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 Sons of The American Legion Click on a picture below for a larger image. The Day Our F-84F Arrived At Post 490 in October 1972:
Republic F-84F "Thunderstreak" The swept-wing F-84F evolved from the straight-wing F-84. The prototype first flew on June 3, 1950 and deliveries began in 1954, primarily to the Tactical Air Command as a ground support fighter bomber. It was the first USAF jet fighter able to carry atomic weapons, and was used by the Strategic Air Command to escort their heavy weapons. Republic built 2,112 F-84Fs while General Motors fabricated an additional 599. Of these, 1,301 were delivered to NATO air forces. Production of a reconnaissance version, the RF-84F, totaled 715 aircraft, including 386 for allied countries. The RF-84F featured engine air intakes at the wing roots plus cameras in the nose. F-84Fs gradually were replaced by supersonic F-100s in the late 1950s and were turned over to Air National Guard units. However, some F-84Fs were called back to temporary USAF service in the early 1960s due to the Berlin Crisis. SPECIFICATIONS Span: 33 ft. 7 in. Length: 43 ft. 5 in. Height: 15 ft. 0 in. Weight: 27,000 lbs. max. Armament: Six .50-cal. machine guns and 24 five inch rockets; 6,000 lbs. of bombs externally Engine: Wright J65-W-3 of 7,220 lbs. thrust Crew: One Cost: $769,000 Number Built: 2,711 PERFORMANCE Maximum speed: 685 mph Cruising speed: 535 mph Range: 1,900 miles Service Ceiling: 44,450 ft. Thunderbirds The F-84F Thunderstreak was flown by the U.S. Air Force aerial demonstration team, the Thunderbirds, during 1955-1956. Shown below is F-84F S/N 52-6563 painted as it was when flown by the Thunderbirds:  Below are samples of how the F-84F at Post 490 was originally painted based on paint discovered when preparing the plane to be repainted (see above pictures). The plane was flown to Ellington Air Force Base and moved to its current location in 1972. 
History of our F-84F, S/N 32-6455 July 23, 1954 Delivered to the USAF by manufacturer Republic Aviation, Farmingdale, New York July 1954 Assigned to 405th Fighter-Bomber Wing (Tactical Air Command), Langley AFB, California, and RAF, Burtonwood, UK December 1956 Assigned to 3600th Combat Crew Training Wing (Air Training Command), Luke AFB, Arizona September 1957 Moved to Mobile Air Material Area, Alabama February 1958 Assigned to 113th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron (Air National Guard), Hulman Field, Indiana December 1958 Unit became 113th Tactical Fighter Squadron October 1961 Unit assigned to Tactical Air Command July 1962 Assigned to 122nd Tactical Fighter Wing (Tactical Air Command), Hulman Field, Indiana September 1962 Assigned to 12th Tactical Wing (Tactical Air Command), MacDill AFB, Florida December 1963 Assigned 366th Tactical Fighter Wing (Tactical Air Command), Holloman AFB, New Mexico November 1964 Moved to Mobile Air Material Area, Alabama May 1965 Assigned to 102nd Tactical Fighter Group (Air National Guard), Logan Air Field, Massachusetts August 1968 Unit moved to Otis AFB, Massachusetts (Deployed to Baer Field, Indiana) October 1971 Dropped from inventory by transfer to museum status. Written by Mike Cole, Houston, Texas, January 21, 2005: The F-84 that Jerry Blaylock spoke of number 52-6455 located at the American Legion post in front of Ellington field has a special meaning to me. I was stationed at Ellington when the # 6455 was flown in. I was assigned the duty of getting it ready for display at the American Legion. When it arrived all the armament was already removed, but while searching the nose section for any foreign objects I found two live 50 caliber rounds and a number of spent cartridge hulls, and several of the clips that hold them together. Also when the engine was removed I retrieved the engine ID plate and still have it in my possession to this day.   Copyright © 2001-2007 by The American Legion. All rights reserved. |
