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For educational purposes
The F-84 Thunderjet first took to the air in 1946, as the first post-war American fighter.
Born in an era of uncertain aircraft design, it nonetheless made a significant contribution to fighter plane efficiency.
The F-84 Thunderjet first took to the air in 1946, as the first post-war American fighter.
Born in an era of uncertain aircraft design, it nonetheless made a significant contribution to fighter plane efficiency.
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00:11To be continued...
00:39It was conceived in the late days of World War II, but would earn its fierce reputation
00:44in the next conflict.
00:46Built in the mid-1940s as a day fighter, problems plagued this plane in its early stages.
00:53But during the Korean War, this jet became the Air Force's primary strike aircraft.
00:57I'm Paul Max Moga, and I've flown some of the most sophisticated fighter planes ever built.
01:06This is the Virginia Air and Space Center, located in Hampton, Virginia, the birthplace
01:12of America's space program.
01:13On this episode of Great Plains, we'll tell the remarkable story of the Republic F-84 Thunderjet.
01:23Hi, I'm Kenneth Flick.
01:25I'm the Educator Resource Manager here at the Virginia Air and Space Center.
01:29Well, Ken, I sure appreciate you taking the time to show us around the F-84 today.
01:33This particular aircraft right here actually flew in three different squadrons over its
01:39life.
01:41years.
01:41When it was retired from the Air Force inventory, it went to the National Guard in Puerto Rico
01:47and stayed with the National Guard in Puerto Rico up until its retirement in the early 1970s.
01:54So the plane was around for a long time.
01:56This particular one going into inventory in 1955.
01:59Yeah, 20 plus years.
02:0120 plus years and the Air Force was gracious enough to let us have this aircraft.
02:16The F-84 series of jets starts in 1944 in response to the U.S. Air Force's request
02:22for a daytime pursuit aircraft to keep up with German and British models encountered in World
02:27War II.
02:35The Lockheed Corporation is developing one of the first jet aircraft, the P-80 Shooting Star.
02:49Meanwhile, at Republic Aviation, a sleek and extremely clean design built around General
02:54Electric's new axial flow engine impresses Army brass and three XP-84 prototype jets are ordered.
03:05The first plane, ready by December 1945, heads to the testing center for Army evaluation.
03:20There, on the 28th of February 1946, the F-84 Thunderjet takes to the air, the first post-war
03:27American fighter.
03:36The conventional straight-wing, all-metal design employs laminar flow wings, which help reduce
03:41drag.
03:53Though not technologically advanced for the time, this classic-style aircraft incorporates
03:58the best ideas of the day.
04:12Models rapidly evolve, produced in small numbers until the E-Model arrives in 1949.
04:20Over 840 of the E-Model will eventually be built.
04:31But the plane has problems from the start, as do most early jets.
04:38The straight-wing, the most obvious design flaw, will eventually mature into a swept-wing version.
04:48But the biggest problem is the design's lack of serious power.
04:55Like all early jets, the sluggish Thunderjet requires an extra-long runway for takeoff.
05:04To help get it airborne more quickly, a rocket is attached underneath to assist it off the ground.
05:09And then the rocket is released once airborne.
05:18Because more powerful engines mean more weight, rather than a costly upgrade, all models would
05:23keep the JATO assist for takeoff.
05:28Development is slow, and in the interim, production begins on improved straight-wing versions.
05:35This, the G-Model, is the most popular, with 3025 constructed.
05:43The G-Model.
05:58With the speed limitations and underpowered engine, the F-84's original mission as an interceptor
06:03quickly gets surpassed by North American's F-86 Sabre.
06:21In tactical support and air-to-ground strike operations, however, the F-84 G-Model gains
06:27a fierce combat reputation.
06:35Its low-mounted wing proves an asset, allowing easy arming with minimal equipment.
06:44With up to 4,000 pounds of bombs, the Thunderjet packs a mighty punch.
06:50Its rocket-assisted takeoff enables it to fly from short front-line strips in fairly rough conditions.
06:57And its rugged construction absorbs small arms fire with little worry.
07:06For ground attack, the Thunderjet boasts six machine guns, each carrying 300 rounds.
07:18For attacking tanks, it can sling up to 32 five-inch rockets from under its wings and fuselage.
07:25And to add to its strike power, the plane can deploy a blazing load of napalm.
07:32What did the F-84 have on it as far as air-to-ground or air-to-air ordinance?
07:38The aircraft had six .50 caliber machine guns in the nose, internal.
07:43Each .50 cal had about 300 rounds.
07:46It was capable of carrying up to 4,450 pounds of ordnance under the wings and in the centerline
07:54of the aircraft.
07:55And the F-84 G-Model, which was a straight-wing aircraft, had the capability of carrying a Mark
08:03VII atomic bomb, which for a plane this size is pretty incredible.
08:15While the straight-wing design makes it solid in a tactical role, it limits the jet's speed.
08:23It also lacks maneuverability, making it too slow and clumsy for a fighter plane.
08:37But the qualities that make it a bad fighter plane become assets in a ground attack.
09:04The original production version, the B, shows little advancement from the 1945 piston engine fighters.
09:12Later models and sub-models grow more sophisticated.
09:16By the G version, the plane's features include radar-assisted sighting, autopilot, and revised electrical, fuel, and hydraulic systems.
09:29The early jet engines guzzle fuel, and the Thunderjet has limited internal storage.
09:36Wing-tip tanks boost capacity, but only to a total range of 1,200 miles or so.
09:44When the G model is introduced, it can manage 2,000 miles.
09:49And that's just the start.
09:53Because the Strategic Air Command employs it as an escort fighter, the plane becomes the first U.S. fighter to
09:58have an in-flight refueling capability.
10:01It's not perfect.
10:02The receiver on the left wing disrupts the airflow over a considerable portion of the wing's surface.
10:11Ironically, the G model exists only because of delays in developing the swept wing designs.
10:19However, by 1952, the new and hopefully improved design tries a test flight.
10:26When the F-86 from North American came out, the public wanted to keep up with them.
10:32So they designed the F-84 with a swept back wing.
10:36They took an E-model fuselage, slapped on two wings at a 40-degree from center, a swept back wing.
10:44They swept back the tail section and tried to increase performance.
10:48So, keep up or abandon ship, huh?
10:50Well, you might say that, but I don't think the public was going to really abandon ship.
10:55But they wanted to try to keep up with the Joneses.
11:03The new swept wing gets renamed the F-84F and bears the company name Thunderstreak.
11:15But as a fighter plane, it doesn't deliver as promised.
11:19In fact, despite its powerful engine and streamlined shape, the plane is as sluggish as ever and still can't take
11:26off quickly.
11:28The issue of weight keeps holding it down.
11:34At 695 miles per hour, the F-model beats the G-model's maximum speed of 622.
11:41But in climb and ceiling, it underperforms the straight wing planes.
11:46Like its predecessors, the F-model joins the ranks of the tactical fighter bombers.
11:55Budgetary constraints contribute to the swept wing's slow development.
12:05When the disappointing prototype flies on June 3, 1950, it clearly demands a more powerful engine.
12:13But without the funds to develop one, the project stalls.
12:19In 1950, the cost of flying an F-84 Thunderstreak was $390 an hour.
12:25Today, that cost would equal roughly $3,500 an hour.
12:37As defense budgets tighten after World War II, the development of swept wing fighter jets stalls.
12:43Congress cuts off funding and the U.S. Air Force has no more money to allocate.
12:47When a disappointing prototype flies on June 3, 1950, it highlights a major problem.
12:54The F-84 demands a more powerful engine.
12:58But without the funds to develop one, the project comes to a complete standstill.
13:04Then, only 22 days after the test flight, the U.S. gets word that communist forces have invaded South Korea.
13:12Suddenly, the floodgate of defense dollars blows wide open.
13:25When war breaks out in Korea, the United States Air Force is a mere shadow of the victory machine that
13:30existed five years earlier.
13:33And the South Koreans have no actual Air Force.
13:37Only 22 aircraft, all trainers, without a gun or bomber between them.
13:45Their airfields, few and rudimentary, can accommodate only piston engine aircraft, forcing American jets to operate from Japan.
13:54The jets arrived at the battlefront with limited loiter time available.
14:02The U.S. deploys a force barely up to the task, while the North Korean Air Force isn't much better.
14:14The North has nearly 100 fighters, 62 light attack planes and 10 reconnaissance planes.
14:25To help paralyze the Northern effort, the U.S. enlists heavy bombers in a combination of interdiction and strategic raids.
14:34Combining Navy aircraft and whatever the Air Force can deploy from the limited Korean airstrips, the U.S. promptly destroys
14:40the entire North Korean Air Force, slowing its advance.
14:57Because the P-51 Mustangs and P-80 shooting stars can do the job, the U.S. doesn't initially send
15:02F-84s to Korea.
15:07But on the 9th of November, 1950, the situation changes radically.
15:13North Korea starts deploying Soviet MiG-15 jet fighters.
15:23Within days, the United States sends in their own jets.
15:29On December 6th, less than a month after the MiGs appear, the F-84 flies its first combat mission.
15:38The planes join F-86 Sabres committed to the battle.
15:48Outclassed as a fighter by the swept-wing MiGs and Sabres, the F-84s settle into a life of tactical
15:53air-to-ground missions.
15:58Most of the time, they require Sabres as mission escorts in case they run up against the lightning-fast MiGs.
16:07In their tactical role, the F-84s prove invaluable.
16:21Thunder jets officially shoot down 9 MiGs and potentially down or damage another 96.
16:28Against this, the MiGs down 18 Thunder jets and damage many more.
16:34Anti-aircraft fire claims a greater share of the F-84s.
16:38122 are shot down by ground forces.
16:42Though some missions fly straight from Japan and require in-flight refueling,
16:46the rugged Thunder jets can operate from the rough-and-ready facilities in Korea.
16:52After each rocket-assisted takeoff, the jetpacks get retrieved for reuse.
16:58In squadron formation, the dense rocket smoke blinds everyone but the squadron leaders,
17:03so everyone else must rely on their instruments during takeoff.
17:09The routines of briefing, ground operations, takeoff, and attack grow familiar.
17:16The F-84s take on a great burden, not only in ground support at the front lines,
17:21but in interdicting supplies, attacking reinforcements, and destroying bridges, railways, and power stations.
17:29They operate as a strategic force, trustworthy, rugged, and deadly.
17:36They prove themselves as a primary weapon in the Air Force's arsenal.
17:44So they took this airframe that was substandard for a period of time, and they Frankensteined it into something that
17:51ended up accounting for 60% of the target kills in a pretty large conflict.
17:57Exactly.
17:57And turned it into something that really went over there and did the job it was supposed to do.
18:02Exactly. They were trying to make it into a fighter, but they found out that its best role was an
18:07air-to-ground attack aircraft.
18:09The F-84 had quite a variety of missions that it could do and do a lot of damage, and
18:16it accounted for 60% of the targets destroyed during the Korean War in 86,000 missions.
18:25It turned out to be quite an airplane. It truly did.
18:29It's almost like an unsung hero.
18:35In the Korean conflict, the Thunderjet really shows its stuff.
18:40Despite its nickname, Mechanics Nightmare, compared to other early jets, it's easy to maintain.
18:46And its stability makes it an effective attack platform, able to withstand considerable damage.
18:52Still, compared to its Republic relatives, such as the P-47 in the Second World War, and the great F
18:58-105s in Vietnam, the Thunderjet's aerial performance is simply not up to par.
19:08In addition to the unflattering nickname, Groundhog, the F-84 Thunderjet had received, it also earned the nickname, Mechanics Nightmare,
19:15due to the constant shortage of parts and maintenance difficulties.
19:31Seen in the context of its era, the Thunderjet was a truly great plane.
19:37Many early jets make worthy contributions in Korea, but the difficult and dangerous tasks of the conflict fall to the
19:43Thunderjet, for one simple reason.
19:45They proved capable, where other planes fail the test of combat.
19:51Still, the Thunderjet's vices and limitations earn them some unflattering nicknames.
19:56Groundhog refers to the plane's unwilling and sluggish takeoff.
20:00During Korea, when the airplane proves its worth and winsome respect, the crew shorten the name to the slightly more
20:07affectionate Hog.
20:09With the U.S. development of the atom bomb, many lessons of the Second World War fly out the window.
20:18Some strategists even proclaim the end of conventional large-scale warfare.
20:23But soon, the Russians also build the bomb, and suddenly, under the threat of nuclear retaliation, atomic weapons don't seem
20:30so useful.
20:33The doctrine of mutually assured destruction is invented, and a new concept, limited war, gets post-dated to cover the
20:40Korean conflict.
20:44In that limited war, the Thunderjets are hailed as one of the most effective weapons available.
20:56By the end of the Korean War in 1953, a series of confrontations and negotiations completely change world politics.
21:08The process culminates in Paris on October 23, 1954, with the end of the occupation of West Germany.
21:17From that date forward, English, American, and French troops remain in Germany as friends to help its defense.
21:27The Germans, many of whom feel deep shock and shame over what their government did, find themselves welcomed back into
21:34the family of nations.
21:45On the 13th of November 1956, the German Luftwaffe is allowed their first combat plane since the end of the
21:51Second World War.
21:53Among them are F-84F Thunderstreaks.
22:02Eventually, the Germans will deploy five full wings of the Thunderstreaks, making Germany the largest user of the planes outside
22:09the U.S. Air Force.
22:15During the years that follow, the F-84 demonstrates its versatility through design variations.
22:24One, the RF-84F Thunderflash, answers Korea's need for a high-speed photographic reconnaissance platform.
22:38Korea requires a plane that can get the job done while avoiding MiGs.
22:44The new photo plane needs a longer range and faster speed than existing models.
22:49Some of the refinements include the close-pointed nose and wing-root air intakes, which allow the aircraft to carry
22:55up to 15 cameras.
23:03These design changes create the most successful production aircraft of the whole F-84 family.
23:14The prototype RF-84 took its first flight in February 1952.
23:22Since then, the design has evolved considerably.
23:30The wing intakes and wing surfaces have increased, and the neat pointed nose grows blunt to how its six cameras.
23:36After successful testing, the plane goes into production.
23:44Engine difficulties delay production until 1955, but eventually they start to roll out of the factory.
23:52715 are produced, and after a short career in the active duty Air Force, they serve with the National Guard.
24:04The U.S. military assistance programs also supply 386 of them to allies.
24:12For all its popularity, the Thunderflasher is designed as a stopgap until newer planes come along.
24:21The McDonnell F-101 Voodoo replaces it.
24:37The McDonnell F-101 Voodoo replaces it.
24:42As well, the Republic team tackles the task of creating a photoreconnaissance plane.
24:49Like the entire F-84 family, the Thunderflasher features the simplified maintenance and ground operation access that influences later designs.
24:59Even the first Thunder jets have over 180 access panels.
25:04The entire tail section can be removed to simplify engine servicing.
25:11This level of detail, irrelevant to the aircraft in flight, ultimately increases the operating life of the plane.
25:29The F-84 doesn't go unnoticed by Air Force brass.
25:36No one can say if the team takes its name from Republic's plane, but when the Thunderbirds form in 1953,
25:42they fly straight-wing F-84s.
25:47And they keep flying them for two years.
25:58For the 1955 season, the Thunderbirds take delivery of new aircraft, still F-84s.
26:04This time, a swept-wing F model.
26:22The F-84 owes much of its success to its suitability as a technological testbed.
26:28During the 1950s, it would help pioneer in-flight launch and retrieval, zero-length launch, and air-to-air refueling.
26:45Although the Republic Aviation Corporation no longer exists, it is responsible for three aircraft that played important roles in three
26:52major wars.
26:54The P-47 Thunderbolt in World War II, the F-84 Thunderjet in the Korean War, and the F-105
27:00Thunderchief in the Vietnam War.
27:11The various evolutions of the F-84 Thunderjet have proven worthy of the US Air Force's time and commitment.
27:21Serving its allies well, models are used successfully in ground attack and reconnaissance before, during, and after the Korean conflict.
27:32Now, FICON, short for Fighter Conveyor, hopes to solve an aerial surveillance problem.
27:40Over hostile territory, large reconnaissance aircraft prove too vulnerable.
27:46But less conspicuous fighter planes and their pilots don't have the range or endurance to reach the far-flung territories
27:53marked for surveillance.
27:58FICON presents a new plan.
28:02A B-36 bomber, acting as a mothership, carries the photoreconnaissance fighter for all but the dangerous leg of the
28:09mission, launching and retrieving it in flight.
28:18But the plan becomes a challenge to execute.
28:25Before a reliable system is reached, the bomber crews and fighter pilots trust their lives to a precarious series of
28:31attachments.
28:41In 1952, project testing begins with a modified F-84E Thunderjet.
28:48Problems arise almost immediately.
28:52First, with the stability of the cradle on the mothership, and then with the trustworthiness of the fighter's hydraulic grapple.
29:01As equipment gets adjusted and redesigned, the project inches closer to success, but the challenges seem endless.
29:09The fighter, loitering beneath the large plane and buffeted by the slipstream, risks stalling at the low end of its
29:16speed range.
29:20To avoid disaster, the procedure demands a high degree of ability from both pilots.
29:32In 1953, RF-84Fs are modified to operate as parasite aircraft and are now designated RF-84Ks.
29:42Testing begins on the 30th of March, when the prototype makes its first successful docking.
29:52Modifications to the F-84 include three hydraulic latches and drastic remodeling of the horizontal tail to allow the plane
29:59to retract into the B-36 bomb bay.
30:05Testing of FICON continues until 1955, when production begins.
30:11The 91st Strategic Reconnaissance Squadron, based at Larson Air Force Base, receives 25 of the specialized RF-84Ks, teamed with
30:20a squadron of modified B-36s.
30:35Experiments and in-squadron training continue until 1956, and then are abandoned.
30:42By coincidence, about this time, the U-2 arrives on the scene.
30:49After the Russians develop their own atomic weapons and delivery systems, American planners are haunted by the fact that a
30:56single Soviet strike can wipe out an entire airfield and its aircraft.
31:02Add to this the jets total dependence on long, straight, conspicuous concrete runways, and the military realizes it has a
31:09problem on its hands.
31:11They arrive at a peculiar solution.
31:15The new plan, Zero Length Launch and Mat Landing, or ZELMAL, proposes to boost launching aircraft into the air, then
31:23land it by making a low pass and hooking onto a cable, which would slow the plane, flopping it on
31:29its belly on a large air-filled mat.
31:32The idea is to reduce required area for takeoff and landing.
31:36Planners visualize hundreds of aircraft dispersed throughout forests and in other hiding places around the Soviet bloc's borders.
31:44These planes, fully armed and battle ready, can respond immediately to Soviet attack.
31:51The Martin Company runs tests with equipment developed for the Matador missile program and unmanned F-84G aircraft.
32:01The first launch takes place on December 15, 1953, as the F-84 rapidly accelerates from the truck and finds
32:08its own way back to Earth.
32:12Another unmanned trial follows.
32:22The system relies on powerful solid fuel rocket boosters attached directly to the aircraft.
32:29Once the rocket spends its fuel, the heavy booster then falls away to reduce drag on the aircraft.
32:36The tests demonstrate that by the time the rocket fuel burns out, the aircraft has accelerated to 175 miles per
32:44hour, well above stall speed.
32:47The plane can then switch to its normal jet engine.
32:51The two unmanned trials go so well that testing moves on to the next phase.
32:58January 5, 1954. With the third trial comes the litmus test, a piloted plane.
33:06The acceleration forces reach 3.5 G's, only slightly greater than a standard Navy catapult launch.
33:13The pilot has no difficulty taking control, and the test is deemed a success.
33:19The project continues, and in 1956, they begin testing with North American F-100 Super Savers.
33:27However, this time the project is modified.
33:32Instead of the plane landing on a mat, once the jet is launched, the pilot bails out over friendly territory.
33:38The project's name is shortened to Zell.
33:42Orders are placed for 148 suitably modified F-100s.
33:47Meanwhile, the Russians perform a series of similar experiments using MiG-19s.
33:53Despite the Zell program's encouraging results, the development of more reliable and accurate missile systems renders it obsolete.
34:00The program gets scrapped.
34:03On September 7, 1946, an XP-84 prototype set a United States speed record of 607.2 miles per hour.
34:25F-84 G's are considered for the Zellmal project, which is designed to blast the fighter into the sky by
34:31a booster rocket.
34:32The plane would land with its gear up on a huge inflatable mat and snag an arresting cable to stop.
34:38The project is in response to the Cold War threat from the Soviets.
34:44While they are put through a battery of tests, the program eventually gets scrapped for more modern missile technology.
34:57But experimentation in the F-84 doesn't end.
35:04One of the other models, the XF-84H Thunderscreech, is designed as a supersonic propeller-driven aircraft.
35:17The Navy orders two prototypes, hoping to develop them for carrier deployment.
35:30Before building its turboprop, the designers study a series of propellers.
35:38Its first flight takes place on the 22nd of July 1955, and the plane passes with only one hitch.
35:45It can't break Mach 1.
35:49It manages a respectable 670 miles per hour, making it the world's fastest propeller-driven aircraft.
35:57But the Navy deems it worthless.
36:03At supersonic speeds, standard propellers face a serious problem.
36:10At speeds nearing Mach 1, different parts of the propeller simultaneously travel at speeds above and below the speed of
36:17sound, creating enormous stress.
36:21To overcome it requires revolutionary changes in propeller design.
36:31Experiments with the XF-84H prove the ruggedness of the three-bladed propeller, and the soundness of the engineering of
36:37the power plant and aircraft.
36:40But with the introduction of steamed catapults, angled decks, and air-to-air refueling, the Navy turns its main focus
36:47from the supersonic turboprop project to true jet aircraft.
36:52That leaves the U.S. Air Force to pursue the project as a matter of basic research and development for
36:58its own purposes.
37:04Besides being the world's fastest propeller-driven plane, the XF-84H is considered the noisiest aircraft ever built.
37:16The large Allison engine blasts nearly 6,000 horsepower, but that creates only a small fraction of the noise.
37:24The rest comes from the propeller.
37:28At high revolutions, even in ground maneuvers, the propeller tips go supersonic, and the plane emits multiple sonic booms per
37:37minute.
37:42During testing, the horrific noise from a single plane actually sickens the ground crew, causing discomfort and nausea to anyone
37:49near the aircraft during taxiing, run-up, or take-off.
37:54The idea of a whole squadron of these planes taking off from a carrier's deck becomes unthinkable, and the plane
38:01and supersonic propellers are canceled.
38:10In contrast to the ill-fated XF-84H, the XF-91 Thunderceptor stands as one of the most amazing experimental
38:18aircraft of its era.
38:28This derivative of the F-84 boasts four rocket chambers plus a powerful jet engine.
38:36The combination helps the XF-91 to become the first U.S. combat plane to break the speed of sound
38:42in level flight.
38:45The aircraft wings pivot to adjust the angle of attack, and its full-length slats enable unheard-of in-flight
38:51maneuvers.
38:54The plane also has a very low stall speed.
38:59The wings, radical for their time, taper in from tip to fuselage.
39:05This reverses the effect of wingtip stall, turning dangerous pitch-up into easily controllable pitch-down.
39:13The XF-91 plans call for an even bigger power plant, enabling the plane to reach Mach 2.
39:20Even with the limited power of the available engines, it can zoom to 1.2 times the speed of sound.
39:28Though clearly the most sophisticated design of its time, its high cost dooms its development.
39:36Economics often flies in the face of Republic's commitment to advanced design.
39:47Another of their projects, the XF-103, capable of reaching Mach 3, also never reaches production.
39:59The XF-103, a delta wing, gets power from a turbojet and ramjets.
40:06The plane has no canopy, so the pilot sits totally enclosed.
40:11An F-84 is used to test periscope systems for the XF-103 pilot,
40:16and this strange mutant thunder jet proves that the system can work.
40:21The F-84 enjoys a long and uneventful career in the Air National Guard,
40:26still plagued by its groundhog takeoff, but trusted and respected by its pilots.
40:32While the planes spend most of their time as a second division of aircraft for the U.S. Air Force,
40:37many other nations depend on them for the front line.
40:43Even so, the F-84 slips into history as new equipment comes along.
40:49Despite years of hard use, the plane never overcomes a reputation tarnished by development difficulties and lack of power.
40:58But to dismiss them is to overlook their significant achievements, particularly in Korea.
41:11Most of the time you hear about the F-86 and its MiG kills, the 10 to 1 ratio and
41:16MiG kills,
41:17and nothing much about the F-84, but the F-84 had quite a variety of missions that it could
41:23do and do a lot of damage.
41:25I mean, that's amazing versatility from an aircraft that is this size and went through the design challenges that it
41:32went through.
41:33All the way from dropping dumb bombs to shooting 50 cals to potentially having to drop an atomic weapon, for
41:39crying out loud.
41:40It speaks for the guys that built it, the guys that designed it, and then also the guys that flew
41:45it.
42:02Like the rest of the first generation of jet fighters, the F-84 links old-style piston engine planes to
42:08the more effective aircraft known as the Century Series,
42:11the second generation of jets. The Century fighters reach greater success simply because they build on the knowledge gained from
42:20earlier aircraft.
42:23Within the first generation, only the F-86 Sabre outclasses the Republic planes.
42:29And only because it too draws on the knowledge gained by the F-84's career.
42:35In a pioneering era of airplane design, the F-84 is blessed with many virtues that overcome its limitations.
42:50The F-84, for all its faults, shines during the Korean conflict as one of the most dependable and rugged
42:57of its contemporaries.
42:58Operating brilliantly from the worst airstrips under abominable conditions, the F-84 earned an impressive service record.
43:11In addition, experiments with the aircraft spawn refinements that change the face of aviation to this day.
43:21In a very distinguished family, the F-84 sits between two of the most successful tactical fighters of all time.
43:29The P-47 Thunderbolt and the F-105 Thunder Chief.
43:33All of them, in their own right, great planes.
43:36The F- heavens may now make events to 서 for the South Zarkets development.
43:39and the building is done professionally in for years.
43:39At the end of the day, we've been in debt.
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