Designed as a successor to the P-47 Thunderbolt, it was in every way worthy of its illustrious ancestors. Also designed by Alexander Kartveli, the Republic F-84 Thunderjet had a long and intense operational career which continued until the early 1960s when it entered — along with the North American F-86 Saber, the MiG-15 Soviet and the British Hawker Hunter — in the select group of the best combat aircraft of the first generation. Within the USAF, the Thunderjet was, in particular, the first single-seater capable of carrying nuclear weapons.
The Americans produced many versions of the aircraft, including one, the F-84F, almost radically transformed the initial project. This model had 45 degree swept wings which greatly improved the overall performance of the machine. The assembly lines produced in all, including the prototypes of the various versions, 7,889 F-84, including 4,457 equipped with the straight wings which characterized the first five versions and the others provided with the swept wings of the last
production versions. But the Thunder-jet was not only used in the USAF:about half of the F-84s built (3,723 copies exactly) equipped the detachments of NATO member countries and many "non-aligned" nations as part of the various post-war military aid programs. The Italian Military Aviation, in particular, put the F-84s online in 1952 and kept them there until 1974 in the RF-84F version, intended for photographic reconnaissance. The Thunderjets remained in service with the USAF until the mid-1960s, when they became part of the reserve forces.
As early as 1944, Alexander Kartveli had begun to take an interest in the creation of a successor to the P-47 Thunderbolt, equipped with a jet engine. After many unsuccessful projects, Kartveli managed to define, towards the end of the year, the basic project that would give life to the future F-84:the aircraft, designed around the General Electric TG- 180 (which will become the J35), presented simple lines and possessed wings in rectilinear plan, characterized by a contracture and a lengthening relatively, moderate. At the beginning of 1945, the USAF - impressed by the possibilities offered by the project - ordered from the Republic 3 prototypes, called XP-84, and 400 production examples. The first aircraft flew a little over a year later, on February 28, 1946, and the second in August. On September 7 of that year, the new machine amply demonstrated its excellent performance when the second XP-84 conquered the world average speed record of 983 kilometers per hour. The Americans immediately started the production of the 25 pre-series copies (YP-84). These planes underwent a whole series of modifications relating to the engine, the installation of the wing tanks and the armament and received the name of YP-84A. The first operational version was the P-84B, whose armament and some structural details were later modified by Republic engineers. It flew in June 1947 and began arriving in detachments soon after. The United States built 226 P-84Bs before seeing this model replaced on the production lines by the next version, the P-84C. The prototype of this series flew in April 1948, about two months before the military authorities gave (June 11) the order to change the operational designation from "P" to "F" The 191 F-84Cs produced were characterized by structural changes:the technicians redesigned the electrical installation and overhauled the fuel supply system and the hydraulic installation. The specimens (154) of the third production version, the F-840, which appeared in November 1948, underwent subsequent modifications:they presented a structure reinforced by the adoption of a thicker coating, and their fuel supply system fuel was equipped with a preheater. In addition, they had a more powerful version of the J35 engine:the maximum speed increased to 965 kilometers per hour and the fully loaded weight increased by about 300 kilos.
The F-84 D were the first Thunderjets to be used in operations during the Korean War. These machines were followed by copies of the production version, called F-84E. This series gave birth to 843 copies, including 100 intended for member countries of the Atlantic Alliance. The first F-84E flew on May 18, 1949:it was characterized by numerous modifications made to the on-board equipment and by the lengthening of the fuselage by approximately 30 centimeters, in order to improve the interior layout of the pilot's cockpit. . The fifth - and last version, equipped with straight wings, was born in November 1950, at the request of the Tactical Air Command which wanted a light fighter-bomber capable of carrying nuclear weapons. Deliveries of the F-84Gs began in January of the following year and production totaled 3,025 examples, of which almost two-thirds (1,936 exactly) went to Allied countries. Apart from the changes made to the armament, this model, powered by a J35 engine of 2,540 kilos of thrust, was equipped with an in-flight refueling system and an autopilot. After realizing the F-84G (the USAF's last straight-winged fighter), Kartveli felt that the machine had reached the limit of its operational possibilities and that the only solution now was to largely revise the initial designs.
Commitments
An F-84E of the 27th Fighter Escort Group in Taegu, Korea in 1951
The Thunderjet was the last subsonic straight-wing fighter-bomber to be used in operations.
During the Korean War, the United States first contracted the F-84 as an escort aircraft to protect bombers from MIG-15 attacks. Clearly outclassed by these aircraft, the Thunderjet quickly proved unsuitable for this mission and was then used only for ground attack, where it gave complete satisfaction. About 330 F-84s were lost during these operations, half of them due to anti-aircraft defenses.
France committed its F-84Fs during Operation Musketeer against Egypt in 1956.
Turkey probably used its F-84Fs during the invasion of Northern Cyprus in 1974.
Airplane: Republic F-84G Thunderjet.
Constructor :Republic Aviation Corp.
Type :fighter-bombing.
Year :1950.
Engine :Allison J35-A-29 turbojet engine, 2,540 kg thrust.
Wingspan :11.10 m.
Length :11.61 m.
Height :3.83 m.
Take-off weight :10,670 kg.
Maximum speed speed:1,001 km/h at sea level.
Maximum operating altitude :12,340 m.
Range :3,220 km.
Armament :6 machine guns; 1,814 kg war load.
Crew :1 person.