The F-100 Super Sabre significantly altered the US Air Force. Chuck Yeager’s orange-painted Bell X-1 broke the sound barrier in level flight for the first time on October 14, 1947. Although the X-1’s rocket propulsion system was an experimental design, it was obvious that when jet engine technology advanced, a supersonic fighter would also be feasible.
The North American company decided to attempt to develop the F-86 Sabre, the best American fighter of the Korean War, into a supersonic aircraft on its own. The Sabre had enormous intakes in its nose and wings that were swept back 35 degrees for improved high-speed performance. The wing sweep of the F-100 “Super” Sabre was increased to 45 degrees, and the nose intake had a uniquely flattened elliptical form. The F-100 was known as the “Hun” because it was the first of the technologically advanced “Century Series” fighters built in the 1950s. The J-57-P-7 turbojet used by the Hun was built with an afterburner that was intended to dump unburned fuel directly into the exhaust pipe.
Despite consuming an enormous amount of fuel, this assisted in raising the F-100 to supersonic speeds of up to 850 miles per hour at high altitudes, enabling F-100s to break multiple speed records. In October 1954, the Air Force eventually accepted the design and put the F-100A type into service. The first supersonic fighter for the Air Force, nevertheless, was so prone to mishaps—among them a mid-air disintegration that claimed the life of flying ace George Welch—that the entire fleet had to be grounded. The small tail, which was unstable and could cause excessive yaw, was revealed to be the problem. The Hun had other shortcomings even after this was fixed.
It was a product of a bygone era of air warfare despite its swiftness and four powerful M-39 20-millimeter cannons. It was deficient in long-range search radar and air-to-air missiles, relying instead on drop tanks to compensate for its short range. In 1958, the F-100A’s steady phase-out of the crash-prone model started.
For a short period of time, a high-speed reconnaissance RF-100A derivative with four cameras mounted and drop tanks in place of weapons performed well. It was stationed in Germany and Japan and carried out high-altitude sabotage operations at a height of 50,000 feet over Eastern Europe and maybe China and North Korea. These “Slick Chicks” were renowned for taking pictures of interceptors well below as they futilely tried to match their altitude, but in 1956 they were surpassed by even higher-flying U-2s. The J-57-P21 engine in the successor F-100C fighter bomber (476 constructed) increased its top speed to 924 mph and allowed it to carry 6,000 pounds of ordnance on six pylons. Its wings were also enlarged and strengthened. Additionally, it possessed a wing-mounted in-flight refueling probe and double the fuel capacity.
On May 13, 1957, three F-100Cs were able to break the single-engine distance record by flying in fourteen hours from Los Angeles to London. After purchasing F-100Cs in 1956, the renowned Thunderbird aerobatic team used them to entertain crowds with sonic booms until the FAA outlawed them. A seventh underbelly hardpoint, a radar warning receiver, and compatibility with early AIM-9B heat-seeking air-to-air missiles were later added to the Super Sabre’s definitive F-100D variant (1,274 of which were constructed). Both the C and D variants were able to carry a variety of armaments, including early AGM-45 Bullpup and AGM-83 air-to-ground guided missiles, cluster bombs, Zuni 2.75-inch rockets, and napalm canisters.
Four other types of tactical nuclear weapons were also prepared for deployment by NATO F-100 squadrons. But how could a quick, low-flying fighter bomber avoid the detonation of its own nuclear weapon? Even with conventional weaponry, this was a potentially fatal risk. The supersonic airplane would rocket skyward in a barrel roll as Hun pilots conducted “over-the-shoulder” toss-bombing.
The Super Sabre wheeled over, engaged the afterburners, and belted in the opposite direction as the Hun’s MA-2 Low-Altitude Bombing System automatically released the bomb as the Hun approached a vertical angle. The F-100 ZEL (Zero Length Launch), which used a massive rocket booster slung beneath the rear fuselage to launch a truck, was also put through its paces by the Air Force. Fear that NATO airbases might be destroyed by Soviet nuclear weapons led to the development of the strange truck-launched fighter, which required alternate takeoff techniques.
Although the ZEL underwent multiple successful tests, it was never put into service. F-100 Super Sabre was a workhorse in Vietnam and the first MiG to be killed during the conflict. The first American military aircraft sent to South East Asia were F-100Ds that were stationed in the Philippines and were transported to Thailand in April 1961.
They didn’t engage in combat until 1964 when they were sent to North Vietnam to attack anti-aircraft positions. Then, as part of the Rolling Thunder bombing campaign, they started escorting faster F-105 fighter bombers on March 2, 1965. In the first jet-on-jet engagement of the Vietnam War, four North Vietnamese MiG-17s bounced off the formation of Captain Donald Kilgus’ F-100 on April 4, 1965, when it was covering an attack on the Thanh Hoa bridge. The MiG-17s’ potent triple guns destroyed one F-105 and critically injured a second despite being slower than the American supersonic fighters and without missile weaponry.
Kilgus let go of his drop tanks and made a quick turn, catching up to one of the MiGs. Kilgus was enticed to pursue him by the Soviet-built fighter’s vertical drop toward the earth, which his heavier fighter couldn’t escape from. Kilgus fired his four cannons from a height of just 7,000 feet. He claimed, “I saw puffs and sparks on the MiG’s vertical tail, then very shortly I didn’t see anything. I might have been traveling at 580 mph. I won’t embellish the narrative by claiming that the Gulf of Tonkin sprayed on my windshield, but I had to abruptly leave. Two of the three MiGs lost that day were accidentally shot down.
Even though the Air Force only classified it as “probable,” Kilgus’ claim to have recorded the first MiG kill of the conflict may be supported by the undetermined fate of the third aircraft. The outdated F-100s were then transferred from aiding ground forces fighting the Viet Cong in South Vietnam to withdrawing from attacking the North. Four more F-100C-equipped Air National Guard squadrons were transferred in 1967.
At its busiest, over 490 Super Sabres were flying two ground support missions on average each day over South Vietnam, either attacking pre-determined targets or reacting to frantic calls for close air support. Out of the 439 F-100F trainers constructed, the Air Force also modified seven of them into the first “Wild Weasels” that were specifically designed to find and destroy enemy air defense radars.
The EF-100F type was equipped with two radar receivers to locate enemy radars as well as rocket pods to mark their locations for pursuing F-105s to target and destroy. The Weasels then carried AGM-145 Shrike radar-homing missiles to strike the radars directly, killing nine for two losses. The Air Force phased in more contemporary F-4 and F-105 aircraft to carry out the Wild Weasel mission after being satisfied with the testing. The back seats of the F-100F also acted as “Fast Forward Air Controllers,” identifying targets and marking them with smoke rockets to guide air strikes by other planes. Fast FACs flew over locations with a lot of air defenses that were too risky for more conventional spotter planes while using the call sign “Misty.”
Up until the F-100’s retirement in 1971, the Super Sabre operated at an astoundingly rapid pace, dropping 40 million pounds of bombs and napalm and flying more than 360,283 sorties than any other type of aircraft, including the more well-known F-4 Phantom and F-105. Over 242 F-100s were destroyed over Vietnam, including 186 due to enemy fire and seven due to airfield attacks, exacting a heavy price on the F-100 pilots. Even more fatal was the Super Sabre’s alarmingly high accident rate, which was frequently brought on by compressor stalls, wing fractures, and persistent yaw instability. Out of the 2,294 F-100s manufactured, more than 889 were lost in accidents, killing 324 pilots. Numerous F-105D and F aircraft were also used by France and Denmark, with the former sending them on attacks against Algerian rebels.
Taiwan purchased 118 F-100A fighter aircraft and equipped them with Sidewinder missiles and radar warning devices. These allegedly engaged in combat with Chinese Migs and carried out risky espionage missions. More than 200 F-100C, D, and F aircraft were sent to Turkey. These aircraft were also used to breach Soviet airspace, dodging Su-15 interceptors numerous times, however, at least one was brought down by a surface-to-air missile. Between July 20 and July 23, 1974, Super Sabres conducted 500 missions in support of the Turkish invasion of Cyprus, losing six to ground fire and two to mishaps.
Turkish F-100s bombed Nicosia Airport with 750-pound bombs, covered a helicopter landing, and sunk the Turkish destroyer Kocatep by mistaking it for a Greek warship. 1980 saw the final Super Sabres retired by the U.S. Air National Guard. Though a few F-100s are still in flyable condition, 325 concluded their service as bright orange QF-100 target drones employed as missile test targets. Although America’s the first supersonic jet struggled as a fighter and had a horrendous accident rate, it still invented ground-breaking new techniques and technologies, and in the end, it supported the ground forces in the Vietnam War by doing much of the dirty work.