USAF Thunderbirds F-84F Thunderstreak

Additional Information:

The Republic F-84 Thunderjet was an American turbojet fighter-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 so many structural and engine problems that a 1948 U.S. Air Force review declared it unable to execute any aspect of its intended mission and considered canceling the program. The aircraft was not considered fully operational until the 1949 F-84D model and the design matured only with the definitive F-84G introduced in 1951. In 1954, the straight-wing Thunderjet was joined by the swept-wing F-84F Thunderstreak fighter and RF-84F Thunderflash photo reconnaissance aircraft.

The Thunderjet became the USAF’s primary strike aircraft during the Korean War and over half of the 7,524 F-84s produced served with NATO nations. The Thunderjet was the first aircraft to fly with the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds demonstration team.

The USAF Air Demonstration Squadron (“Thunderbirds”) is the air demonstration squadron of the United States Air Force (USAF). The Thunderbirds are assigned to the 57th Wing, and are based at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada. Created in 1953, the USAF Thunderbirds are the third-oldest formal flying aerobatic team (under the same name) in the world, after the French Air Force Patrouille de France formed in 1931 and the United States Navy Blue Angels formed in 1946.

After six months training in an unofficial status, the Thunderbirds were activated on May 25, 1953 as the 3600th Air Demonstration Team at Luke Air Force Base, just west of Phoenix Arizona. The first plane used by the Thunderbirds was the straight-wing Republic F-84G Thunderjet in 1953 and by August of that year the team had flown 26 shows. In 1954, the Thunderbirds performed their first overseas air shows with a tour of South and Central America where they added a permanent solo routine to the demonstration. In the spring of 1955, the Thunderbirds moved to the swept-wing F-84F Thunderstreak aircraft, in which they performed 91 air shows. The Thunderbirds operated the F-84F Thunderstreaks until 1956.

The Thunderbird’s F-84F or F-84G aircraft never performed at Kirtland Air Force Base in Albuquerque New Mexico although the F-84 Thunderbird aircraft has stopped in for refueling from1953 until 1956.

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