At the forefront of the carrier revolution has been the fighter, the premier asset parked on any flat-top deck. From the rather underpowered and ungainly designs of the late 1950s, three classic fighters emerged which have set the standard for modern combat aircraft of this genre. The F-8 Crusader, F-4 Phantom II and the Tomcat have had few peers over the last 30 years, and it is this trio of classic dogfighters which form the bulk of this book. From Phantom IIs and Crusaders flying combat patrols off the decks of the Enterprise and the America, to Tomcats cruising over the Mediterranean on exercise from the Eisenhower and the Nimitz, the most colourful of the navy's elite fighter units are illustrated in this book.