years.......

RedCorvette:

Most Beautiful:  RA-5C Vigilante

Never a truer word said!

Yes, but when you add in combat records, all those aircraft have superb ones. I think the one that falls shortest in that department is the F-14. The F4F family had more impact in that arena. But it does not have the longevity or image appeals of the F-14.

Gotta wonder why the A-4 is on there and not the F4F. I think the Wildcat should have bumped the Scooter or Crusader.

Otherwise a great list. I agree with the SBD at the top.

The Scooter was a very signifiant combat aircraft. 8+ years of combat in Vietnam. Same with the Crusader. Both were record setters in their respective class of aircraft.

the Skyhawk is the aircraft with the most wars of any on that list,,,,,also operated by the most countries, with the most total years in service by all the entities that operated it, if you start listing countries that operated the Skyhawk, and for how many years each,,,,,,,and then another list of how many active "war years" each country has with them,,,,,you will surprise yourself

tactics that are now taken for granted in US Navair,,,,,were developed by or for the Skyhawk,,,,,,for one, any US aircraft that today carries a bomb rack that carries two or more bombs,,,,,,owes that capability to the Skyhawk (and to a small extent, the Phantom), before the MBR was developed for them,,,the bombs were carried in singles on the parent rack (with the exception of light bombs strapped into bundles as some experiments), then, when higher performance aircraft showed a requirement for the bombs to be ejected instead of just dropped,,,,,the Skyhawk joined in with MERs instead of MBRs, and the accuracy went up another notch

all with a carrier aircraft that didn't need folding wings (the F4F-3 needed them, just didn't get them until the -4, lol)

I second the T-2 Buckeye for that reason, guess they only wanted to count combat aircraft.

stikpusher:

Yes, but when you add in combat records, all those aircraft have superb ones. I think the one that falls shortest in that department is the F-14. The F4F family had more impact in that arena. But it does not have the longevity or image appeals of the F-14.

In addition, the Wildcat never had a movie made about it starring Tom Cruise either.  Now there's an idea for a pre-quel . . . ..  "TOP KITTY!"