Cordele in Crisp County, Georgia — The American South (South Atlantic)

Republic F-84F Thunderstreak

— Georgia Veterans State Park —

Photographed by Brandon D Cross

1. Republic F-84F Thunderstreak Marker

Inscription. Beginning in late 1944, the race to obtain the best speed and range obtainable from jet propulsion led to the Republic XP-84 becoming the first new fighter of the post WWII period. In 1949, Republic began experimenting with the YF-84 version which featured sweptback wings and tail surfaces and was powered by the British Armstrong-Siddeley Sappfire engine, rated at 7,200 lbs. of thrust. Curtis-Wright received the license to build the engine as the YJ-65-W1.

Since the J-65 Sapphire was bigger and required more air, Republic enlarged the nose intake area by seven inches and carried this seven-inch spread throughout the entire fuselage length. The canopy was changed to a full clamshell type that swung upward and back on three hinged arms with a flat armored windscreen that replaced the V-shaped windscreen of the prototype. A large spinal fairing ran from the new canopy to the tail. Armament remained the same with four M3 .50 caliber machine guns in the upper nose and an additional pair mounted in the wing roots. Eventually the J-65-Wl engine was totally redesigned to become the J-65-W3. The new aircraft was christened the

Paid Advertisement

Click or scan to see
this page online

F-84F Thunderstreak.

The Thunderstreak's Low Altitude Bombing System (LABS) provided for aiming a tactical nuclear bomb. This system automatically computed the exact time of bomb release, both to ensure hitting the target and allowing the pilot to get clear.

Production and design problems plagued the Thunderstreak throughout its career. Nonetheless, its accomplishments were many. F-84Fs set the transcontinental speed record of 2,445 miles in 3 hours, 44 minutes in 1955, and a nonstop jet fighter distance record of 5,118 miles from London, England, to Austin, Texas, using in-flight refueling. The first unit to go operational with the F-84F was the Strategic Air Command's 506th Strategic. Fighter Wing at Dow AFB, Maine, in 1954, because the F-84F was the only fighter in the Air Force capable of long-range escort and the speed to fight the very fast MiG aircraft defending the USSR. F-84Fs served in the armed forces of France, Belgium, the Netherlands, West Germany, and Turkey. The Thunderstreak was the first combat aircraft to go to the resurrected German Air Force, the West German Bundesluftwaffe.

This F-84F Thunderstreak was

Photographed by Brandon D Cross

2. Republic F-84F Thunderstreak Marker

manufactured by Republic Aviation Corporation, Farmingdale, New York, and delivered to the U.S. Air Force on 1 November 1954. Immediately assigned to the 6515th Maintenance Group, Edwards Air Force Base, California, this jet served the Air Research and Development Command. During the period 1955-1957, this jet was reassigned to the General Electric Co. plant at Schenectady, New York, where it was used to test electronic equipment. In September 1957, it was transferred to Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio. In January 1958, the F-84F's final assignment placed it in the 128th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron of the Georgia Air National Guard at Dobbins AFB. The jet flew with this unit until August 1958, when it was dropped from inventory by transfer to museum status.

Specifications:
Gross Weight: 28,000 lbs
Speed: 695 mph maximum
539 mph cruising
Range: 2,314 miles
Armament: Six (6) .50 caliber M3 machine guns
6,000 lbs of bombs

(captions)
Republic F-84F-20-RE beinf refueld by Boeing KB-29. (U.S. Air Force)

United States Air Force Thunderbirds flew the F-84F Thunderstreak from 1954 to 1957.(National Museum of the U.S. Air Force)

Painted in combat colors, this Thunderstreak is on display at the National Museum of the United States Air Force in Dayton, Ohio. (National Museum of the U.S. Air Force)

Two views of the Thunderstreak cockpit.

Erected by Georgia

Republic F-84F Thunderstreak image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Brandon D Cross

3. Republic F-84F Thunderstreak

Veterans State Park.

Topics. This memorial is listed in this topic list: Military.

Location. 31° 57.511′ N, 83° 54.672′ W. Memorial is in Cordele, Georgia, in Crisp County. It can be reached from Cannon Road 0.6 miles south of U.S. 280, on the right when traveling south. Located at the Georgia Veterans State Park Visitor Center. Touch for map. Memorial is at or near this postal address: 2459 US-280 W, Cordele GA 31015, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this memorial is in Georgia’s Piedmont.

It is also in the American South

and specifically in the Deep South.

Globally, it is in North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

one of the original Thirteen Colonies,

one of the Confederate States of America,

and the Antebellum South.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Boeing B-29A Superfortress (within shouting distance of this marker); Lockheed T-33 Shooting Star

Paid Advertisement

(within shouting distance of this marker); North American FJ-4B Fury (within shouting distance of this marker); 114th Aviation Company (within shouting distance of this marker); Bell UH-ID Iroquois “Huey” (within shouting distance of this marker); M4A2E8 Sherman Medium Tank (within shouting distance of this marker); M47 Patton Medium Tank (within shouting distance of this marker); M3AI General Stuart Light Tank (within shouting distance of this marker). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Cordele.

Also see . . .
1. Republic F-84F Thunderstreak. (Submitted on May 25, 2024, by Brandon D Cross of Flagler Beach, Florida.)
2. Georgia Veterans State Park. (Submitted on May 25, 2024, by Brandon D Cross of Flagler Beach, Florida.)

Credits. This page was last revised on May 27, 2024. It was originally submitted on May 25, 2024, by Brandon D Cross of Flagler Beach, Florida. This page has been viewed 314 times since then and 32 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on May 25, 2024, by Brandon D Cross of Flagler Beach, Florida. • Bernard Fisher was the editor who published this page.