U.S. AIR FORCE THUNDERBIRDS HISTORIC FILM 1953-1969 23754
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- Опубликовано: 6 дек 2015
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Made by McDonnell Douglas, this historic U.S. Air Force film shows the first flight of the Thunderbirds in 1953, just six years after the formation of the USAF, to the advent of the F-4 in 1969. In between it shows various iterations of the stunt team. This includes spectacular footage of the F-84 to the swept-wing F-84, to the North American F-100, to the Republic F-105 and finally the McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom.
After six months training in an unofficial status, the Thunderbirds were activated on 25 May 1953 as the 3600th Air Demonstration Team at Luke AFB, just west of Phoenix.
The team had flown 26 shows by that August. The first team leader was Major Richard C. Catledge (1953-1954), and the first plane used by the unit was the straight-wing F-84G Thunderjet. Because the Thunderjet was a single-seat fighter, a two-seat T-33 Shooting Star served as the narrator's aircraft and was used as the VIP/Press ride aircraft. The T-33 served with the Thunderbirds in this capacity in the 1950s and 1960s.
The next year the Thunderbirds performed their first overseas air shows, in a tour of South and Central America, and added a permanent solo routine to the demonstration. In the spring of 1955, under their second commander/leader (September 1954 - February 1957), Captain Jacksel M. Broughton,[ they moved to the swept-wing F-84F Thunderstreak aircraft, in which they performed 91 air shows, and received their first assigned support aircraft, a C-119 Flying Boxcar.
The Thunderbirds' aircraft were again changed in June 1956, to the F-100C Super Sabre, which gave the team supersonic capability. This switch was accompanied by a relocation of their headquarters to Nellis AFB, Nevada on 1 June because of maintenance and logistical difficulties of basing the F-100s at Luke, with their first show after the move being held on 23 June. It also signaled a shift in their performance routine-for example, the Cuban 8 opening routine was dropped, and emphasis was placed on low, screaming flyovers and demonstrations of takeoff performance. For a time, if the show's sponsor permitted it, the pilots would create a "sonic boom;" this ended when the FAA banned supersonic flight over the continental United States. The move to Nellis also resulted in the first assignment of buildings and hangar space to the team.
This practice remained in force through the 1973 season. In 1961, the team was compelled to discontinue the vertical bank maneuver due to an FAA regulation prohibiting aerobatics that pointed the nose of the aircraft toward the crowd. The year 1962 saw the introduction of dual solo routines, and the Thunderbirds went on their first European deployment in 1963, the year after the disbanding of the "Skyblazers." The team switched to the F-105 Thunderchief for the 1964 season, but were forced to re-equip with the F-100D after only six airshows due to a catastrophic structural failure of the No. 2 aircraft during a pitch-up maneuver that resulted in the death of Capt Gene Devlin at Hamilton Air Force Base. The F-100D Super Sabre was retained through the 1968 season.
By 1967, the Thunderbirds had flown 1,000 shows. In 1969, the squadron re-equipped with the front-line F-4E Phantom which it flew until 1973, the only time the Thunderbirds would fly jets similar to those of the Blue Angels as it was the standard fighter for both services in the 1960s and 1970s. A special white paint had to be developed to cover high-temperature metals, replacing the bare metal paint scheme of past planes. The white paint scheme has been continued to the present.
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This film is part of the Periscope Film LLC archive, one of the largest historic military, transportation, and aviation stock footage collections in the USA. Entirely film backed, this material is available for licensing in 24p HD and 2k. For more information visit www.PeriscopeFilm.com
That's the first footage of the F105's flying that I have seen! I have seen many stills of them, but not video.
When I saw the Thunderbirds fly the F-105's, it was before the team started painting the planes all white and then adding the T-Bird colors.
The planes then were all polished aluminum and then the T-Bird trim was added, real DIAMONDS IN THE SKY, they shined, sparkled and glistened in the air.
I understand why they eliminated the polished aluminum, can you imagine all the glare and blinding flashes from the other planes in the formation?
The Thunderbirds went to gloss white when they switched over to the F-4E. The phantom had to have its skin painted before it would accept any stencils or decals. Different type of metal composition for the F-4 in comparison to the "Century Series" fighters.
Great Vid. The 100 is still the best looking aircraft ever used by the Thunderbirds. GO NAVY
The Thunderbirds are USAF
@@ironroad18 , Both the Blue Angels and the Thunderbirds flew the F-4 Phantom II. To this day, it is the only fighter jet flown by BOTH the major flight teams.
@@johneddy908 thanks. However, I think the original post, which I can't recall since it has been so many years, implied the Thunderbirds were a Navy team if I recall. The Thunderbirds flew F-4Es, the Blue Angles F-4Js. Been blessed enough to see a QF-4E and a F-4S (which was an upgraded F-4J), in person.
thank for the flight down memory lane
My Dad Flew the Hun with Chuck Yeager. God I Miss those days at Nellis as a kid
Here to see the F-4 Phantom 👻
The best flown by the Blue Angels and the Thunderbirds
June 2, 2019---Thanks for the video as I've never seen some of these aircraft used by the Thunderbirds before. 1953? The year I was born. I remember seeing the Thunderbirds using their F-100D's at Homestead AFB, Florida in 61-62? Dad was a line chief for one of the squadrons at Homestead, working on F-100's with TDY for 90 days at a whack to Turkey & Spain. Then returning home for 30 days, then off again for another 90 days TDY.Now going to see if you or anyone has videos of the Skyblazers which was a USAF demo team based at Bitburg, Germany. If I remember right, the Thunderbirds really couldn't make it across the pond without it being a major hassle due to short range flying issues even with multiple refueling. The Skyblazers flew F-86E's I think. As to the F-105's, think they got swapped out because of structural problems which lead to all 105's having "stiffeners" put near the tail of the plane. And I thought it was BS when they switched and used T-38's as a "cost saving measure" during the oil crisis of the 70's.
3:45 for the F-4 Phantom fans
I wonder when/if the Thunderbirds are gong to go to the F-35? I was worried that the Blue Angels would beat the T-birds to it, but the Angels just took delivery of their new F-18 Super Hornets.
Wonder why the F-105 Thunderbird tenure was so limited. It looked pretty impressive!
During a fly-in to another another show Captain Eugene J. Devlin's (Thunderbird #2) F-105B broke apart and killed him during a pull-up for landing. All the USAF's F-105Bs were grounded during that period and the Thunderbirds went back to the F-100.
The Thud was a heavy aircraft btw and was not designed to be a highly maneuverable fighter. It was good at high speed and low level interdiction or deep strikes. Straight, fast, and low, while delivering large payloads of conventional or nuclear weapons. Until the F-111 came along it was one of the fastest US aircraft at low level.
fatal accident and the number 2 thundercheif was damaged and it broke apart in the air killing the pilot in a second
The F-105 was known for falling out of the sky in Vietnam, the pilot ts would be in formation, one would say I have a problem and before he finished talking he was headed to gravity
The beginning of the video is a bit misleading--the F84s they flew in 1953 were not the F84F model shown.
First saw them.1968 at Burlington airport they flew in from.peoria illinois dont have the program with pilot photos and slot positions but remember them well
The Thunderbirds today fly Lockheed Martin F-16 Fighting Falcons.
Really?
Why didn't the AF use the F-86?
?y father used to work on the f-100's in the air force.
T-38
These look a ton like migs