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North American F-100 Super Sabre

The F-100 began life as a company funded project to improve on the basic F-86 Sabre design. The program didn't receive any military interest until the F-86 was pitted against the Russian MiG-15 in the skies over Korea.
      Early Korean War experience made it evident that the Communist Bloc had brought themselves close to their western enemies in fighter design. The U.S. Air Force, not content with this, awarded North American Aviation a contract to produce two YF-100A prototypes and an F-100A production version in Nov. 1951. Thus was born the first of the century series fighters.
      The Super Sabre became the first fighter to attain level flight supersonic speed, doing so during its maiden flight Oct. 29, 1953. The F-100 became operational in Sept. 1954.
      The F-100 had originally been designed as an air superiority fighter, but the "A" model was the only pure air superiority version. The "B" model was an all weather fighter. As the Air Force began to realize the F-84 fighter-bomber fleets were showing signs of senility, the logical choice was to modify the F-100. Thus was born the F-100C. The "D" model was the definitive version with 1,274 examples eventually produced. It had improvements in both aerodynamics and weapons delivery, capable of carrying nuclear weapons.
      The F-100 is best remembered for the years it spent on the United States Air Force Thunderbirds aerial demonstration team.
      This F-100 was delivered to the Air Force Sept. 14, 1955 and served with the 450th Fighter Day Group and the 322nd Fighter Day Group, Foster AFB, Texas, from September 1955 until June 1958. It was later retired in January 1975.

Jirka Wagner