I flew the F-84Fs powered by the -W7 engines. As such I could outrun but not outmaneuvre an F-86 and in a shallow dive could easily clear Mach 1 above 30,000'. Of course carrying 2x450 Gallon Pylon Tanks required a Jato assisted takeoff above 59 deg F on a NATO standard runway. The -W3 powered units operated in the mid 30s whereas I operated above 40,000' easily at and above .9M. But the primary mission was treetop low level doing 375 kts. The first flight ever was interesting, you had to actually yank the stick back to rotate unlike other jets I flew. The F-84 was my first operational fighter and has a special place in my heart. Less charming was the nickname "widow maker" which she shared with her successor, the F-104G.
+Winfried Wobbe Those opening shots look like they were filmed at Elmendorf. As late as 1984, they still had a pair of T33s in service, my roomie took an incentive flight in one.
Thanks. Great Video. I didn't realize that the Republic F-84 Thunderjet ,and its continuing series of jets, played such an important role in US and aviation history.
Richard Bach (of Jonathan Livingston Seagull fame) wrote "Stranger to the Ground," a story of a delivery flight in an ANG F-84F. He remarked about the concussion starter (F-84 made a BOOM! starting the engine!) and other details. Fun and well written story. Thank you for posting this- a fun watch.
There were two F-84J prototypes built with a more powerful jet engine, but the F-105 was already on its way by then. Earlier, the original F-84F prototype had the same type engine as the straight-wing 84s. Republic Aviation then sliced the fuselage lengthwise to stuff in a J-65, but this was only partly successful.
One of the important improvements to later versions was the inclusion of a "sand-dribbler" mechanism that poured a small amount of sand onto the nose wheel during a takeoff run. The sand was interpreted by the aircraft as the end of the runway, thus causing the aircraft to lift off the runway.
Thanks for the post. The F-84G remains one of my favorite SAC fighters. The F-84F was a beauty in profile. The downward, low slung angle of the under wing bombs, inches away from the runway, gave it a formidable look. Too bad it was not as fast as it looked. More delivery truck than sports car.
it wasn't a sac fighter it was a TAC fighter. tactical air command not strategic air command. tactical air command was for tactical nukes used in battlefields .
That isactually an RF-84F. The Reconnaissance version of the aircraft had moved the air inlet from the nose to the wing roots. My father flew them in the Tennessee Air National Guard during the 50s.
I was a crew chief at Malstrom AFB in Montana on both G models and F models F models we had a bad loss rate. We had a pilot flamed out and attempted a landing on the backup electric trim he lined up but did not flair we walked the runway picking up all the small pieces.including the pilot.
There was probably little point in giving the aircraft extra thrust as there would have been upper limits on its airspeed due to compressibility effects
I clearly remember manning the one of the two towers at the northwest Kyushu air-to-ground firing range ont the beach near Ashiya-machi. All F-84s would practice strafing, a-g rocketry and practice nuclear bombing runs. Our biggest problem was keeping local civilians off the range while trying to grab any brass or practice bombs to re-sell the metal. It was a beautiful seaside location.
These were destined to only be an OK aircraft. The engines were still pretty gutless and nothing really performed until the J75 and J79 came along. The bodies for these were very small to maintain some performance but then not big enough to carry enough fuel to have any range. Good first effort but were quickly overtaken as technology leapfrogged ahead.
Cool video, thanks for posting! What I can't understand is why the F-84 (at least the F-84F) didn't later incorporate or at least upgrade to an afterburning engine. Of course it would have ate more fuel but it would have given the aircraft more power overcoming it's sluggishness.
Velociamator Oh yes, I know all about the mighty J-75; I used to watch F-106s take off out of Tyndall Air Force Base in Florida back in the 1980's. They to had J-75s and I can almost still hear the loud deafening roar of those engines to this day!
....and a STREAK is at the good museum at CASTLE AFB, Atwater, Merced County, CA. The opening scene on the vid. here on YouTUBE features just that craft !
Did you watch the video? It stated the limitations of the design and how the F86 was the better dog fighter and how the F84 became a ground attack aircraft because of that? The F84 was cutting edge designs that while other aircraft also testing the new technology of jets failed the F84 kept going into the 70s. The F86 was a great plane certainly but was better suited as a air combat fighter. It too had a long career with the last combat flown F86 being the Canadair version in the 70s as well if I am not mistaken. With it's failings credit has to be given to Republic and the F84 for their work in developing the technology.
no it was a relatively good aircraft in terms of early jet technology and for it to serve in a ground attack role, sure it had problems taking off but did it get off? yes and it sure as hell made a ruckus for those on the ground that got to witness the F-84 right before getting napalmed or hit by a rocket. also the F-86 could ground attack but it had to be used by a skilled ground attack pilot unlike the F-84.
