STROMBECKER NORTH AMERICAN F-100C SUPER SABRE JET PLASTIC MODEL KIT SM50-89 1960

STROMBECKER NORTH AMERICAN F-100C SUPER SABRE JET PLASTIC MODEL KIT SM50-89 1960 STROMBECKER NORTH AMERICAN F-100C SUPER SABRE JET PLASTIC MODEL KIT SM50-89 (1960) SLING-LAUNCHED VACUFORMED USAF AIR NATIONAL GUARD ————————————– Additional Information from Internet Encyclopedia The North American F-100 Super Sabre is an American supersonic jet fighter aircraft designed and produced by the aircraft manufacturer North American Aviation. The first of the Century Series of American jet fighters, it was the first United States Air Force (USAF) fighter capable of supersonic speed in level flight. The F-100 was envisioned during the late 1940s as a higher-performance successor to the F-86 Sabre air superiority fighter. Initially referred to as the Sabre 45, it was delivered as an unsolicited proposal to the USAF in January 1951, leading to two prototypes being ordered one year later following modifications. The first YF-100A performed its maiden flight on 25 May 1953, seven months ahead of schedule. Flight testing demonstrated both the F-100’s promising performance and several deficiencies, which included its tendency of yaw instability and inertia coupling that led to numerous fatal accidents. On 27 September 1954, the F-100A officially entered USAF service, however, as a result of six major accidents occurred by 10 November 1954, the type was grounded while investigations and remedial work were conducted. The F-100 returned to flight in February 1955. In response to the Tactical Air Command’s (TAC) request for a fighter-bomber, the F-100C was developed, followed by the more capable F-100D. Several other models would be developed, including the two-seat F-100F supersonic trainer. As early as 1958, the USAF began to withdraw its F-100As, but returned them to service during early 1962 amid escalating world tensions. Many F-100s saw combat use during the Vietnam War before being superseded by the high-speed Republic F-105 Thunderchief in the strike mission. The F-100 flew extensively over South Vietnam as the air force’s primary close air support aircraft until being replaced by the more capable subsonic LTV A-7 Corsair II,[5] General Dynamics F-111 Aardvark, and the McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II.[6] 242 F-100s of various models were lost over Vietnam. Several F-100As were rebuilt into RF-100A aerial reconnaissance aircraft. Several F-100Fs were modified into electronic warfare platforms. Several proposed models and derivatives, such as the F-100B interceptor and the F-107, did not proceed through to production. Amid a relatively high attrition rate and the arrival of more advanced fighters, the USAF opted to permanently withdraw its remaining F-100s during the early 1970s. The type was also operated by the Air National Guard (ANG) until 1979. The F ‑ 100 was exported to several overseas operators, including NATO air forces and other U.S. allies, including the Turkish Air Force, Republic of China Air Force, and the French Air Force. The F-100 was deployed during the Turkish invasion of Cyprus, performing close air support missions. French F-100s also saw action during the Algerian War. During its later life, the F-100 was often referred to as the “Hun”, a shortened version of “one hundred”. The F-100 can be traced back to an internal design study performed by North American Aviation as early as 1949.[8] It was named Sabre 45 in reference to its 45° wing sweep and essentially represented an evolution of the company’s successful F-86 Sabre. In January 1951, the company delivered an unsolicited proposal for a supersonic day fighter to the United States Air Force (USAF).[8] On 7 July 1951, a mockup of the aircraft was presented for inspection; the USAF produced a general operational requirement that called for an air superiority weapon to be operational no later than 1957, preferably by 1955. During October 1951, the Air Force Council advocated for the development of a refined model of the Sabre 45; furthermore, it agreed with the Aircraft and Weapons Board’s recommendation that it be purchased in quantity even prior to flight testing despite the risks involved in this approach. By mid-November 1951, in excess of 100 aircraft configuration change requests had been received, necessitating numerous modifications to the original design; several of these alterations were focused on its armaments and were intended to improve its lethality. The new aircraft was accepted as the F-100 on 30 November 1951. On 3 January 1952, the USAF placed an order for two prototypes; one month later, a follow-on production order was issued for 23 F-100As while an additional 250 F-100As were ordered in August of that year as well. Around this time, development work slowed considerably while North American focused on improving and ramping up production of the F-86 in response to urgent demands for more aircraft to participate in the Korean War. Into flight On 25 May 1953, North American Aviation Chief Test Pilot George Welch conducted the first flight of the YF-100A, seven months ahead of schedule.[10] Once level at 35,000 feet he accelerated to supersonic speed, leaving his chase pilot, ”Pete” Everest well behind in his F-86D. As such, he was the first person to exceed Mach 1 in level flight in a jet. [11] During one of its early test flights, the first prototype reached a maximum of Mach 1.05 in spite of being fitted with a derated Pratt & Whitney XJ57-P-7 engine. By September, flight testing had confirmed the presence of three major deficiencies in the design, all of which required correction ahead of it being considered as acceptable.[10] On 14 October 1953, the second prototype flew for the first time, followed by the first production F-100A on 29 October 1953. This first F-100A was put through extensive testing to help develop fixes for identified deficiencies. Progress on the project was setback by a three-month general strike by North American employees in late 1953. An operational evaluation of the F-100A was conducted by the USAF November 1953 and December 1955, it determined that the new aircraft possessed superior performance to existing USAF fighters, but declared that it was not ready for widescale deployment due to various deficiencies and functional difficulties in the design.[10] These findings were subsequently confirmed during operational suitability tests performed under “Project Hot Rod”. During August 1954, six F-100s arrived at the Air Proving Ground Command (APGC), Eglin Air Force Base. The Air Force Operational Test Center (AFOTC) used four of the fighters for operational suitability tests while the other two aircraft underwent armament tests by the Air Force Armament Center. The Tactical Air Division of the AFOTC conducted the APGC testing under the direction of project office Lieutenant Colonel Henry W. Brown; initial testing was completed by APGC personnel at Edwards Air Force Base. Despite these shortcomings, the Tactical Air Command (TAC) advocated for the F-100 as a matter of urgency, particularly in light of delays experienced in the Republic F-84F Thunderstreak program; furthermore, TAC recommended the production of a day fighter with a secondary fighter-bomber capability that would be suitable not only for the USAF but also foreign nations covered by the Mutual Development Assistance Program.[13] Accordingly, during December 1953, the Air Council opted to alter the program, reducing the outstanding total orders for the F-100A by 70 aircraft in favor of a new fighter-bomber variant that would be capable of delivering nuclear bombs.[14] In February 1954, the USAF would issue the first production contract for this fighter-bomber model, the F-100C; equipped to carry additional munitions and fuel tanks, the prototype performed its maiden flight one month later while the first production aircraft followed in January 1955. In response to observed improvements in fighters deployed by the Soviet Union, the USAF directed production of the F-100 to be accelerated via the establishment of a second production line in Columbus in September 1954.[14] During November 1954, production of the F-100 was reduced to 24 aircraft per month in response to a spate of fatal accidents. Aircraft already built were stored and the corrections were applied later. Following appropriate remedial work, the USAF opted to partially lift its restrictions on both production and flights of the F-100 in February 1955; deliveries resumed two months later. Further development Various adaptions and derivatives of the F-100 were considered during its development. During mid-1954, an interceptor model of the aircraft was being studied; in July of that year, a mockup of the envisioned F-110B1 was completed, it was intended as a backup for the in-development Convair F-102 Delta Dagger interceptor. However, the difficulties experienced with the F-100A were viewed as evidence that the aircraft, even in the face of expected improvements, would be incapable of satisfying the operational requirement to a greater degree than that of the F-102. The definitive model would be the F-100D. During May 1954, the TAC had requested a more sophisticated fighter-bomber; the company aimed to address the offensive shortcomings of the F-100C by being primarily a ground-attack aircraft with secondary fighter capabilities. To achieve this, the aircraft was fitted with autopilot, upgraded avionics, and starting with the 184th production aircraft, compatibility with the AIM-9 Sidewinder air-to-air missile. To further address the dangerous flight characteristics, the wingspan was extended by 26 in (66 cm) and the vertical tail area was increased by 27%. In October 1954, an initial production contract was issued for the F-100D, follow-on contracts would be issued in March and December of the following year. On 24 January 1956, the first F-100D (54–2121) flew, piloted by Daniel Darnell. In December 1954, a new General Operational Requirement, GOR 68, was issued by the USAF; it called for a tactical fighter-bomber that would also be effective as an aerial superiority fighter under both day and night conditions. North American opted to respond with a heavily modified version of the F-100; the design was so substantially different that it was promptly decided to redesignate it as the F-107. Intended for speeds as high as Mach 2, the aircraft could be easily distinguished from the F-100 by the placement of the air intake above and behind the cockpit. It was not ultimately produced in quantity, having been passed over in favor of the competing Republic F-105 Thunderchief. On 8 September 1955, North American proposed modifying an F-100C into a two-seat trainer model at no expense to the USAF; two months later, the air council decided to produce the type, perceiving a need for a supersonic trainer. During December 1955, an initial production contract for the F-100F trainer was placed. The prototype TF-100C, which lacked most operational equipment, made its first flight on 6 August 1956; it was followed by the first production aircraft on 7 March 1957. Design The North American F-100 Super Sabre is a supersonic fighter aircraft. It was one of the first aircraft with a stabilator, or all-moving tailplane. Unlike modern stabilators which use an anti-servo tab, gearing and a variable stiffness spring were attached to the control stick to provide acceptable resistance to prevent pilot-induced oscillation. Unusually, the aircraft made extensive use of titanium throughout key areas of the airframe. The F-100 exhibited several concerning handling difficulties, especially early on in its flying career. Particularly troubling was the yaw instability in certain flight conditions, which produced inertia coupling. The aircraft could develop a sudden yaw and roll, occurring too rapidly for the pilot to correct and would quickly overstress the aircraft’s structure, leading to disintegration. It was under these conditions that North American’s chief test pilot, George Welch, was killed while dive testing an early-production F-100A (s/n 52-5764) on 12 October 1954. Several early modifications were made to address the problem, including the integration of black boxes with the yaw and pitch axis, the reshaping of the vertical tail surfaces, shortening of the tailfin, and increased chord of the rudder. Another control problem suffered by the type stemmed from the handling characteristics of the swept wing at high angles of attack: as the aircraft approached stall speeds, loss of lift on the tips of the wings caused a violent pitch-up. This particular phenomenon (which could easily be fatal at low altitude with insufficient time to recover) became known as the “Sabre dance”. The F-100 was the subject of many modification programs over the course of its service. Many of these were improvements to electronics, structural strengthening, and projects to improve ease of maintenance. One of these was the replacement of the original afterburners of the J-57 engines with the more advanced afterburners from retired Convair F-102 Delta Dagger interceptors. This modification changed the appearance of the aft end of the F-100, doing away with the original “petal-style” exhaust. The afterburner modification started in the 1970s and solved maintenance problems with the old type, as well as operational problems, including compressor stall problems. Operational history On 27 September 1954, the F-100A officially entered USAF service with the 479th Fighter Wing, based at George AFB, California. By 10 November 1954, the F-100As had suffered six major accidents[a] due to a combination of factors, including flight instability, structural failures, and hydraulic failures, prompting the USAF to ground the entire fleet. During February 1955, the F-100A resumed flight while the 479th was finally declared operational in September 1955. Due to ongoing problems with the type, the USAF opted to start phasing out the F-100A during 1958. Many of these aircraft were reallocated to Air National Guard (ANG) units while others were given to the Chinese Nationalist Air Force. During 1961, the withdrawal of all USAF F-100As had been completed; by that time, 47 aircraft had been lost in major accidents. However, as a result of escalating world tensions in response to the Berlin Wall’s construction in August 1961, the USAF was compelled to recall the F-100As into active service. During early 1962, it was decided to extend the type’s service life. However, the F-100A was largely used for aircrew training during this time. Due to attrition, the ANG ceased operating the F-100A during 1967 while the USAF opted to permanently retire the model in early 1970. The F-100C fighter-bomber entered service on 14 July 1955 with the 450th Fighter Wing at Foster AFB, Texas. Operational testing in 1955 revealed that the F-100C was at best an interim solution, sharing all the flaws of the F-100A. The uprated J57-P-21 engine boosted performance, although it continued to suffer from compressor stalls, but the F-100C was considered an excellent platform for nuclear toss bombing because of its high top speed. The inertia coupling problem was reasonably addressed with the installation of a yaw damper in the 146th F-100C, which was later retrofitted to earlier aircraft. A pitch damper was added, starting with the 301st F-100C, at a cost of US$10,000 per aircraft. The addition of “wet” hardpoints meant the F-100C could carry a pair of 275 U.S. gal (1,040 L) and a pair of 200 U.S. gal (770 L) drop tanks. However, the combination caused a loss of directional stability at high speeds, so the four tanks were soon replaced by a pair of 450 U.S. gal (1,730 L) drop tanks. The 450s proved scarce and expensive and were often replaced by smaller 335 US gal (1,290 L) tanks. Most troubling to TAC was the fact that, as of 1965, only 125 F-100Cs were capable of using all non-nuclear weapons in the USAF inventory, particularly cluster bombs and AIM-9 Sidewinder air-to-air missiles. By the time the F-100C was phased out in June 1970, 85 had been lost in major accidents. The F-100D entered service on 29 September 1956 with the 405th Fighter Wing at Langley AFB. The model exhibited reliability problems from the onset, particularly with the constant-speed inverter which provided constant-frequency current to the electrical systems. This unit was so unreliable that the USAF required it to have its own oil system to minimize damage in case of failure. Landing gear and brake parachute malfunctions claimed several aircraft while the refueling probes had a tendency to break away during high-speed maneuvers. During 1959, 65 aircraft were modified to also fire the AGM-12 Bullpup air-to-ground missile. Numerous post-production fixes created such a diversity of capabilities between individual aircraft that by 1965, around 700 F-100Ds underwent High Wire modifications to standardize the weapon systems. On 26 March 1958, an F-100D fitted with an Astrodyne booster rocket making 150,000 lbf (670,000 N) of thrust successfully performed a zero-length launch. This was accomplished by adding a large canister to the underside of the aircraft, which contained a black powder compound and was ignited electromechanically, driving the jet engine to minimal ignition point.[39] This capability was incorporated into late-production aircraft. The F-100F two-seat trainer was accepted into USAF service in January 1958. It received many of the same weapons and airframe upgrades as the F-100D, including the new afterburners. Various modifications, largely focused on the structure, were made during the F-100F’s service life; several were adapted with special equipment for electronic warfare operations and saw use in this capacity in Vietnam. By June 1970, 74 F-100Fs had been lost in major accidents. The pilot’s operating manual warned that the F-100F would not recover from a spin. The model was phased out of USAF service in 1972. On July 15, 1958, the 354th Tactical Fighter Wing deployed 29 F-100Ds and Fs to Incirlik Air Base during the 1958 Lebanon crisis to support the Marine landing in Beirut to form a composite air strike force with B-57s, RB-66s, C-124s, RF-101s, and C-130s.[43] In August, 1958, the USAF sent F-100Ds, F-101Cs, F-104As, and B-57Bs to Taiwan during the Second Taiwan Strait Crisis to demonstrate support for Taiwan. By 1961, England AFB, Louisiana, (401st Tactical Wing) had four fighter-bomber squadrons, the 612th, 613th, 614th, and the 615th (Fighting Tigers). During the Berlin crisis (approximately September 1961), the 614th was deployed to Ramstein Air Base, Germany, to support the West Germans. At the initial briefing, the 614th personnel were informed that due to the close proximity of the USSR, if an ICBM were to be launched, they would have only 30 minutes to launch the 614th’s aircraft and retire to the nearest German bunker. During the Cuban Missile Crisis, 181 F-100s of the 31st Tactical Fighter Wing, 401st TFW, and 474th TFW were deployed to Homestead Air Force Base as a deterrent and for a potential strike on Cuba during the crisis. On May 2, 1965, 18 USAF F-100s flew from Ramey Air Force Base in Puerto Rico to support Operation Power Pack flying 313 combat sorties before returning to Myrtle Beach on May 28. In 1966, the Combat Skyspot program fitted some F-100Ds with an X band radar transmitter to allow for ground-directed bombing in inclement weather or at night. In 1967, the USAF began a structural reinforcement program to extend the aircraft’s service life from the designed 3,000 flying hours to 7,000. The USAF alone lost 500 F-100Ds, predominantly in accidents. After one aircraft suffered wing failure, particular attention was paid to lining the wings with external bracing strips. During the Vietnam War, combat losses constituted as many as 50 aircraft per year.[48] After a major accident, the USAF Thunderbirds reverted from F-105 Thunderchiefs to the F-100D, which they operated from 1964 until it was replaced by the McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II in 1968. By 1972, the F-100 was mostly phased out of USAF active service and turned over to tactical fighter groups and squadrons in the ANG. In ANG units, the F-100 was eventually replaced by the F-4 Phantom II, LTV A-7D Corsair II, and Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II, with the last F-100 retiring in 1979 as the General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon was phased in. In foreign service, the Royal Danish Air Force and Turkish Air Force F-100s soldiered on until 1982. Over the lifetime of its USAF service, 889 F-100s were destroyed in accidents, resulting in the deaths of 324 pilots. The deadliest year for F-100 accidents was 1958, which saw 116 aircraft destroyed and 47 pilots killed. After F-100s were withdrawn from service, a large number were converted into remote-controlled drones (QF-100) under the USAF Full Scale Aerial Target (FSAT) program for use as targets for various antiaircraft weapons, including missile-carrying fighters and fighter-interceptors, with FSAT operations being conducted primarily at Tyndall AFB, Florida. A few F-100s also found their way into civilian hands, primarily with defense contractors supporting USAF and NASA flight test activities at Edwards AFB, California. FREE scheduling, supersized images and templates. Get Vendio Sales Manager. Make your listings stand out with FREE Vendio custom templates! 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