A study of FRII radio galaxies with $z \lt 0.15$ – I. High-resolution maps of eight sources at 3.6 cm

VLA maps of total intensity and fractional polarization at 3.6 cm are presented for eight radio galaxies, part of a sample of 30 nearby FRII sources with $$P_{178}\gt 2 \times 10^{25}\enspace \text {W} \enspace \text{Hz}^{-1}\enspace\text {sr}^{-1}$$. High-sensitivity images of the hotspots (with resolutions of 0.25 and 0.75 arcsec and average noise levels of ∼ 30 µJy) show strikingly different and complex structures. Jets are found in six of the sources.