Republic F-105 Thunderchief flyover, 419th TFW, Hill AFB, 4 June 1983. (U.S. Air Force)
4 June 1983: At Hill Air Force Base, Utah, the 419th Tactical Fighter Wing, the last U.S. Air Force unit flying the Republic F-105 Thunderchief supersonic fighter bomber, flew a Diamond of Diamonds 24-ship formation as the “Thud” was was withdrawn from service after 25 years to be replaced by the General Dynamics F-16.
Of 833 Thunderchiefs built by Republic Aviation Corporation, 334 were lost to enemy action during the Vietnam War. Though designed for air-to-ground attack missions, F-105s are officially credited with 27.5 victories in air combat.
George S. Welch with North American YF-100A 52-5754. (North American Aviation, Inc.)
25 May 1953: North American Aviation Chief Test Pilot George S. Welch took the YF-100A Super Sabre, U.S. Air Force serial number 52-5754, for its first flight at Edwards Air Force Base. The airplane reached Mach 1.03.
Development of the Super Sabre began with an effort to increase the speed of the F-86D and F-86E Sabre fighters. The wings had more sweep and the airfoil sections were thinner. A much more powerful engine would be needed to achieve supersonic speed in level flight. As design work on the “Sabre 45” proceeded, the airplane evolved to a completely new design. Initially designated XF-100, continued refinements resulted in the first two aircraft being redesignated YF-100A.
North American Aviation Chief Test Pilot George S. Welch in the cockpit of YF-100A 52-5754 at Los Angeles International Airport. (North American Aviation, Inc.)
The two YF-100As, 52-5754 and 52-5755, were 46 feet, 2.4 inches (14.082 meters) long with a wingspan of 36 feet, 9.6 inches (11.217 meters) and height of 14 feet, 4.8 inches (4.389 meters). The Super Sabre had a 49° 2′ sweep to the leading edges of the wings and horizontal stabilizer. The wings were swept to 45° at 25% chord, and had 0° angle of incidence, 0° dihedral, and no twist. The total wing area was 376 square feet (34.932 square meters). The ailerons were placed inboard on the wings to eliminate their twisting effects at high speed. The airplane had no flaps, resulting in a high stall speed in the landing configuration. The horizontal stabilizer was moved to the bottom of the fuselage to keep it out of the turbulence created by the wings at high angles of attack. The pre-production prototypes weighed 18,279 pounds (8,291 kilograms) empty; had a combat weight of 24,789 pounds (11,244 kilograms); and maximum takeoff weight of 28,965 pounds (13,138 kilograms).
The YF-100A had a fuel capacity of 757 U.S. gallons (2,866 liters) in five fuselage tanks, and could carry two external drop tanks for another 550 gallons (2,082 liters).
The new air superiority fighter was powered by a Pratt & Whitney Turbo Wasp XJ57-P-7 engine. The J57 was a two-spool axial-flow turbojet which had a 16-stage compressor section (9 low- and 7 high-pressure stages) and a 3-stage turbine (2 high- and 1 low-pressure stages). The XJ57-P-7 had a Normal Power rating of 7,250 pounds of thrust (32.250 kilonewtons) at 5,570 r.p.m., N1/9,630 r.p.m, N2; Military Power rating was 8,450 pounds thrust (37.587 kilonewtons) at 5,850 r.p.m./9,630 r.p.m., for 30 minutes; and 13,200 pounds thrust (587.717 kilonewtons) at 5,850 r.p.m./9,630 r.p.m. with afterburner, limited to five minutes. The engine was 20 feet, 3.0 inches (6.172 meters) long, 3 feet, 5.0 inches (1.014 meters) in diameter, and weighed 5,126 pounds (2,325 kilograms). Later production aircraft used a J57-P-39 engine, which had the same ratings.
Cutaway illustration of a North American Aviation F-100A Super Sabre. (Boeing)North American Aviation YF-100 Super Sabre 52-5754, 19 May 1953. (North American Aviation, Inc.)The prototype North American Aviation YF-100A Super Sabre, 52-5754, with the North American F-100 team. Chief Test Pilot George S. Welch is in the center of the front row, seated. (North American Aviation, Inc.)
The YF-100A had a maximum speed of 634 knots (730 miles per hour/1,174 kilometers per hour) at Sea Level, and 573 knots (659 miles per hour/1,061 kilometers per hour) at 43,350 feet (13,213 meters). The service ceiling was 46,000 feet (14,021 meters). The combat radius was 422 nautical miles (486 statute miles/782 kilometers), and maximum ferry range, 1,410 nautical miles (1,623 statute miles/2,611 kilometers).
During testing, 52-5754 reached Mach 1.44 in a dive. On 29 October 1953, Colonel Frank K. Everest set a world speed record of 1,215.298 kilometers per hour (755.151 miles per hour) with 52-5754.¹
In service with the United States Air Force, the Super Sabre’s mission changed from air superiority fighter to fighter bomber. It was used extensively during the Vietnam War. North American Aviation, Inc., built 2,294 single and tandem-seat Super Sabres between 1954 and 1959.
The F-100 pushed the State of the Art in the 1950s. There was a very steep learning curve back then. They remained in service with the USAF until 1979, and with the Republic of China Air Force until 1988. They also flew for France and Turkey.
In USAF service, 889 were destroyed in accidents, resulting in the death of 324 pilots. During the Vietnam War, the F-100s flew more combat sorties that all of the 15,000+ P-51 Mustangs during World War II. 186 Super Sabres were shot down by antiaircraft fire, but none were lost to enemy fighters.
North American Aviation YF-100A Super Sabre 52-5754 over Edwards Air Force Base, California, 25 May 1953. (North American Aviation, Inc.)North American Aviation YF-100A Super Sabre 52-5754 lands on the dry lake at Edwards Air Force Base, California. (North American Aviation, Inc.)
George Welch was born George Lewis Schwartz, in Wilmington, Delaware, 10 May 1918. His parents changed his surname to Welch, his mother’s maiden name, so that he would not be effected by the anti-German prejudice that was widespread in America following World War I. He studied mechanical engineering at Purdue, and enlisted in the Army Air Corps in 1939.
North American Aviation YF-100A Super Sabre 52-5754 banks away from a chase plane during a flight test. (U.S. Air Force)
George S. Welch is best remembered as one of the heroes of Pearl Harbor. He was one of only two fighter pilots to get airborne during the Japanese surprise attack on Hawaii, 7 December 1941. Flying a Curtiss P-40B Warhawk, he shot down three Aichi D3A “Val” dive bombers and one Mitsubishi A6M2 Zero fighter. For this action, Lieutenant General H.H. “Hap” Arnold recommended the Medal of Honor, but because Lieutenant Welch had taken off without orders, an officer in his chain of command refused to endorse the nomination. He received the Distinguished Service Cross. During the War, Welch flew the Bell P-39 Airacobra and Lockheed P-38 Lightning on 348 combat missions. He had 16 confirmed aerial victories over Japanese airplanes and rose to the rank of Major.
Suffering from malaria, George Welch was out of combat, and when North American Aviation approached him to test the new P-51H Mustang, General Arnold authorized his resignation. Welch test flew the P-51, FJ-1 Fury, F-86 Sabre and F-100 Super Sabre. He was killed 12 October 1954 when his F-100A Super Sabre came apart in a 7 G pull up from a Mach 1.5 dive.
North American Aviation pre-production prototype YF-100A Super Sabre 52-5754 with drag chute deployed on landing at Edwards Air Force Base, California. The extended pitot boom is used to calibrate instruments early in the flight test program. (U.S. Air Force)North American Aviation YF-100 Super Sabre 52-5754 with external fuel tanks, parked on the dry lake at Edwards Air Force Base, California. (U.S. Air Force)
22 May 1991: After nearly 30 years in service with West Germany, the F-104 Starfighter made its last flight before retirement. The Luftwaffe was the largest single operator of the Lockheed F-104 with nearly 35% of the total worldwide production in West German service. 915 F-104F two-place trainers and F-104G fighter-bombers were built, with most going to the Luftwaffe, but 151 were assigned to the West German Navy.
Designed by the legendary Kelly Johnson as a Mach 2 interceptor, the Starfighter was used as a fighter bomber by Germany. The F-104G was most-produced version of the Lockheed Starfighter. It had a strengthened fuselage and wings, with hardpoints for carrying bombs, missiles and additional fuel tanks. Built by Lockheed, they were also licensed for production by Canadair, Dornier, Fiat, Fokker, Messerschmitt and SABCA.
The F-104G is a single-seat, single engine fighter bomber, 58.26 feet (17.758 meters) long with a wingspan of just 21.94 feet (6.687 meters) and overall height of 13.49 feet (4.112 meters). The empty weight is 14,000 pounds (6,350.3 kilograms) and loaded weight is 20,640 pounds (9,362.2 kilograms).
The F-104G was powered by a General Electric J79-GE-11A engine, a single-spool, axial-flow, afterburning turbojet, which used a 17-stage compressor section and 3-stage turbine. The J79-GE-11A is rated at 10,000 pounds of thrust (44.48 kilonewtons), and 15,800 pounds (70.28 kilonewtons) with afterburner. The engine is 17 feet, 4.0 inches (5.283 meters) long, 3 feet, 2.3 inches (0.973 meters) in diameter, and weighed 3,560 pounds (1,615 kilograms).
The maximum speed is 1,328 miles per hour (2,137.2 kilometers per hour). It has a combat radius of 420 miles (675.9 kilometers) or a ferry range of 1,630 miles (2,623.2 kilometers). The service ceiling is 50,000 feet (15,240 meters).
The Starfighter’s standard armament consists of a 20 mm General Electric M61A1 Vulcan 6-barreled Gatling gun, with 750 rounds of ammunition, and up to four AIM-9 Sidewinder air-to-air heat seeking missiles could be carried on the wingtips or under wing pylons. In place of missiles two wingtip fuel tanks and another two underwing tanks could be carried.
General Electric M61A1 20 mm rotary cannon in the weapons bay of a Messerschmitt-built F-104G Starfighter. (Michael Wolf/Wikipedia)
On NATO alert, the F-104G was armed with a B43 variable-yield nuclear bomb on the fuselage centerline hardpoint. The B43 could be set for explosive force between 170 kilotons and 1 megaton and was designed for high-speed, low-altitude, laydown delivery.
German Air Force F-104G Starfighter DB+127 at the Luftwaffenmuseum der Bundeswehr, Berlin Gatow. The fighter bomber equipped with four external fuel tanks and a ZELL-Verfaren rocket booster for Zero-Length Launch. A B43 nuclear bomb is on the centerline hardpoint. (MoRsE via Wikipedia)
The Starfighter had an undesirable reputation for high accident rates. Over the 31 years the F-104 was in service with Germany, 292 F-104s were lost in accidents, resulting in the deaths of 116 pilots. 41% of these accidents were due to engine failure, and 16% due to bird strikes. Another factor was the nature of the mission: high-speed, low-altitude flight, in the poor weather conditions of Europe. (Previously, the Luftwaffe acquired 558 Republic F-84s, of which 202 were lost—a slightly higher accident rate.) The German press, however, gave it the name Witwenmacher (“Widowmaker”).
The last Luftwaffe F-104 to fly was 26+40 from Ingolstadt Manching Airport, 22 May 1991.
Republic XP-47B 40-3051 prototype in flight. (Republic Aircraft Corporation)
6 May 1941: Just eight months after a prototype for a new single-engine fighter was ordered by the U.S. Army Air Forces, test pilot Lowery Lawson Brabham took off from the Republic Aviation Corporation factory airfield at Farmingdale, New York, and flew the prototype XP-47B Thunderbolt, serial number 40-3051, to Mitchel Field, New York.
During the flight, oil which had collected in the exhaust duct began burning. There was so much smoke that Brabham considered bailing out. He stayed with the prototype, though, and when he arrived at Mitchel Field, he exclaimed, “I think we’ve hit the jackpot!”
Alexander Kartveli
The prototype was designed by Alexander Kartveli, a Georgian immigrant and former chief engineer for the Seversky Aircraft Corporation, which became the Republic Aviation Corporation in 1939.
Alexander Kartveli (née Kartvelishvili, ალექსანდრე ქართველი) was born in Tbilisi, in the Kutais Governorate of the Russian Empire, (what is now, Georgia). After World War I, during which he was wounded, Kartvelishvili was sent to study at the Paris Aviation Higher College of Engineering in France by the government of the Democratic Republic of Georgia. He graduated in 1922. Kartvelishvili did not return to his country, which had fallen to the Red Army in the Soviet-Georgian War. He worked for Blériot Aéronautique S.A. until 1928, when he was employed by the Fokker American Company (also known as Atlantic Aircraft, or Atlantic-Fokker) which was headquartered at Passaic, New Jersey, in the United States. In 1931, he became chief engineer for the Seversky Aircraft Company in Farmingdale.
Republic XP-47B Thunderbolt prototype 40-3051 at Farmingdale, New York, 1941. The pilot standing in front of the airplane gives a scale reference. (Republic Aviation Corporation)
Kartveli submitted his design proposal for the XP-47B to the U.S. Army Air Corps, 12 June 1940. The prototype was ordered 6 September, and a week later, 13 September 161 production P47Bs and 602 P-47Cs were ordered. The contract was for $56,499,924. The company named the new fighter “Thunderbolt,” which had been suggested by C. Hart Miller, director of the military contracts division of Republic Aviation.
The XP-47B was the largest single-engine fighter that had yet been built. The production P-47B was 34 feet, 10 inches (10.617 meters) long with a wingspan of 40 feet, 9-5/16 inches (12.429 meters), and height of 12 feet, 8 inches (3.861 meters).¹ The wing area was 300 square feet (27.9 square meters). At a gross weight of 12,086 pounds (5,482 kilograms), it was nearly twice as heavy as any of its contemporaries.
Republic XP-47B Thunderbolt 40-3051 at Wright Field, Dayton, Ohio.(Ray Wagner Collection, San Diego Air & Space Museum Archives )
The XP-47B was powered by an air-cooled, supercharged and turbocharged, 2,804.4-cubic-inch-displacement (45.956 liter) Pratt & Whitney R-2800-21 (Double Wasp TSB1-G) two-row, 18-cylinder radial with a compression ratio of 6.65:1 had a normal power rating of 1,625 horsepower at 2,550 r.p.m., to an altitude of 25,000 feet (7,620 meters), and a takeoff/military power rating of 2,000 horsepower at 2,700 r.p.m. at 25,000 feet (7,620 meters). The engine drove a 12-foot, 2 inch (3.708 meter) diameter, four-bladed Curtiss Electric constant-speed propeller through a 2:1 gear reduction. The R-2800-21 was 4 feet, 4.50 inches (1.340 meters) in diameter and 6 feet, 3.72 inches (1.923 meters) long. The engine weighed 2,265 pounds (1,027 kilograms). Approximately 80% of these engines were produced by the Ford Motor Company. It was also used as a commercial aircraft engine, with optional propeller gear reduction ratios.
A large General Electric turbosupercharger was mounted in the rear of the fuselage. Internal ducts carried exhaust gases from the engine to drive the turbocharger. This supercharged air was then carried forward through an intercooler and then on to the carburetor to supply the engine. The engine’s mechanical supercharger further pressurized the air-fuel charge.
Republic XP-47B 40-3051. The pilot enters the cockpit through a hinged canopy segment. (Ray Wagner Collection Catalog, San Diego Air and Space Museum)
During flight testing, the XP-47B Thunderbolt demonstrated speeds of 344.5 miles per hour (554.4 kilometers per hour) at 5,425 feet (1,654 meters), and 382 miles per hour (615 kilometers per hour) at 15,600 feet (4,745 meters). Its maximum speed was 412 miles per hour (663 kilometers per hour) at 25,800 feet (7,864 meters). The test pilot reported that the engine was unable to produce full power during these tests. It was determined that it had a cracked cylinder head, resulting in a loss of 2.5–4% of its maximum rated power. Also, the XP-47B was painted in camouflage, resulting in a slight loss of speed.
It could climb to 15,000 feet (4,572 meters) in just five minutes.
The Thunderbolt was armed with eight Browning AN-M2 .50-caliber machine guns, four in each wing, with 3,400 rounds of ammunition. It could also carry external fuel tanks, rockets and bombs. The structure of the P-47 could be described as “robust” and it was heavily armored. The amount of damage that the airplane could absorb and still return was remarkable.
Republic XP-47B Thunderbolt 40-3051, 4 May 1941. (Republic Aviation Corporation)
During a test flight, 4 August 1942, the XP-47B’s tail wheel was left down. The extreme heat of the turbocharger’s exhaust set fire to the tire, which then spread to the airplane’s fabric-covered control surfaces. Unable to control the airplane, test pilot Filmore L. Gilmer bailed out. The prototype Thunderbolt crashed into Long Island Sound and was destroyed.
The third production Republic P-47B Thunderbolt, 41-5897, at Langley Field, Virginia, 24 March 1942. The door-hinged canopy of the XP-47B has been replaced by a rearward-sliding canopy, requiring that the radio antenna mast be moved.(NASA)A Republic P-47B Thunderbolt in the NACA Full Scale Tunnel, 31 July 1942. (NASA LMAL 29051)
A total of 15,683 Thunderbolts were built; more than any other U.S. fighter type. In aerial combat, it had a kill-to-loss ratio of 4.6:1. The P-47, though, really made its name as a ground attack fighter, destroying aircraft, locomotives, rail cars, and tanks by the many thousands. It was one of the most successful aircraft of World War II.
¹ Data from Pilot’s Flight Operating Instructions, Technical Order No. 01-65BC-1, 20 January 1943
North American Aviation YF-86H-1-NA Sabre 52-1975 during a test flight. A long pitot boom is used for initial instrument calibration. (U.S. Air Force)North American Aviation YF-86H-1-NA Sabre 52-1975 fighter bomber at Edwards AFB. (U.S. Air Force)
30 April 1952, the first North American Aviation F-86H Sabre fighter bomber, YF-86H-1-NA 52-1975, made its first flight with test pilot Joseph A. Lynch, Jr., in the cockpit. It was flown from the Inglewood, California, factory to Edwards Air Force Base for evaluation and testing.
While the F-86A, E and F Sabres were air superiority fighters and the F-86D and L were all-weather interceptors, the F-86H was a fighter bomber, designed to attack targets on the ground with guns, bombs and rockets.
Larger and with a maximum gross weight nearly 4,000 pounds (1,814 kilograms) heavier than an F-86F, the H model’s J73 engine provided almost 40% more thrust. The engine was larger that the J47 used in previous F-86 models, and this required a much larger air intake and airframe modifications. The fuselage was 6 inches deeper and two feet longer than the F-86F. This accommodated the new engine and an increase in fuel load. The tail surfaces were changed with an increase in the height of the vertical fin and the elevators were changed to an “all-flying” horizontal stabilizer. Though it’s top speed was only marginally faster, the F-86H could take off in a shorter distance and climb faster with a higher service ceiling than the earlier models.
Joseph A. Lynch, Jr.
The two pre-production aircraft were built at Inglewood, California, but all production airplanes were built at Columbus, Ohio. The serial numbers of those F-86H Sabres have the suffix -NH.
The North American Aviation F-86H Sabre was 38 feet, 10 inches (11.836 meters) long with a wingspan of 39 feet, 1 inch (11.913 meters) and overall height of 14 feet, 11 inches (4.547 meters). Empty weight was 13,836 pounds (6,276 kilograms) and gross weight was 24,296 pounds (11,021 kilograms).
The F-86H was powered by a General Electric J73-GE-3D or -3E engine, a single-spool, axial-flow, turbojet engine, which used a 12-stage compressor section with variable inlet vanes, 10 combustion chambers and 2-stage turbine section. It produced 8,920 pounds of thrust (39.68 kilonewtons) at 7,950 r.p.m. (5-minute limit). The J73 was 12 feet, 3.2 inches (3.739 meters) long, 3 feet, 0.8 inches (0.935 meters) in diameter and weighed 3,650 pounds (1,656 kilograms).
North American Aviation F-86H-10-NH Sabre 53-1298. (U.S. Air Force)
The F-86H had a maximum speed of 601 knots (692 miles per hour/1,113 kilometers per hour) at Sea Level and 536 knots (617 miles per hour (993 kilometers) at 35,000 feet (10,668 meters). The fighter bomber had an initial rate of climb of 12,900 feet per minute (65.53 meters per second) and it could reach 30,000 feet (9,144 meters) in 5.7 minutes. The service ceiling was 50,800 feet (15,484 meters). With a full load of bombs, the F-86H had a combat radius of 350 nautical miles (402 statute miles/648 kilometers) at 470 knots (541 miles per hour (870 kilometers per hour). The maximum ferry range was 1,573 nautical miles (1,810 statute miles/2,913 kilometers).
The two pre-production YF-86Hs were unarmed. The first ten production airplanes were built with six .50 caliber Browning machine guns, the same as the F-86F Sabre, but the remaining F-86H Sabres were armed with four M39 20 mm revolver autocannon with 600 rounds of ammunition. In ground attack configuration, a maximum bomb load of 2,310 pounds (1,048 kilograms) could be carried, or one 12–24 kiloton Mark 12 “Special Store” that would be delivered by “toss bombing.”
The F-86H Sabre became operational in 1954. 473 F-86H Sabres were built before production ended. By 1958 all that remained in the U.S. Air Force Inventory were reassigned to the Air National Guard. The last one was retired in 1972.
North American Aviation F-86H Sabre. (U.S. Air Force)
