The Forrestals fused the strike and reconnaissance ambitions of USS United States with the broader fleet-aircraft mix expected from a Midway successor. They could not carry every very large aircraft imagined for the cancelled design, though they could operate substantial types such as the RA-5C Vigilante. The Vigilante provided a useful capability that has not been replicated in quite the same form. Its limitations illustrate a general design rule: excellence in one area normally brings costs elsewhere.
Notable Point · 5:53-6:45
The RA-5C Vigilante embodies the carrier's mixed mission
Forrestal combined strike and reconnaissance aircraft such as the RA-5C Vigilante. The limits of each design reveal the cost of competing requirements.