Hampton, Virginia — The American South (Mid-Atlantic)

F-100D Super Saber • Mercury/Little Joe Booster

— Air Power Park —

Photographed by Brandon D Cross

1. F-100D Super Saber/Mercury-Little Joe Booster Marker

Inscription.

F-100D Super Saber . Mercury/Little Joe Booster. . , F-100D Super Sabre , No. 54-2145 . USAF . Fighter, The F-100 Super Sabre was the first USAF fighter jet with true supersonic performance. Designed as a successor to the F-86 Sabre, the first prototype flew on May 25, 1953 and broke the sound barrier on its first flight. The first of the Century-Fighters, the Super Sabre saw service as a tactical day fighter, bomber, and trainer. It also flew with the USAF Air Demonstration team, the Thunderbirds, for 8 years completing over 1,000 performances., The aircraft on display was built by North American Rockwell in Inglewood, California and was delivered to the USAF on April 27, 1956. Active until March 1972, it served with several units at Eglin AFB in Florida, with two units at Luke AFB in Arizona, and with Air National Guard units in Toledo, Ohio. During its operational life it was twice modified, first in April 1958 when changed to JF-100 standards and again in October 1967 when it was modified to the F-100D configuration. The aircraft is painted in the special red, white, and blue markings of the USAF Air Demonstration Team. , On loan from the National Museum of the United States Air Force, (captions) , An F-100D Super Sabre in flight during the Tactical Air Command's William Tell gunnery trials, September, 1962. NARA, An F-100D at Edwards Air Force Base, 1/15/1958. NARA, Mercury-Little Joe Booster , NASA . Spaceflight, To test the launch escape system for the Mercury spacecraft, the Little Joe rocket was launched at NASA's Wallops Island Flight Facility on Virginia's Eastern Shore in 1959 and 1960. The Little Joe booster vehicle was built by North American Aviation, while the Mercury spacecraft sitting at the top of this booster rocket was a mockup built at nearby Langley Research Center., Seven test flights of Little Joe, using either mockup or production Mercury spacecraft, demonstrated an escape system that could pull the Mercury capsule and astronaut safely away from atop a failing Atlas booster in case of an emergency. All Little Joe flights were unmanned. This test vehicle (the backup for mission LJ-2) is only one of two remaining. It is painted in typical test flight markings., (captions) , Little Joe launch vehicle being readied for launch from NASA's Wallops Flight Facility, January 1960. NASA, NASA launches the Little Joe mission LJ-1B carrying the Rhesus monkey Miss Sam from the Wallops Flight Facility, 1/25/1960. The launch tested the emergency escape system for the Mercury spacecraft. NASA

F-100D Super Sabre
No. 54-2145 • USAF • Fighter

The F-100 Super Sabre was the first USAF fighter jet with true supersonic performance. Designed as a successor to the F-86 Sabre, the first prototype flew on May 25, 1953 and broke the sound barrier on its first flight. The first of the Century-Fighters, the Super Sabre saw service as a tactical day fighter, bomber, and trainer. It also flew with the USAF Air Demonstration team, the Thunderbirds, for 8 years completing over 1,000 performances.

The aircraft on display was built by North American Rockwell in Inglewood, California and was delivered to the USAF on April 27, 1956. Active until March 1972, it served with several units at Eglin AFB in Florida, with two units at Luke AFB in Arizona, and with Air National Guard units in Toledo, Ohio. During its operational life it was twice modified, first in April 1958 when changed to JF-100 standards and again in October 1967 when it was modified to the F-100D configuration. The aircraft is painted in the special red, white, and blue markings of the USAF Air Demonstration Team.
On loan from the National Museum of the United States Air Force

(captions)
An F-100D Super Sabre in flight during the Tactical Air Command's William Tell gunnery trials, September, 1962. NARA

An F-100D at Edwards Air Force Base, 1/15/1958. NARA

Mercury-Little Joe Booster
NASA

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• Spaceflight

To test the launch escape system for the Mercury spacecraft, the Little Joe rocket was launched at NASA's Wallops Island Flight Facility on Virginia's Eastern Shore in 1959 and 1960. The Little Joe booster vehicle was built by North American Aviation, while the Mercury spacecraft sitting at the top of this booster rocket was a mockup built at nearby Langley Research Center.

Seven test flights of Little Joe, using either mockup or production Mercury spacecraft, demonstrated an escape system that could pull the Mercury capsule and astronaut safely away from atop a failing Atlas booster in case of an emergency. All Little Joe flights were unmanned. This test vehicle (the backup for mission LJ-2) is only one of two remaining. It is painted in typical test flight markings.

(captions)
Little Joe launch vehicle being readied for launch from NASA's Wallops Flight Facility, January 1960. NASA

NASA launches the Little Joe mission LJ-1B carrying the Rhesus monkey Miss Sam from the Wallops Flight Facility, 1/25/1960. The launch tested the emergency escape system for the Mercury spacecraft. NASA

Erected 2024 by Air

Photographed by Brandon D Cross

2. F-100D Super Saber/Mercury-Little Joe Booster Marker

Power Park. (Marker Number 008/007.)

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Air & Space • Military. A significant historical date for this entry is April 27, 1956.

Location. 37° 2.614′ N, 76° 21.961′ W. Marker is in Hampton, Virginia. It can be reached from West Mercury Boulevard (U.S. 258) 0.1 miles west of LaSalle Avenue, on the right when traveling east. The marker is located on the grounds of the Hampton Air Power Park. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 413 West Mercury Boulevard, Hampton VA 23666, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is on Virginia’s Peninsula

and in Coastal Virginia.

It is also in the American South,

specifically in the Upper South,

in the Tidewater,

and on the Eastern Seaboard. Globally, it is in the North Atlantic Region,

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

F-100D Super Saber image. Click for full size.

National Museum of the United States Air Force

3. F-100D Super Saber

least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: RF-4C Phantom II / M-2 (MGM-5) Corporal (a few steps from this marker); MIM-3 Nike-Ajax/XV-6A Kestrel (within shouting distance of this marker); A-2 Polaris (within shouting distance of this marker); NASA Space History (within shouting distance of this marker); NACA (within shouting distance of this marker); Nike-Ajax (within shouting distance of this marker); Langley Field (within shouting distance of this marker); F-86L Sabre/Mercury Test Capsule (within shouting distance of this marker). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Hampton.

Other markers no longer nearby. M-2 Corporal (was a few steps from this marker but has been permanently removed); RF-4C Phantom II (was within shouting distance of this marker but has been permanently removed); Ajax (was within shouting distance of this marker but has been permanently removed).

More about this marker. This marker represents a facelift to the Hampton Air Power Park. Most of the original markers have been removed and replaced with new markers.

Credits. This page was last revised on June 4, 2024. It was originally submitted on June 1, 2024, by Brandon D Cross of Flagler Beach, Florida. This page has been viewed 209 times since then and 20 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on June 1, 2024, by Brandon D Cross of Flagler Beach, Florida. • Bernard Fisher was the editor who published this page.