Republic F-84: The USAF’s Thunderjet, Thunderstreak and Thunderflash Fighters

The F-84 Thunderjet was the US Air Force’s main strike aircraft during the Korean War and was used primarily in ground attack operations. Manufactured by the Republic Aviation Corporation, the straight-winged XP-84 prototype first took flight in 1946. Testing revealed lackluster engine performance and structural problems. Design revisions resulted in several new model designations, beginning with the F-84B and followed by the F-84C, which was phased out of operational service by 1952. The F-84D saw significant improvement in engine performance and was followed by the F-84E and the F-84G models, with all three models seeing heavy action in the Korean War. The F-84F Thunderstreak was a swept-wing version that came after the Korean War and was faster than the original F-84 Thunderjet. The Thunderflash was the reconnaissance version of the F-84F. AUTHOR: Ken Neubeck is a reliability engineer who worked on the A-10 production program. He is the author of several aircraft books and amateur radio books and is an avid photographer of military aircraft. He served as president of the Long Island Republic Airport Historical Society, which preserves aspects of the history of Long Island aviation. 196 colour and b/w photographs