The F-84F “Super Hog” Might Have Been Its Own Worst Enemy

ThunderFLASH

The reconnaissance version of the F-84F, the RF-84F Thunderflash, came about by accident as much as any other reason. The second YF-84F prototype was built with air intakes located in the wing roots. This arrangement was not acceptable for the F-84F, but some wise soul realized that cameras, and several of them, could be installed in the nose of a Thunderstreak configured in such a manner. The RF-84Fs suffered from the same performance, power plant, and corrosion problems as the F-84Fs. They were finally retired by their ANG operators and replaced by RF-101 Voodoos in 1972.

Doing T Bird Time

The USAF Aerial Demonstration Team, the Thunderbirds, flew the straight-winged Republic F-84G Thunderjet as their first performance aircraft. They switched quickly to the F-84F in 1955 and flew the Thunderstreak for 91 performances. Even the Thunderbirds turned their backs on the F-84F. After only one show season flying them, the Thunderbirds transitioned to the North American F-100C Super Sabre.

NATO Jets Served With Distinction

Republic Aviation built a total of 2,112 F-84Fs. General Motors built an additional 599 airframes. 1,301 of these Thunderstreaks were operated by Belgium, China (Taiwan), Denmark, France, Germany (West), Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, and Turkey as part of the Military Assistance Program (MAP). The United States Air Force / Air Force  Reserve / Air National Guard operated the other 811 F-84Fs. 715 RF-84F Thunderflashes were built and 386 of those were delivered to NATO allies. The last operational F-84F variants were the RF-84F Thunderflashes flown by Greece’s Hellenic Air Force. They were retired in 1991.

Thunderstreak Trivia

Here are five things you might not know about the Republic F-84F Thunderstreak:

• The first F-84 straight-winged models were nicknamed Hogs. The F-84F, predictably, became the Super Hog. When the Republic F-105 Thunderchief went into service the F-84F was dubbed Thud’s Mother. And, following the nicknaming logic, the F-105 also became known as the Ultra Hog. Those pilots and their nicknames…
• Have you ever been on an airliner that seemed to be taking an extra extra long time to get off the ground during takeoff? Then you know how every Thunderstreak pilot felt nearly every time down the runway. Because the engine in the F-84F was underpowered to begin with, and it was angled disadvantageously, a hot and high takeoff when mission loaded could easily require 7,500 feet or more of runway roll.
• Two West German F-84Fs mistakenly crossed into East German airspace on September 14^th 1961- smack dab in the middle of the Berlin Crisis. They landed at Tegel Airport in what would soon become known as East Berlin. The two errant German pilots evaded multiple attempts to stop them by Soviet interceptors.
• On August 16^th 1962, two Turkish Air Force F-84Fs shot down a pair of Iraqi Ilyushin Il-28 Beagle bombers. The hapless Iraqis were supposed to be bombing Kurdish rebels but ended up in Turkish airspace instead. This is quite likely the only air-to-air engagement involving the F-84F.
• In the movie The Hunters (20^th Century Fox 1958), F-84Fs stood in for North Korean MiGs trying to shoot down American F-86 Sabre pilot Cleve Saville and his wingmen over Korea.

We hope you enjoy this look at the Republic F-84F while flown by the USAF Thunderbirds uploaded to YouTube by airailimages.

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