Century Series Fighters...

Hey Pawel, I haven't heard from you for a while.

During the 1982, I think it was, when the 18th TFW out of Kadena made it's debuet with their new Shogun markings, one of our pilots shot a F-102 down with a AIM-7 hit dead center.  I had to build one of the Hasegawa kits as a trophy with the missile sticking out just above the wing root where the impact was.

I had heard that a few of our 5thFIS 106s ended up in Florida, and a couple have been spotted in different museums around the country, one on display at Minot, and the rest in the boneyard.  I miss the 106, it had class.  Does anyone make a gun pod for them?  We had enough guns for all our aircraft plus at least three spares each.

NASA kept some 106s at Langley AFB for lightning strike research.  What a job that must be, wanting to get hit by 1.21 jigawatts.

Hello!

fotofrank - the Squadron "In Action" book about the F-104 states many brand new F-104s were turned into drones for target practice, which was very important then, but that didn't mean they were "one time use" - they were used to practice aiming and all the procedures, but that doesn't have to mean the exercises were conducted all the way to the shoot down. Plus the first F-104As were't really ready for combat operations. That's what the book says.

Wouldn't the yellow truck with the mobile tower on it be a great modelling subject?

Bob - your fotos are really beautiful. Thanks for sharing those!

Carlos - I also thint the F-105 is such a cool aircraft! I especially want to build "the Polish glider" one time - it's currently on display at the Krakow aerospace museum.

Have a nice day

Paweł

I should have added a few caotuibs with the pictures.

The F-100D was visiting Little Rock A.F.B. for a air show we were having.

The 100F shot was given to me by a pilot.  I should have asked about it.

The TF-102 was taken at the small museum they had at Lackland A.F.B. in the early 70s.  

The 105G was taken was assigned to the 17th Wild Weasel Sq, 388th TFW, Korat.

The 106 shots were taken at Minot A.F.B. North Dakota, the coldest place I've ever seen in my life.

mach71

 

The Thud against a Mig-17, the Mig is more manuverable, but can't hold the energy in a turn like the Thud could. Knowing nothing about the fight I'm guessing the Thud pilot would take the fight vertical and avoid a low level turning fight.

 

Im a big fan of the 105. Especially of their Vietnam achievements. In the air to air, they gave as good as they got. The MiGs (17 & 21) could all outturn the Thud in air to air due to the wing loading. But for the 17, the Thud was superior in climb and acceleration- at least once free of its bomb load. But the NVAF tactics were not to engage in dogfights. Those were the exception and not the rule. The standard was a hit and run attack after being placed into a position of advantage by GCI radar on the strike aircraft flights. Even if the Migs did not score a kill, if they could force the bombers to jettison ordnance to escape being shot down before dropping bombs on target, and then their sortie was successful in protecting whatever target. Which meant that another strike on the same target would need to be mounted, and the defences could be increased. Dogfights were usually the result of the Migs being cornered and not able to evade the escorts.

Hello!

I was born in 1979, but I always felt this is the essence of the century series:

Have a nice day

Paweł

Yeah, Tank-Builder, it was the same when I flew on FiFi a few years ago. When you are standing outside the airplane, it's huge! Once you get inside and try to move around, all the bigness goes away. I was surprised how tight it was inside the B-29.

I was looking at my Hasegawa F-104 kit yesterday, trying to decide how I should build it. I thought about an early intercepter scheme at first but I have a lot ofg NMF finished airplanes on the shelf. Then I looked at the 104 in SEA camo and decided against that. The camouflage just hides the beauty of the airplane. I'm going to go with a QF-104 finishe on the airplane. From what I've seen online, it seems quuite a few F-104s ended their careers as target drones. It will look good next to my red and yellow Hellcat drone.

Hi Fotofrank ;

     I got to see their planes up close and personal here at New Braunfels. They brought the B-17 , the B-24 and the P-51 two seater. The Tondelao,the B-25, was delayed at Mass. and never showed.

     Ya know considering the size of the aircraft,the B-24 was hard to move around in. I almost got stuck between the bomb racks on the way out. I don't weigh but 205 !

     In the B-17 ,I think the Ball Turret gunner must've been a heighth and weight limited guy. Both the B-24 and the B-17 took some maneuvering to get in the command seat. Like the B-26 Cockpit at the Smithsonian. These planes were big for their day but required slight built men to crew them .

   Surprisingly, I had no problems getting into the P-51. Although that sill was a doozy. The nice thing was that in the  P-51 it felt like I was wearing the plane, Not just sitting in it. I did get to sit in an F-100 in the States and an F-104 in Germany. Tight but functional.

Thanks, Ikar01. Great pictures! I was at Moody Field from Feb 67 to Sep 70. I was surrounded by T-37s and T-38s. No big iron ever came our way so I didn't get to see the aircraft you saw at Korat.

Great photos! 

The 2 seat F-102 is an odd looking duck, but in some ways better than the single seater.

I've seen all the operational century series aircraft fly except the 101, I've only seen that one on a stick. 

I must be old! ;-)

We had a squadron of "G" model weasels at Korat.  The bomb/weapons bsy held a extra fuel tank.  When they hit afterburner for takeoff, the concrete protective wall we had at the base gate about 100 yards away would vibrate, and it was a good 6 inches thick.

I've seen all of the Century series except for the 102.  When our 106s in the 5th FIS went into A.B. it could be heard all over the base and felt a great distance from the aircraft.  It to was a very hard lighting after burner.

My favorite is still the 106.  At one point there was an attempt to have the 106 sent to Vietnam by Col Coe, the commander we received from the 87th FIS for our transition inot the F-15A/B.  Coe was also a mig killer and we were lucky to have him.  

Here's a few shots of century aircraft:

Thanks for the info Sitckpusher! Always happy to learn things.

Nice photo's Wayne! I had forgoten that the -102 was in SEA.

DaNang, RVN  Oct., 1966

Pima Air Museum

Thunder Over Michigan, 2011

Rob Gronovius

 

 

mach71

The F-105 was an air to mud plane. While could carry the sidewinder and it had a cannon but I've never heard of one engaging in air to air. It was really a bomber, as was the F-111 and the F-117.

The Air Force designated them F's so they were fighters.

 

 

 

 

One of those history channel dogfight shows, I do recall one feature of the F-105 taking down MiGs of some sort.

 

 

The F-105 made many MiG kills in Vietnam. A few pilots even scored some double kills. But that was not it’s assigned or designed role. It was designed as a low level nuclear strike aircraft with a secondary conventional strike role. The SEAD Wild Weasel role was something that fell into its lap as that doctrine was developed on the job in combat. 

But most all F-105 MiG kills happened when they were jumped by Migs during their strike or Weasel missions and their pilots were able to turn the tables on their hunters. Most Thud MiG kills were achieved with the gun, and a few by Sidewinders. One was made when a pursuing MiG flew into an ejected MER as the Thud jettisoned all stores to clean up and evade.

Thanks for the info everyone! Cool to see that the Thud could hold its own.

I can't open the link for some reason, but I'm looking forward to read it.

The Thud against a Mig-17, the Mig is more manuverable, but can't hold the energy in a turn like the Thud could. Knowing nothing about the fight I'm guessing the Thud pilot would take the fight vertical and avoid a low level turning fight.

The F-107 is on display at the Pima Air Museum in Tuscon AZ, at least it was in the 1980's. Its a cool plane but lost out to........... THE THUD!

fotofrank

 

 

Rob Gronovius

I bought a Trumpeter F-107A Ultra Sabre jet fighter from the Hobby Lobby clearance aisle many years ago. I think it was not put into production, but it looks like a plane that could have kicked butt in the 50s and 60s.

 

That looks like a cool kit. I think the F-107 was deemed to radical for the USAF.

 

I had plans to dress it up in SEA camouflage or at least in NMF operational looking markings.

Rob Gronovius

I bought a Trumpeter F-107A Ultra Sabre jet fighter from the Hobby Lobby clearance aisle many years ago. I think it was not put into production, but it looks like a plane that could have kicked butt in the 50s and 60s.

 

That looks like a cool kit. I think the F-107 was deemed to radical for the USAF.

mach71

The F-105 was an air to mud plane. While could carry the sidewinder and it had a cannon but I've never heard of one engaging in air to air. It was really a bomber, as was the F-111 and the F-117.

The Air Force designated them F's so they were fighters.

 

I bought a Trumpeter F-107A Ultra Sabre jet fighter from the Hobby Lobby clearance aisle many years ago. I think it was not put into production, but it looks like a plane that could have kicked butt in the 50s and 60s.

I like that. Air to mud. An apt description.

I just found this: 1/0 F-105 vs MiG-17.

https://theaviationgeekclub.com/f-105-vs-mig-17-how-a-badly-damaged-thud-gun-killed-a-north-vietnamese-fresco/

The F-105 was an air to mud plane. While could carry the sidewinder and it had a cannon but I've never heard of one engaging in air to air. It was really a bomber, as was the F-111 and the F-117.

The Air Force designated them F's so they were fighters.

I have fond memories of watching the Thunderbirds when they were in the F-100s perform at the Air Force Academy at halftime for the homecoming game.

Several flying F-86s around, a couple Mig 15s, and T-33s. Wonderful video from the Air Force Historical Flight of an F-86, P-47, P-51, and F-22 in formation. You can watch the F-22s elevators working hard and the engines being worked. Tremendous piloting skills on display there.

A guy out of North East Philly airport used to have a flyable Mig-21 which he needed special permission from the FAA to fly under the Phila. TCA. He apparently burned fuel so fast he would get airborne, tuck the gear up, do a couple wide pattern circuits, then have to land. Haven't heard anything about him or the plane in years though.

wayne baker

From the 2010 Thunder Over Michigan airshow. 

 

https://img.photobucket.com/albums/v300/waynebaker/Thunder%20Over%20Michigan%202010/IMG_1250.jpg

 

 

Very nice, Wayne. Thanks.

From the 2010 Thunder Over Michigan airshow. 

https://img.photobucket.com/albums/v300/waynebaker/Thunder%20Over%20Michigan%202010/IMG_1250.jpg

fotofrank

Mr. Morrison, an F-100D is the first Century Series fighter I built. The one that got me started. I'd like to do another one, maybe a Thunderbird. Does the F111 qualify as a fighter? Like the F-117, it's a bomber, right? 

Well, the F-111 can be fitted with a Vulcan in the weapons bay, and carry Sidewinders on the wing pylons. The never operational Navy F-111B carried the Phoenix missile. So it did have some fighter capability. Probably about the same as the Panavia Tornado. One EF-111 did maneuver/outfly an Iraqi Mirage F1C into the ground on the opening night of Desert Storm. But yes, it is primarily a strike aircraft, much as the F-105 is.

The F-117 on the other hand... not truly a Century series aircraft, coming along two decades later.... and I can’t recall of ever learning of any air to air capability in the aircraft. 

I'm fixated on these early jets right now. I'll finish the kits that I have all in 1/72 scale before I go back to 1/48 prop airplanes. I'm posing them all in flight becaue they just look good that way. My wife bought me three sets of the Hasegawa Aircraft Weapons Set One so I'll be able to do the F-105s all armed up.

Tanker - Builder

Hi;

 I haven't heard from a friend yet.The only outfit I can think of in that part of the country doing this is the Collings Foundation. Maybe we'll see some jets at an Airshow ?

 

Yeah, Collings is up there in Mass. Logical that that F-104 would be going there for restoration. I sure would like to see their F-4 at an airshow here in Florida. Their B-17 and B-24 are based over at New Smyrna Beach in the winter.

Hi;

 I haven't heard from a friend yet.The only outfit I can think of in that part of the country doing this is the Collings Foundation. Maybe we'll see some jets at an Airshow ?

Hi;

  The only Century Series plane I have built is the F-100 from Monogram. This particular plane was supposed to be a " Go-By" for my disabled vets to try to meet on level with, or close. Well they ( My Students ) blind sided me and because of it thst aircraft got me a Gold in 1/48 aircraft at the National Veterans Creative Arts show and contest.

 I still Blush when I think about those guys turning it in for judgement. I could've cried. They said I deserved it. It was all done in different shades of Foil Chrome with the Kit decals ,which the California national Air guard colors. Very colorful natural Metal Bird !

     Surprisingly ,it was O.O.B. ! Now I do have all the rest. I Just have to build them !I try to keep all my planes in 1/48 as I am comfortable with that scale.