one of the best looking Jet Fighters ever built in my book... even when camo'ed.... North American F 100 Super Sabre...
Video on their service in Vietnam.
The 2 Seater Trainers were the first ones used as the New Wild Weasel Missions...
Yep.
In my late teens, I got to see one real close. My neighbor (eight years my senior) was an Air Force Academy grad and jet jock. He would fly into our area, buzz his family home, land at the nearby airbase and they'd go pick him up. This was before cell phones...
On this day, I was running my Dad's 930 Case tractor, pulling a 15" Terrain King cutter, clipping a pasture. My bud saw me and lined me up with his Mom's house. He let the F-100 slip in from behind me and when he was over me, hit the afterburner. I about had a laundry incident...!!
I remember seeing a "large" red exhaust with heat waves. Now, you know he was pretty low... He then did an 8 point vertical roll, pealed out and headed for the air base.
I recently was thinking about him and thru the Air Force Retired Officers organization hooked up after many years. He put in 20 yrs., retired as a Lt. Col., had a fancy job with a major aerospace manufacturer, retiring again. He lives in Tuscon and was very interested in local neighborhood news, who was still alive, etc. We had a nice visit.
One of his sons, also an Air Force Academy grad, is a Brig. Gen., commanding a major air base. Another son was head of the Fed Swat team that pulled the remaining Boston bomber out of that boat.
