NAVAL AIR TEST FACILITY (SI) NAS LAKEHURST _ N. J.

The Naval Air Test Center (ships installations) was established at NAS Lakehurst, N. J., on 1 Octo¬ber 1957. Utilizing 11 test sites, the test facilitys primary mission was to develop catapult and arresting sys¬tems for both land and sea.

NATF F-8s wore a red-orange tail triangle bordered by thin white and black stripes. F-8L 145419 below sports an added red tail.

NATF F-8A 143720 launches from a ground-based catapult developed for the Marines. (USN) Ex VC-7 F-8A 145412 was used for barricade tests in 1966. (Esposito) F-8L 145419. (Besecker) F-8D 147046 in 1967; tail is da-glo red. (Esposito via Jansson)