Warplanes of the USA: Republic F-84 Thunderjet, USAF

Republic F-84 Thunderjet

(USGOV-PD Photo)

Republic F-84D Thunderjet formation, 118th Fighter-Bomber Squadron, Connecticut Air National Guard, 1954.

The Republic F-84 Thunderjet is an American turbojetfighter-bomber aircraft. Originating as a 1944 United States Army Air Forces(USAAF) proposal for a “day fighter”, the F-84 first flew in 1946.Although it entered service in 1947, the Thunderjet was plagued by such a largeamount of structural and engine problems that a 1948 U.S. Air Force reviewdeclared it unable to execute any aspect of its intended mission and consideredcanceling the program. The aircraft was not considered fully operational untilthe 1949 F-84D model and the design matured only with the definitive F-84Gintroduced in 1951. In 1954, the straight-wing Thunderjet was joined by theswept-wing F-84F Thunderstreak fighter and RF-84F Thunderflash photoreconnaissance aircraft.

The Thunderjet became the USAF’s primary strike aircraft during the Korean War,flying 86,408 sorties and destroying 60% of all ground targets in the war aswell as eight Soviet-built MiG fighters. Over half of the 7,524 F-84s producedserved with NATO nations, and it was the first aircraft to fly with the U.S.Air Force Thunderbirds demonstration team. The USAF Strategic Air Command hadF-84 Thunderjets in service from 1948 through 1957.

The F-84 was the first production fighter aircraft to utilize inflightrefueling and the first fighter capable of carrying a nuclear weapon, the Mark7 nuclear bomb. Modified F-84s were used in several unusual projects, includingthe FICON and Tom-Tom dockings to the B-29 Superfortress and B-36 bombermotherships, and the experimental XF-84H Thunderscreech turboprop.

The F-84 nomenclature can be somewhat confusing. The straight-wing F-84A toF-84E and F-84G models were called the Thunderjet. The F-84F Thunderstreak andRF-84F Thunderflash were different airplanes with swept wings. The XF-84HThunderscreech (not its official name) was an experimental turboprop version ofthe F-84F. The F-84F swept wing version was intended to be a small variation ofthe normal Thunderjet with only a few different parts, so it kept the basicF-84 number. Production delays on the F-84F resulted in another order of the straight-wing version; this was the F-84G. (Wikipedia)

(USAF Photo)

Republic F-84E Thunderjet (Serial No. 49-2066), 123rd Fighter-Bomber Group.

(USGOV-PD Photo)

Republic P-84B Thunderjet fighters (Serial Nos. 46-548, 46-535, 46-581) of the 48th Fighter Squadron, 14th Fighter Group, 1948.

(USGOV-PD Photo)

Republic F-84B Thunderjets of the 49th Fighter Squadron in formation over Maine, 1948. Republic F-84B-21-RE Thunderjet 46-548 in foreground.

(NACA Photo)

Republic EYF-84 Thunderjet (Serial No.. 559488) undergoing aileron control testing under differential pressure. The P-84A had a climbing tendency starting at Mach 0.78.

(USAF Photo)

Republic F-84E-15-RE Thunderjet (Serial No. 49-2424), from the 9th Fighter-Bomber Squadron, 49th Fighter-Bomber Wing/Group, taking off for a mission in Korea.  This aircraft was shot down by flak on 29 August 1952.

(NMUSAF Photo)

Republic F-84C-16-RE Thunderjet (Serial No. 47-1580), Illinois Air National Guard, May 1955.

(185th ARW Photo)

Republic F-84E Thunderjet assigned to the Iowa Air National guard while at the Air National Guard gunnery completion in 1956.  As a component of the 132nd Fighter Interceptor Wing the 174th Fighter Interceptor Squadron in Sioux City flew the F-84 until 1958. During that time the 174th was awarded the Spaatz Trophy as the most outstanding Air National Guard squadron in the nation.

(USAF Photo)

Republic F-84E-25-RE Thunderjet (Serial No. 51-0508), 124th Fighter Interceptor Squadron,  Iowa Air National Guard, 1956.

(USAF Photo)

Republic F-84E-25-RE Thunderjet (Serial No. 51-508) from the 162nd Fighter Squadron, Ohio Air National Guard.  The 162nd FS flew the Thunderjet from 1955 to 1957.

(USAF Photo)

Republic F-84E-25-RE Thunderjet (Serial No. 51-508) from the 162nd Fighter Squadron, Ohio Air National Guard.

(USAF Photo)

A U.S. Air Force F-84C-11-RE Thunderjet fighter (s/n 47-1537) from the 167th Fighter Squadron, West Virginia Air National Guard. The 167th FS flew the F-84C from 1950 to 1952.

(USAF Photo)

Republic F-84C-6-RE Thunderjet (Serial No. 47-1499), District of Columbia Air National Guard, ca 1950.

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A total of 4457 Republic F-84 Thunderjet jet fighters were built, serving with 14 airforces. Many examples are preserved and on display around the world, often in aviation museums.

Surviving F-84 Thunderjets in the USA
YP-84A

(Carmelo Turdo Photo)
45-59494 – Discovery Park of America, Union City, Tennessee; formerly at Octave Chanute Aerospace Museum at the former Chanute Air Force Base in Rantoul, Illinois. Painted as Thunderbird (Serial No. 116715).

‍F-84B‍

(Mike Peel Photo)

45-59504 – Cradle of Aviation Museum in Garden City, New York.

(Tony Hisgett Photo)
45-59556 – Planes of Fame Museum in Chino, California.

(Author Photos)
46-0666 – FS-666, C/N 219, Mid-Atlantic Air Museum in Reading, Pennsylvania.
F-84C‍

(aeroprints Photos)

(Author Photo)

47-1433 – Pima Air and Space Museum, adjacent to Davis-Monthan Air Force Basein Tucson, Arizona.

(Skytamer.com, John Shupek Photo)

(kb7ywl Photo)
47-1486 – Goldwater Air National Guard Base, Sky Harbor International Airport in Phoenix, Arizona.

(Uwn K Owen Photo)
47-1498 – painted as (Serial No. 51-0282), FS-282, EAA Airventure Museum in Oshkosh, Wisconsin.
47-1513 – Kansas Aviation Museum at McConnell Air Force Base in Wichita,Kansas.

(kitmasterbloke Photo)
47-1530 – Castle Air Museum, formerly USAF Castle AFB, California.

(Author Photos)

(Max Sabin Photo)
47-1562 – Pueblo Weisbrod Aircraft Museum in Pueblo, Colorado.

(Alan Wilson Photo)

(Tomas Del Coro Photo)
47-1595 – March Field Air Museum at March Air Reserve Base (former March AirForce Base) in Riverside, California.
F-84E

‍(Alan Wilson Photo)

49-2155 – Yanks Air Museum in Chino, California.

(Author Photo)
49-2285 – FS-189, Texas Military Forces Museum in Austin, Texas.
49-2348 – American Airpower Museum in East Farmingdale, New York.

(NMUSAF Photos)

(ZLEA Photo)

(Dsdugan Photo)
50-1143 – National Museum of the United States Air Force at Wright-PattersonAir Force Base in Dayton, Ohio. It was obtained from Robins Air Force Base,Georgia, in October 1963. It is marked to represent the F-84G flown by Col. Joseph Davis Jr., commander of the 58th Fighter-Bomber Wing in 1953.

(Dsdugan Photo)

(Alan Wilson Photo)
51-0604 – FS-604A, Museum of Aviation at Robins Air Force Base, Georgia.
F-84G
N6599V – This aircraft was originally supplied to the Yugoslav Air Force,former number 51-11126. It is now disassembled,under restoration toairworthiness by a Vulcan Warbirds Inc. for the Flying Heritage Collection inSeattle, Washington.
51-0791 – Springfield Air National Guard Base, Springfield, Ohio.
52-2978 – Warhawk Air Museum at Nampa Municipal Airport, ex-Royal Norwegian AirForce.

(brwhiz Photo)
52-3242 – FS-275, Hill Aerospace Museum, Hill Air Force Base, Utah.

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