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F100 Super Sabre
F100 Super Sabres were the first mass produced aircraft capable of routine mach 1 plus speed in straight and level flight. The prototype for this century series aircraft first flew in May 1953, while the initial production example an F100a took to the sky later that year in October. Development of the aircraft was a priority at the time due to the Korean Peninsula troubles. The aircraft entered USAF service proper in September the following year.
Propellng the F100 or the 'Hun' as it became known was a single P&W J57 turbojet which in the version fitted to the F100d could produce 16,950lbs thrust on re-heat. This took the aircraft past the speed of sound and on to a top speed of over 840mph in the case of the F100d variant.
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Early on in it's career the F100 was beset by a spate of crashes. This led to a brief grounding of the aircraft while engineers sought to find the reason behind the losses and cure the problem. It turned out the F100 was suffering from a condition known as inertial roll yaw coupling which under certain flight conditions caused loss of control resulting in the loss of the aircraft.
This was remedied partly by adding fin area and increasing the wingspan.
Though the F100 was too late for Korea it was a major type used in the later Vietnam conflict. Here mostly F100d variants flew thousands of sorties against ground targets, unleashing ordnance which could include six ' thousand pounders', Bullpup AGMs or rockets. The plane also mounted four M39e cannon and could be equiped with Sidewinder AAMs.
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The operational lifespan of the F100 Super Sabre was quite lengthy. The aircraft continued to serve within the USAF into the 1970s and the Air National guard right into the 80s, though from the mid to late 60s the plane was being gradually replaced in use by other types, notably the Thunderchief, F-4 Phantom and the A-7 Corsair amongst others.
The aircraft saw international use with a variety of countries taking delivery of the F100. Recipients included Denmark, Turkey, France and Taiwan.
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| F-100d Super Sabre |
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| Engine | P&W J57-P-21a
11,700 lbs thrust dry
16,950 lbs with re-heat |
Top Speed | over 840 mph |
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| Weight | 34,050 take off |
Wingspan | 11.82 metres |
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| Length | 15.04 metres without probe |
Weps | 4x 20mm M39e cannon
over 6000 lbs external ordnance
Sidewinders AAM
Bullpup AGMs |
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| Country | USA |
Crew | one |
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